Supreme Court

Court Extends Deadlines, Makes Other Revisions in Amended 18th Emergency Order

TEXAS SUPREME COURT advisory

Contact: Osler McCarthy
512.463.1441 or email

COURT ISSUES 18TH CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY ORDER
The amended order extends case and filing deadlines, extends a ban on jury proceeding and clarifies deadlines to extend parental-rights-termination cases subject to statutory dismissal

In its 18th emergency order issued Monday the Texas Supreme Court amended existing provisions from the previous emergency May 26 order. The order makes these notable changes:

¶ Modifications of civil- and criminal-case deadlines and procedures extended no later than September 30. Texas courts may modify or suspend deadlines for civil and criminal cases (except in child-welfare cases) but for a stated period no later than September 30.

¶ Extends ban on jury proceedings to September 1. A court must not hold a jury proceeding, including jury selection or a jury trial, before September 1, with exceptions for specially authorized jury trials before then.

¶ Extends deadline to September 1 for limited jury proceedings. The Office of Court Administration, in coordination with the state’s regional presiding judges and local administrative judges, should assist trial courts in a limited number of jury proceedings before September 1, whether in-person or by remote proceedings involving trial and grand jurors. No later than August 15 the Office of Court Administration must recommend to the Court provisions for jury proceedings based on its evaluations of specially authorized jury proceedings.

¶ Civil-case filing and service deadlines extended to September 15. Any deadline for the filing or service of any civil case that falls on a day between March 13 and August 1 is extended until September 15. As previous emergency orders have noted, this does not include deadlines for perfecting appeals or for other appellate proceedings.

¶ Deadlines in child-protection cases. For parental-rights-termination suits the order clarifies provisions in the May 26 emergency order for extending the one-year statutory dismissal deadline for cases that have not been tried. The new order states that in all proceedings under the Family Code’s provisions for termination cases courts may extend the initial dismissal date as calculated under Section 263.401(a) only as provided by Section 263.401(b) or (b-1). The order also specifies that for any case previously retained on the court’s docket pursuant to Section 263.401(b) or (b-1) or for any case for which the dismissal date was previously modified under a COVID-19 emergency order, a court may extend the dismissal date no more than 180 days from June 29, the date of the order.

¶ Other deadlines:
► Eliminates further deadline extensions on attorney-discipline and -disability cases and specifies that hearings may be conducted remotely.

► Eliminates deadline extensions for Judicial Branch Certification Commission-sanctioned issuance or renewal of certifications, licenses or registrations or for fulfilling mandatory continuing education.

The order continues its admonition that courts must not conduct in-person proceedings contrary to guidance by the Office of Court Administration and, before conducting in-person proceedings, must submit a plan that complies with the Office of Court Administration’s requirements.

This latest emergency order expires August 31 unless the chief justice extends it.