UPDATE Can I get married while a shelter-in-place order is in effect?

UPDATE Can I get married while a shelter-in-place order is in effect?

In Travis County, not unless it’s an emergency…

UPDATE: Can I get married while a shelter-in-place order is in effect?

Last week, I covered how couples in Austin cannot get married, because the Travis County Clerk is not issuing marriage licenses during the shelter-in-place order.

Hoping to get some more information, I emailed the Travis County Clerk herself, Dana Debeauvoir.  I heard back from Rebecca Guerrero, her Recording Division Director.  She said that under the circumstances, their office is “issuing marriage licenses on emergency basis only.” 

She went on to say that if anyone has an emergency situation, that requires them to get married right away, the Travis County Clerk will be willing to assist.  (I assuming this doesn’t mean shotgun weddings).

So for now, you cannot get married in Austin, unless it’s an emergency situation.

Over the weekend, I did notice that New York Governor Cuomo, issued an executive order allowing New Yorkers to get married

          Not to say, I told you so, but issuing marriage licenses via webcam is exactly what I suggested they do in my last post!

            The good news is that if the Governor of New York is willing to issue an executive order to allow marriage again, it’s only a matter of time before our governor gets on board too.

            But now that people can get married by webcam, it does beg the question…  what do we call a marriage by Zoom? 

But I can’t take credit for that, Taylor Lorenz, the New York Times writer of all things tech and Internet-y, is the one who asked this ever-relevant question first.  (You can follow her on Twitter @TaylorLorenz ). 

That started quite the good thread going on Twitter…

My favorite is a Zuptials.  Here’s hoping Governor Abbot let’s people go forward with their Zoomions, sooner rather than later.

-M

Part 3: Can I get a hearing in family law court in Bexar County, TX right now?

Part 3: Can I get a family law hearing in San Antonio right now?

Bexar County will be doing webcam hearings via Zoom, and using GoogleDrive to upload exhibits. They will also be requiring something else of attorneys appearing in their virtual courtrooms...

NOTE: Texas courts are adapting quickly to the pandemic… in my last two posts, I covered how the courts in Austin (Travis County), North Austin (Williamson County), and San Marcos (Hays County), are handling the Coronavirus crisis by converting to “virtual courtrooms” and “teleconferences,” aka webcam and phone hearings. In this post, I cover San Antonio (Bexar County).

What about San Antonio? Can I get a hearing in family law court right now?

Glad you asked.  I just reviewed the First Amended Bexar County Civil District Courts COVID-19 Court Operations Plan.  It came out April 2nd, and is a 5-page PDF you can get on the Bexar County District Court website here, https://www.bexar.org/1703/Civil-District-Courts (I have also added it to the very end of this blog post if you scroll all the way down).

The Bexar County order is careful to say that this plan is in effect, “beginning April 6, 2020.”

It also says that, “all cases, wherever possible, will be heard remotely by the Civil District Judges.  Essential matters will be given priority.”  This seems to fall in line with Williamson, Travis, and Hays Counties, who are giving priority hearing dates to cases deemed “essential,” such as emergency hearings, protective orders, habeas corpus proceedings – basically, the usual suspects of cases that need immediate court attention.

However, their process for actually scheduling your hearing, is a little different.

Bexar County, like Travis County, has a Presiding Court.  (Meaning on the date of your hearing you go to one main judge who calls the docket, and then assigns cases to judges who are available.  Aka the life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates-docket). 

Bexar has set up clear procedures for how their chocolates-docket will work.  Bexar, like Travis County, has chosen Zoom as their platform of choice. 

So you can set a hearing with the Presiding Court via Zoom or telephone conference.  Settings must still be in writing –in accordance with the Bexar County local rules.   Now they must contain certain extra case information, and certain types of cases must occur by Zoom.  These types of settings must now also include the Presiding Court Zoom link, the Presiding Court Youtube channel link, the Presiding Court phone number, and the Presiding Court access code for Zoom.  (It’s in the PDF).

