Texas judicial system

The structure of the Judiciary of Texas is laid out in Article 5 of the Texas Constitution and is further defined by statute, in particular the Texas Government Code and the Texas Probate Code.

The structure is exceedingly complex, featuring many layers of courts, numerous instances of overlapping jurisdiction (both in terms of amount in controversy and territorial), myriad differences between counties, and an unusual bifurcated appellate system at the top level found in only one other state: Oklahoma.

The Municipal Courts are the most active courts, with the County and District Courts handling most other cases and often sharing the same courthouse. Administration is the responsibility of the Texas Supreme Court, which is aided by the Texas Office of Court Administration, the Texas Judicial Council and the State Bar of Texas, which it oversees. The State Bar of Texas (SBOT) is a mandatory bar, rather than merely an association of lawyers (such as the ABA or local bar associations). In order to practice law in Texas courts, an attorney must be licensed, and must pay dues. The public can obtain basic information on all Texas attorneys, including their bar number, license status, and disciplinary record, from the Bar's website.

In the 19th century, Texas had a reputation for arbitrary "frontier justice"; in one notorious example highlighted by Stanford legal historian Lawrence M. Friedman, its appellate courts upheld a conviction of "guily" (where the t was omitted) in 1879 but reversed a conviction of "guity" (where the l was omitted) in 1886. The latter decision actually attempted to distinguish the earlier one by trying to explain why the letter l was more important than the letter t. The poor quality of Texas justice has been attributed to the state's shortage of proper law schools and law libraries, as well as the traditional preference of Texans for "'self-help' justice as practiced in the courts of 'Judge Winchester' or 'Judge Lynch.'"

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