New Year's Bench Exchange at the Harris County Civil Courthouse

New faces in the Harris County Civil Courthouse

Following the Democratic sweep in the November 2018 election, many newly elected judges took office at the beginning of the year. The District and County Clerks were also replaced, although the Harris County Clerk's website has not fully made the transition yet.

From Stan Stanart to Diane Trautman 

Bio of new Harris County Clerk 

COUNTY CIVIL COURTS AT LAW: ONE INCUMBENT AND THREE NEWCOMERS 

Harris County CCCL1: Judge George Barnstone (incumbent, elected in 2016)
Harris County CCCL2: Judge Jim F. Kovach (replacing Teresa W. Chang)
Harris County CCCL3: Judge LaShawn A. Williams (replacing Linda Storey)
Harris County CCCL4: Judge William "Bill" McLeod  (replacing Roberta Lloyd)

HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT CLERK: MARILYN BURGESS [replacing Chris Daniel]

The updated Harris County District Clerks home page 

ROSTER OF HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT COURT JUDGES AS OF JANUARY 2019 

Roster of Harris County District Courts and Judges as of Jan 2019 

11th District Court: Judge Kristen Brauchle Hawkins
55th District Court: Judge Latosha Lewis Payne (replacing Jeff Shadwick)
61st District Court: Judge Fredericka Phillips
80th District Court: Judge Larry Weiman
113th District Court: Judge Rabeea Sultan Collier (replacing Michael Landrum) 
125th District Court: Judge Kyle Carter
127th District Court: Judge R.K. Sandill
129th District Court: Judge Michael Gomez
133rd District Court: Judge Jaclanel McFarland
151st District Court: Judge Mike Engelhart
152nd District Court: Judge Robert Schaffer 
157th District Court: Judge Tanya Garrison (replacing Randy Wilson, who rejoined Susman Godfrey)
164th District Court: Judge Alexandra Smoots-Thomas
165th District Court: Judge Ursula A. Hall
189th District Court: Judge Scot "dolli" Dollinger (replacing Bill Burke)
190th District Court: Judge Beau A. Miller (replacing Debra Ibarra Mayfield)
215th District Court: Judge Elaine H. Palmer
234th District Court: Judge Lauren Reeder (replacing Wesley Ward)
269th District Court: Judge Cory Don Sepolio (replacing Dan Hinde)
270th District Court: Judge Dedra Davis (replacing Brent Gamble)
281st District Court: Judge Christine Weems (replacing Sylvia A. Matthews)
295th District Court: Judge Donna Roth (replacing Caroline E. Baker)
333rd District Court: Judge Daryl L. Moore
334th District Court: Judge Steven Kirkland

See roster with links to individual profiles at: https://www.justex.net/Courts/Civil/CivilCourts.aspx

MDL Judge Mark Davidson
MDL Judge Sylvia A. Matthews
TAX Tax Masters

Former 281st District Judge Sylvia A. Matthews now serves as a multi-district litigation judge, as does former 11th District Court Judge Mark Davidson.
Former District Judge and Court of Appeals Justice Sharon McCally serves as Tax Master.

OTHER CIVIL COURTS 

For Harris County Family Courts, see https://www.justex.net/Courts/Family/FamilyCourts.aspx

Harris County Juvenile Courts: https://www.justex.net/Courts/Juvenile/JuvenileCourts.aspx

313th Judge Natalia Cokinos  314th Judge Michelle Moore 315th Judge Leah Shapiro 

Harris County Juvenile Justice Center 

Administrative Office of the District Courts: 1201 Franklin, 7th Floor  Houston, Texas 77002

Hon. Robert Schaffer, Harris County Administrative Judge
Hon. Maria T. Jackson, Administrative Judge - Criminal Division
Hon. Mike Engelhart, Administrative Judge - Civil Division
Hon. Julia Maldonado, Administrative Judge - Family Division
Hon. Michelle Moore, Administrative Judge - Juvenile Division

Harris County Civil Courthouse 

Harris County Jury Cancellation due to flood damage extended to Oct 13, 2017

1201 CONGRESS JURY ASSEMBLY BUILDING
CLOSED FOR CLEAN-UP AFTER FLOODING 

Harris County District Clerk's website advisory: Jury service cancelled through Oct 13, 2017 

There goes the office furniture - into the trash 

Old Harris County Courthouse (1910) in background 

1115 Congress - Temporary Court Relocation (posting) 

Drying out the underground jury assembly room 

Trash containers on Congress St. with discarded ruined chairs and other furnishings
Harris County Juvenile Justice Center in back 

Criminal and Civil Courthouse - Long shot from UHD Overloop across Main Street bridge 

Buffalo Bayou at Main after the high water receded - Harris County Jail in background 

Harris County Civil Courthouse: District Courts (Civil Division), County Civil Courts at Law, and Probate Courts; and Photo of Jury Plaza

The above is a true photo of the modern Harris County Courthouse (taken with zoom lens from a couple of blocks West). Compare that to what appears on the county clerk's webpage for one of the County Civil Court at Law judges:

It's apparently an architect's (or artist's) rendering that did not make the cut, -- or win the design competition.

The home page of the Harris County District Courts likewise presents a vision of the courthouse plaza that remained in the design phase.

The Harris County Civil Courthouse was not built the way it's shown on the official website, and the jury plaza apparently had to go without the lone star too; not to mention that that glass-and-steel structure with the curved roof now sits on the South end of the Plaza.

Here is a link to several more photos that show what the new Harris County Jury Assembly facility actually looks like (most of it is not visible because it is underground). There is landscaping at street level, i.e. on the jury plaza above the facility, but no huge Lone State Star, blue or otherwise. A more modest single star was placed at the top of the high-rise courthouse on the West side, where the main entrance is.

 

This is how this state-of-the-art high-rise courthouse, which has become an eye-pleasing enhancement of the Downtown Houston skyline, looks from the South:

Harris County Civil Courthouse - South Side
Criminal Courts Building on the left (partial view)

And, for good measure, here is a view of the civil and criminal courts buildings from the East - Multi-level parking garage (with underground tunnel access to the courthouse) and street-level parking lots in foreground. 

ROSTER OF HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT COURTS AND CURRENT INCUMBENTS

Source: Courts' website (click this link to check for updates and to use the hotlinks to judge-specific pages and other official court-related information). The above is just a screenshot image.