Their Presiding Court Zoom link is here…  hhtps://zoom.us/my/bexarpresidingcourtzoom   I like how they call it “Presiding Courtzoom.”  Yes, I’m a sucker for a dumb pun. 

And yes, you read that right.  They also have a Bexar County Civil District Presiding Court YouTube channel… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljERoVIGR2Q 

Why a YouTube you ask?  Is this a chance to become the next Judge Judy? Sadly, no.  It’s due to the “open courts” provision of the Texas Constitution, which requires that our courtrooms be readily available and accessible to the public.  For that reason, a lot of judges are creating YouTube channels so you can watch them from home.  (I’ll probably cover this in a separate blog post.  Just trust me, it’s happening.  We’re all going to be on YouTube in the future).

(For those who want to nerd out, here’s a case elaborating on the Texas Constitution’s “open courts” provision… if you don’t care, just scroll past it).

Barshop v. Medina Cty. Underground Water Conservation Dist., 925 S.W.2d 618, 636-37 (Tex. 1996) ("The Texas Constitution provides the following 'open courts' guarantee: . . . . This provision includes three separate constitutional rights: (1) courts must actually be available and operational; (2) the Legislature cannot impede access to the courts through unreasonable financial barriers; and (3) meaningful remedies must be afforded, 'so that the legislature may not abrogate the right to assert a well-established common law cause of action unless the reason for its action outweighs the litigants' constitutional right of redress.'")

After you set your case, the Presiding Court will call your case on the Youtube and Zoom channels, and assign your case to a judge.  Don’t worry, you don’t have to watch. These “case assignments,” which are essentially a digital docket, will be posted on both the Zoom and Youtube channels listed above. (I admit, I don’t quite get how this will work in the real-world.  I understand the gist of it, but for any serious questions check out the link to the Bexar County COVID-19 order and also give this Youtube CLE a watch, which can be found on the Bexar County Women’s Bar page. The Bexar County Women’s Bar deserves a special shout-out for creating this CLE so quickly, so everyone can understand how this process works).

What about setting an emergency hearing or TRO (temporary restraining order) hearing?

You can call the Presiding Court number and ask to be heard that way. Basically, the courts are asking that you have all of your pleadings and exhibits in electronic form, so the court can review those remotely. Scanning is the new copying. The clerk will email you with an invitation for the Zoom link (for the hearing) and a GoogleShareDrive link - designated for your specific case and litigant. There will be a folder for pleadings, exhibits, etc. so you can upload all of your documents into the GoogleShareDrive folders. The judges are now requiring attorneys to have their exhibits labeled and scanned in. Interestingly, if you have any medical records or health records protected by HIPAA, the responsibility is on the attorneys to keep the records encrypted as they travel through the space-time-Internet-continum. Apparently, GoogleShareDrive is HIPAA compliant.

For the most part, for exchanging documents between attorneys and litigants the judges are saying that the parties and litigants can agree on how to share their files. If they prefer Dropbox, for example, the judges are going to be lenient on that. (This is good news for those of us who are used to Dropbox or just email).

What about setting agreed hearings in Bexar County?

If your hearing doesn’t require evidence, or is agreed, or just a motion requesting something from the judge, then the Presiding Judge will assign you to a specific judge via email to that Judge and their Clerk.  The interesting thing is that depending on the judge you’re assigned to, it could be a telephone or Zoom hearing.  You’re also supposed to email the judge your pleadings, exhibits, and things you will rely on in advance of the hearing.

Do I have turn over my exhibits 24 hours before the hearing?

Yes. For actual contested hearings, just like Williamson County, you have to turn over your pre-marked exhibits to the other side no later than 12:00 p.m. the day before the hearing.  (Again, ruining all the surprise-fun).

What’s this I hear about attorneys having to keep a list of exhibits that are “ADMITTED” and “NOT ADMITTED”?  Seems a little unfair.

