If you are hoping to file and finish a case or lawsuit in Harris County without an attorney to represent you, you may need to file forms or follow procedures specific to pro se litigants. If you are representing yourself in a case or lawsuit, you are a self-represented, or pro se, litigant. Each court has different procedures and requirements that pro se litigants are expected to follow in the same manner as an attorney. It is always best to contact the clerk of the court where your case is assigned to ask about procedures for pro se litigants.
Read moreRepresenting Yourself In Court
The Law Library offers several self-help resources for pro se litigants. “Pro se litigant” refers to someone who is a party in a court case without an attorney. Find books and guides by visiting the library in person. A library card is not required for accessing the print collection. Legal print materials may only be used on-site and are not available for checkout.
Recommended online resources are also included and can be accessed remotely.
Read moreNational Adoption Day: Harris County Family District Courts Celebrate Forever Families
National Adoption Day is an annual event, celebrated since 2000, that has placed more than 75,000 children living in foster care with forever families. In 400 cities across the nation, policymakers, advocates, and key players in the family court system have collaborated to plan events in furtherance of the event’s shared goals: calling attention to the large number of children in the foster care system, reducing the backlog of adoption cases in family courts across the nation, and celebrating the successful adoption of foster children by loving parents. On November 19, 2021, four Harris County Judges will host private adoptions as well as adoptions with the Department of Famliy and Protective Services. Events start at 9:00 am.
Read moreWhat’s New with the Harris County Civil District Courts?
On March 5, 2021, the Supreme Court of Texas issued its Thirty-Sixth Order Regarding the COVID-19 State of Disaster, which provided, among other things, that, subject to stated constitutional limitations, in-person proceedings may be conducted in the district courts, so long as minimum standard health protocols are followed. The Order prompted the Local Administrative Law Judge for the Harris County District Civil Courts, Honorable Robert Schaffer, to modify the existing COVID-19 Operating Plan to allow for the resumption of in-person proceedings and to set the minimum standard health protocols for such proceedings to keep the participants and the public safe.
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