152nd District Court Procedures
If your lawsuit is pending in the 152nd District Court, the court’s own rules shape how every motion, hearing, and trial setting in the case will run. The 152nd District Court procedures are set out in the court’s written Policies and Procedures, effective July 2025, which the presiding judge, the Honorable TaKasha L. Francis, applies alongside the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and the Harris County local rules. The court may update them at its discretion. If you have a case before this court, The Buzbee Law Firm can explain how these rules may affect it. Call 800-992-5393 for a free consultation.
What Is the 152nd District Court?
The 152nd is a state trial court in Houston that hears civil cases. Under Section 24.251 of the Texas Government Code, the 152nd Judicial District is composed of Harris County, so the court serves the whole county rather than one city. Section 24.008 lets a district court hear any cause that courts of law or equity can decide, which means it can award money damages, issue orders directing someone to act or stop acting, or both. Injury claims, wrongful death suits, and business disputes are among the civil cases it can hear.
How Are Documents Filed in the 152nd District Court?
The court’s procedures require documents to be filed electronically with the Harris County District Clerk, and the court does not accept documents hand-delivered or faxed directly to it. The procedures add filing requirements of their own:
- A proposed order from both sides, the one filing a motion and the one opposing it, because the clerk rejects incomplete filings
- Each exhibit uploaded as its own labeled PDF rather than combined into one file
- No courtesy copies unless the court has been contacted first and confirms one is needed
How Are Motions Heard in the 152nd District Court?
Every motion is set either for written submission, where the judge decides it on the papers, or for an oral hearing, unless it is agreed or unopposed. Motions for summary judgment, which ask the court to decide a claim without a trial, follow a longer schedule of their own:
| Setting | When it is heard | How it is set | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written submission | Monday at 8:00 a.m. | The motion lists a submission date at least 10 days after filing | Responses and hearing requests filed at least three working days before submission |
| Oral hearing | Thursday Law Day docket at 9:00, 10:00, or 11:00 a.m., unless otherwise scheduled | Requested through the court clerk | Matters involving evidence or extended argument require a special setting |
| Summary judgment | First Monday at 8:00 a.m. after 21 days from filing | Placed on the submission docket | Oral hearing requests at least 10 days before submission; responses and exhibits at least seven days before |
A hearing in a 152nd case may also be held before another judge, because Section 74.094 of the Government Code allows any district or statutory county court judge in the county to hear a matter pending in any of those courts. Remote appearances by Zoom are approved case by case, and a written request must reach the court clerk at least 14 days before the hearing.
What Must Happen Before a Discovery Motion Is Filed?
Discovery is the exchange of evidence between the parties before trial. Before filing any motion about it, the parties must make a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute, and the court requires at least three separate attempts using at least two different forms of communication. The motion must include a certificate of conference, a statement listing the dates, methods, and outcome of those efforts. A certificate saying only that a letter or email went unanswered is improper, and a discovery motion without a proper certificate will not be considered.
How Do Deadlines, Continuances, and Mediation Work?
Once an answer is filed, the court issues a Docket Control Order, a schedule that sets the case’s deadlines and its trial setting, and no variance from those deadlines is allowed without the court’s permission. A continuance, which pushes back a deadline or trial date, requires a written motion showing good cause, the applicable rule, and proposed new dates. The court has made clear that the parties’ agreement alone does not justify a change.
The same order sets dates for proposing a mediator and completing mediation, and the court may appoint a mediator if the parties do not comply. A case that sits inactive can be set for dismissal for want of prosecution, and a motion to retain filed before the deadline does not guarantee the case will stay on the docket.
What Happens When a Settlement Involves a Minor?
Settlements for children involve extra steps in this court. When the court appoints a guardian ad litem or attorney ad litem, someone assigned to protect the child’s interests in the case, the court chooses that person itself, and the parties are asked not to recommend anyone. The ad litem files a recommendation and a time and expense report before the minor settlement hearing, and the proposed order and reports must be filed at least 72 hours before it.
How Does a Case Get to Trial in the 152nd District Court?
A case that is not reached on its trial setting is reset to a later date on the docket. As a case moves toward trial, the steps run in this order:
- About 30 days before trial, the court sends a trial preparation order listing what each side must file.
- At least two weeks before trial, the parties file exhibit lists, witness lists, motions in limine (requests to keep certain evidence away from the jury), deposition offers, and a draft jury charge or proposed findings.
- At least five days before a jury trial, the proposed jury charge, the questions and instructions the jury will answer, is filed, exchanged, and emailed to the court coordinator in an editable format.
- The parties are contacted at least 24 hours before the day the trial is expected to begin.
- A pretrial conference is held at the time of trial unless the court schedules it otherwise.
Get Help With 152nd District Court Procedures
Court rules are written for lawyers, and a rejected filing or missed setting can slow a case you are counting on. At The Buzbee Law Firm, we take pride in trying cases, and we prepare each one as though a jury will decide it, down to every filing and setting a court like the 152nd requires. If you have not filed yet, Texas generally allows two years for a personal injury lawsuit, so contact us or call 800-992-5393 today for a free consultation about your case and the 152nd District Court procedures that apply to it.