You’re right.  Great insight.  It is.  For whatever reason, in Bexar County they are now requiring attorneys to not only keep original exhibits (not that unusual), but to email the court reporter after the hearing, with a record of the exhibits that were “ADMITTED” into evidence and those that were not. 

This seems a little much. 

Right away, this sets my alarm bells off.  This policy could lead to some serious game-playing and requires a lot of trust in the lawyers. 

If a case is appealed, the appellate courts look at the trial exhibits that were admitted, as those were the exhibits actually reviewed by a judge in making her decision at a hearing.  If an attorney “accidentally on purpose” deems an exhibit “ADMITTED” that was not in fact, admitted at trial, that could change the outcome of the appeal. 

Not only that, what happens if a lawyer makes an honest mistake about whether a document was “ADMITTED” or not?  Does this mean they’ll face some serious career and license ramifications?  No, c’mon, that would be extreme.  (Just wait, till you get to the end of this post).

The keeping of exhibits is usually run by the court reporter.  Court reporters aren’t really known for this, because they’re, uh, busy reporting, but they actually do a fantastic job of gatekeeping the exhibits in a courtroom.  A court reporter is the one who labels the exhibits, monitors the courtroom so witnesses don’t walk off with them (happens all the time), gets them back from the lawyers (we do it too), and at the end of trial organizes the exhibits that were relied on, “ADMITTED,” in the judge’s ruling, and those that were not, “NOT ADMITTED.”  In most counties, the exhibits are kept and filed with the rest of the case documents after a hearing.  To saddle attorneys with this job is not only onerous, it’s potentially dangerous. 

For a lawyer, trying to advocate and win for their client, not only does he have to make an opening statement, manage witnesses, examine witnesses, make objections, offer exhibits, assuage his client, and make a closing argument, now they also have to keep track of dozens of exhibits in the middle of their trial.  And at the end of a long, sometimes, multi-day trial?  And all while learning a new online virtual web-camera court system-thingie?  I feel like this may not be the best idea.  How do I insert a cringe-face emoji?  (Seriously.  I need web-training).

As if I wasn’t worried enough, at the end of their 5-pager, they issue a scary, all-caps, warning,

“ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY

THERE WILL BE NO TOLERANCE FOR ATTORNEYS TAKING UNFAIR ADVANTAGE OF THE SITUATION CREATED BY THE COVID-19 PANDMIC. ANY SUCH CONDUCT SHALL BE REPORTED TO THE STATE BAR OF TEXAS DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL ON THE FIRST OFFENSE. ALL JUDGES AND LAWYERS AS OFFICERS OF THE COURT, ARE CALLED UPON TO CONDUCT OURSELVES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS LAWYERS’ CREED.” (emphasis added by me)

Did you catch that bolded, capitalized, sentence? They will report any funny business to the state bar, as they should, but this could end up going really bad for anyone who makes a genuine mistake.  I can’t imagine how this might go in a multi-day hearing with more than 20 exhibits.

Unfortunately, I think this one huge difference in Bexar County, could make it unusually burdensome to try cases there. 

If there is a risk that, if I mark an exhibit “ADMITTED” inadvertently when it was “NOT ADMITTED,” that I will be reported to the State Bar, won’t that have a chilling effect on whether I want to try cases there?  Should my malpractice insurance increase if they know I practice in Bexar County with this policy in place? 

Maybe I am overthinking it, and it will all be ok. 

Afterall, there will be a record to listen to and fall back on, to remember what was admitted, and what wasn’t. It will be a pain, but it will be there. (For what it’s worth, court reporters will be at most of these webcam hearings too. The court reporter will still keep the official record of the court. With Zoom, the hearings may be electronically recorded, but they are careful to remind us, Zoom is only a backup). As you can imagine, the courts, like the rest of us, are figuring this out as we go.

