Texas US Federal District Courts Case Law

The federal district courts are the trial courts in the federal court system. Texas has four federal district courts, which are the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas. Judges on these courts must be nominated by the U.S. President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. They serve lifetime terms. The Northern District contains 12 judges, the Southern District contains 19 judges, the Eastern District contains eight judges, and the Western District contains 13 judges. Decisions by all four district courts may be appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

There are two main situations in which a federal court holds jurisdiction over a case. These are known as diversity jurisdiction and federal question jurisdiction. Diversity jurisdiction arises when a civil case involves citizens of different states, and there is more than $75,000 at issue. If there are multiple plaintiffs or multiple defendants, no plaintiff can be a citizen of the same state as any defendant. Federal question jurisdiction arises when a case involves the U.S. Constitution or federal laws, such as the statutes in the U.S. Code. Sometimes both state and federal courts may have jurisdiction. When this happens, a plaintiff can choose the court system that they prefer. However, a defendant may ask to remove a case from state court to federal court if it could have been filed in federal court.

Federal courts also hold jurisdiction over cases in certain distinctive areas that are controlled by federal law. These include bankruptcy, patents, copyrights, and admiralty or maritime law. Each district court contains a special bankruptcy court that oversees bankruptcy proceedings. Finally, federal courts hold jurisdiction over cases in which the federal government is a party.

Texas US Federal District Courts

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