I’m hopeful the wrinkles get smoothed out.  As one judge pointed out, the judicial system and rules of evidence have been established over centuries, and we are just setting up this new way of webcam hearings in a matter of weeks. WEEKS. Think about it. (I mean, if my mom can learn Snapchat, we can adapt).  For the most part, we are all doing really, really good.   Things will even out. We just have to Zoom out and look at the big picture. (I know, even I’m embarrassed at that one).

Our court system is still chugging along. The courts are still open.

-M

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 Scroll for the “First Amended Bexar County Civil District Courts COVID-19 Court Operations Plan…”

Part 2: Can I have a family law hearing in a pandemic?

Pt. 2: Can I have a family law hearing in a pandemic?

Some Texas courts are adapting to the new normal by completely changing the way hearings are held.

NOTE: Texas courts are adapting quickly to the pandemic… in my last post, I covered how the courts in Austin (Travis County) and North Austin (Williamson County) are handling the Coronavirus crisis by converting to “virtual courtrooms” and “teleconferences,” aka webcam and phone hearings. In this post, I cover the area south of Austin, in Hays County.

What about the San Marcos area (including Kyle, Buda, Wimberly, and all those places south of Austin but north of San Antonio, but not New Braunfels – you-know-what-I-mean) can I have a hearing there?

If you’re asking if you can have a family law hearing in Hays County, TX, you’ve come to the right place.

Hays County has made it pretty simple and clear in a one page notice on their website.  I gotta say, I appreciate the brevity.  No rambling PDFs quoting 25 different TX Supreme Court orders, no links to links to other links.  They say it right there in black and white,

“…all non-jury dockets are cancelled through April 12111, 2020.  Essential hearings will be conducted. Essential hearings are criminal matters such as magistration, writs of habeas corpus, civil matters such as mental health commitments, juvenile detentions, emergency CPS removals, family violence protective orders, temporary restraining orders, habeas corpus proceedings arising under the Texas Family Code and any other matter that may be deemed an essential matter by the Court.”

I’m not saying it’s perfect or free from typos (neither am I).  I’m pretty sure April 12111 doesn’t exist.  But you get the gist.  Dockets are canclllddd through April 12th, and hopefully not till April 1, 2111.

Here’s the link if you want it, Hays County District Courts.  Remember this is your small-town lawyer’s blog.  This is not the Washington Post. (Note: I’m from a small town just off of I-35.  You may have heard of it, remember the Alamo? It’s made up of 1.5 million of your closest friends).

I particularly like how they make clear what the judges are willing to hear during this CoronavirusCrisis.  They specifically define “essential hearings,” as mental health commitments, juvenile detentions, emergency CPS removals, family violence protective orders, temporary restraining orders, habeas corpus proceedings,” things-have-gotten-crazy-and-only-a-judge-can-save-us-type hearings.  In other words, it has to be pretty serious; involving life, limb, or freedom, to require a hearing now.

They go on to say that, “ Video conferencing is currently being evaluated for use in the courtrooms to conduct hearings by this method.”  Wow, how mysterious, Hays County, how mysterious.  Will they settle on Zoom, Microsoft Teams, or… something else?

After that, it goes on to repeat itself.  It looks like the same orders are accidentally cut-and-pasted twice.  The short of it is:

• Non-jury dockets (regular hearings) are cancelled through April 12, 2020 (I’m assuming, remember there was that weird April12111 typo)

• If there is an agreed matter, call the court to get a hearing date.

• Pending future public health developments, the District Courts will resume normal operations April 13, 2020 for hearings and June 1, 2020 for jury trials.

As of the date of the writing of this blog-icle (April 5th), I think April 13th to resume regular bench hearings, may be a little, just a wee bit, just a teeny-tiny bit optimistic. They put that, “pending future public health developments” in there for a reason.  If I had to guess, they may mean that they will begin  regular webcam hearings after April 13th.  Again, I have no inside knowledge of this, I’m just trying to read the tea leaves.

I especially appreciate this part:

“Attorneys and parties are expected to recognize the emergency and public health nature of this situation and to cooperate in presenting to the Courts only those matters that must be resolved immediately and that are fully ready to be resolved. The Courts strongly recommend to all litigants to take this time to work a solution to your cases.” (emphasis added by me)

Hays County is not messing around.  Now is the time to settle guys.  Book that Zoom mediation.

-M

Part 1: Can I have a family law hearing in a pandemic?

Part 1

: Can I have a family law hearing in a pandemic?

The answer may surprise you… in Austin, courts are gearing up to operate in a virtual world.

Many of my clients are asking if they can still have a hearing in the middle of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, Coronapocalypse, whatever-you-want-to-call-it pandemic. If you’re in Texas, that really depends on what county your case is in. With 254 counties, it will depend on whether or not your county court system has adopted a COVID-19 order. Even if your county or city is not sheltering in place, the courts may have issued their own separate order and procedures.

Keep in mind, you can still get divorced. You can still file for custody. You can still start a lawsuit for a family law matter. Once you do, there will be different procedures in place for how the judge hears your case.

So it depends on your county and their procedures…

If you live in Travis County (Austin, TX, area, which for some reason includes parts of Pflugerville), on March 17, the Travis County judges issued an Emergency Standing Order Regarding Possession and Access of Children Pursuant to Existing Court Orders.  This standing order states that everyone should just stick to their possession schedules, as if school was in place,

“Parties should continue to follow the originally published school calendar as if school were resuming and dismissing on that schedule.” 

Again, if you have questions about any of this, feel free to visit the Travis County website and click here https://www.traviscountytx.gov/news/2020/1945-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-information

Ok, we get it.  We know we’re supposed to follow the current custody orders, but can I get a hearing in Travis County, TX?

On March 16th, the Emergency Order for all Travis County and Civil Family Courts was issued by the Travis County judges.  It stated,

“All non-emergency hearings currently scheduled for the next four weeks are hereby postponedpopato and will need to be rescheduled to a later date through Court Administration.” 

It also went on to say,

“…Lawyers and litigants shall exercise their best judgment as to whether their hearing is an emergency and should communicate with Court Administration (512-854-CIVIL or traviscivilcourts@traviscountytx.gov) and wait for a response before attempting to visit the Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse in person for any matter.” 

In other words on March 16th, all family law hearings in Travis County were postponed, unless they were emergencies.  (When I say all, I don’t mean every. single. one.  Of course there are exceptions, but I’m trying to summarize here.  This is a blog, not the Wall Street Journal.  And this is not legal advice. I know that cases on the CPS docket have their own rules, if you want to read it yourself, just click here).

For agreed cases, litigants were encouraged to email their agreed orders directly to the court in which their case was assigned. (Which was kind of confusing, since Travis County has the life-is-like-a-box-of-chocolates-docket, you never know what judge you’re gonna get).  Regardless of which judge heard your case, if your case header said, “the 126th Judicial District Court of Travis County,” you would email 126submissions@traviscountytx.gov, and so on.  At the very end, they left an ominous line,

“The Travis County Civil and Family courts will resume normal operations and in-person hearings on April 13, 2020, unless otherwise notified.”

Hmm… April 13th you say?  That seemed ambitious. 

Indeed, on March 27th, the Travis County courts issued the First Amended Emergency Order Regarding COVID-19, which replaced the prior order.  This order suspended in-person hearings until May 11, 2020 and jury trials until June 15, 2020.  The only exception was emergency hearings – which would be determined by a judge. 

Basically, if your family case was already scheduled for March 27 – May 11, 2020, it would have to be reset for a date after May 11th, unless it was an emergency or super-duper important – as determined by a judge.  (This is what I have deduced from this order. It’s a little tricky and I’ve read it several times and talked it over with my famlawfam. Most of us have come to the same interpretation. I could have interpreted this wrong - again, this a blog, not the New York Times).

Per this order, to reschedule your famlaw hearing you could…

• get online through the Travis County Court Administration’s portal, https://www.traviscourtsapplications.org/portal or call 512-854-CIVIL to simply reschedule your hearing for another glorious day when we can all see each other face-to-face again, or as the kids say, IRL, or

• if you still needed a hearing in a family law case, you could request a telephone or webcam hearing through the Court Admin by calling 512-854-CIVIL or emailing Travis.Civilcourts@traviscountytx.gov.

The order covers agreed matters too. If you have a simple issue, like an agreed order that you need a judge to sign, then you could send it in via email, aka “written submission.” Agreed matters are things that don’t require testimony, or that can be proven with paperwork; ie; proving up an agreed divorce. For these cases, it is still up to the judge whether they will accept it via email. They could say the issue requires a telephone or webcam hearing.

So in Travis County, if you have a family law case and you want a hearing before May 11th, you can only have one if it’s an emergency, or something super-duper, like-really-very-important – as determined by a judge.  Essentially, they don’t want you to schedule a hearing right now, unless something is very important (for example, someone’s withholding the child, someone needs money to live on, etc.) or an emergency. 

If you think your case might fall into one of those categories, the order goes on to say that attorneys and parties may request video and telephone hearings during this time, but the judge will decide which type you get, and the exact procedures.  Word on the street is that Zoom will be the preferred method for webcam hearings in Travis County.  (Although, again, this is a blog and I am not Ronan Farrow).

Regardless, for immediate emergency matters, like ex parte (without prior notice) requests, such as temporary restraining orders, and kick-out orders, each week, like some sort of Hunger Games, a duty judge will be on standby to hear emergency matters only, and decide whether those cases are emergencies, and if they should be immediately granted, or if they should be heard in-person. (I seriously, seriously, doubt they’re going to see anyone in-person. I am assuming we’re Zooming from here on out, but you never know).

Ok, but I live in Pflugerville (the Wilco part), or Round Rock, or Georgetown, or Taylor, can I get in front of a judge in Williamson County, TX during the Coronavirus pandemic?

Welp, you had to go and make things complicated didn’t you?  Wouldn’t you know it, Williamson County has their own entirely different procedures.  If you want to read it straight from the horse’s keyboard, click here https://www.wilco.org/ccl4.  Remember, this is a blog - and you know the drill - not legal advice.

To summarize their order, on March 30th, the Williamson County family court judges came up with a plan to have “virtual courtrooms,” in other words, webcam hearings. (“Virtual courtrooms?” What is this West World? Just call it a webcam hearing).  They will conduct these hearings by using Microsoft Teams, “a cloud-based collaboration software that is part of the Office 365 Suite of applications,” effective immediately. 

So how do I schedule a “virtual courtroom” hearing?  There are several steps.  I’ll try to be concise.  I will fail.

1.     Step 1 – Chambers Conference:  Email the court administrator, of the judge your case is assigned to,  and request a “chambers conference” with the judge.  They’ll send you a link and on that day you’ll click on it and appear by webcam via Microsoft Teams to the judge and the other attorney only.  It’s not a hearing.  This “meeting in the judge’s chambers,” would normally be when the attorneys go into the judge’s office in the back and talk about the case without the parties.  (It happens on like every episode of Law and Order).

2.     Step 2 – Judge Decides Whether you Pass Go and Collect $200:  After the end of the conference in chambers, the judge can decide if you are ordered to 1) mediate, 2) have a webcam hearing, aka “virtual courtroom,” or 3) “further action,” something else, maybe the judge needs a brief on the issue, or more information, maybe the judge needs a latte, or a nap, before they can decide.

3.     Step 3 – If a Virtual Courtroom Hearing is Granted, You better hold on to your butts:  I say this to remind everyone that we are all just figuring this out as we go – the Court included.  Trust me, I’ve spoken to them. Once the judge okays you for take-off, you schedule the hearing and then the Court Admin will send you a calendar link that you click on to join the “virtual courtroom,” on the scheduled date of hearing.  The parties and witnesses should all use Microsoft Teams and everyone will appear by webcam.  Also interestingly, all exhibits will be due to the court reporter – and to the opposing attorney - 24 hours in advance of the hearing.  Unfortunately, this will destroy half the fun in temporary orders hearings, when you surprise the other side with a never-before-seen exhibit of their sext message to the neighbor.  These webcam hearings will have court-reporters, but they can also be recorded electronically.  Also if for some reason, someone’s webcam isn’t working, then the judge could postpone the hearing. (I feel like this could be a way for people to weasel out of hearings. I can just hear it now… “Sorry judge, my Internet connection is bad," as they head to the couch).

Oh and all family law jury trials scheduled through June 30th are postponed. 

What’s also interesting, is unlike CPS court in Travis County and district court in Bexar County, Williamson County has chosen to use Microsoft Teams and not Zoom. It will be interesting to see what webcam software the major counties adopt. Will we be a Zoom world? A Microsoft Teams world? A West World?

Just do me a favor, and don’t wear your pajamas.

-M

What are the general rules to follow regarding my possession or custody order during this pandemic?

What are the general rules regarding my possession and custody during this pandemic?

The Texas Supreme Court has let us know what they expect of parents when it comes to custody orders during shelter-in-place.

In Texas, what are the general rules to follow regarding my possession or custody order during this pandemic?

First off, lets cover the general rules aka “orders” that apply to all pending family law cases in Texas right now.  Those are governed by the Texas Supreme Court, the highest court in our land for civil (non-criminal) cases.

The Texas Supreme Court has issued eight (and they’re still going as this thing evolves) orders regarding how the courts are to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Not all apply to family law cases, so they may appear out of order here.  If I’ve left anything off, please go to http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/news/texas-supreme-court-coronavirus-update/ remember, this isn’t legal advice, just a blog to help you figure this out (like the rest of us).

Right away the Texas Supreme Court issued their 1st order, which allowed judges to conduct hearings via webcam, teleconference, etc., and added that the statute of limitations “may” be extended by 30 days.  (This resulted in a major whiplash, as every attorney in Texas wondered whether they could get out of their discovery deadlines, since it was a “may” and not a mandate.  Quickly realizing their error – since lawyers are used to being told what to do - the Supremes issued an 8th Order , which tolled the deadline for filing or service in civil cases from March 13, until June 1, 2020.  Frankly, a huge win for procrastinators).

Moving on to family law, and what probably applies to your case…

On March 17th, the Texas Supreme Court issued the 2nd Order, right in time for school closings.  It basically said that despite the shut-down of schools, people were still required to follow their custody schedules and act as if school was taking place.  In other words, return the dang kid to the other parent.

Then, on March 24th, just in time for the end of Spring Break possession, after several cities issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders, they issued the 7th order. (The 3rd – 6th orders, don’t apply to family law, but again, if you want to read them, click on the link above).  In the words of the Austin Bar Association flash email,

“Texas Supreme Court clarifies that the Stay-Home orders do not impact child custody order. For clients wondering whether their possession and access schedules still apply, the Texas Supreme Court has clarified this issue. According to Texas Supreme Court Justice Lehrmann: ‘There was confusion about whether the stay-at-home order trumped or whether the court order trumped. We issued another clarification that the custody order is the one that governs the situation.’  See Seventh Emergency Order Regarding the Covid-19 State of Disaster.” 

If you listened closely, you could hear every family lawyer in Texas breathe a unanimous sigh of relief.  We had been fielding calls on that exact question since shelter-in-place-orders became a thing. 

So, those are the two general orders that cover all family law cases in Texas – so far.

To read them all, click here

http://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/news/texas-supreme-court-coronavirus-update/

-M