MEMBER CENTER
Information Center
This webpage is designed to provide clear and direct access to official court orders, legal filings and news coverage related to the Bexar County presiding court system. By offering this resource, the San Antonio Bar Association affirms its commitment to transparency and trust by consolidating verifiable information in one place, allowing members and the public to stay informed and review developments firsthand.
| Date | Event | Links/Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 3/27/2026 | SCOT Final Approval of Amendments to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 330(e) and Texas Rules of Judicial Administration 2,4,7,8, and 10 | www.txcourts.gov/media/1462492/269019.pdf |
| 1/13/2026 | Express News Article: Bexar County Judges plan to exit decades-long court system on March 1 |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/2-bexar-county-judges-plan-exit-decades-long-21292128.php |
| 1/12/2026 | Local Administrative Judge Jimenez Order Granting Exception to Local Rules | SEE PDF |
| 10/27/2025 | Express News Article: Texas Supreme Court gives prelim OK on rules affecting Bexar, Travis courts |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/texas-supreme-court-dismantling-presiding-system-21121780.php |
| 10/24/2025 | SCOT Preliminary Approval of Amendments to Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 330(e) and Texas Rules of Judicial Administration 2,4,7,8 &10 | https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1461439/259081.pdf |
| 08/29/2025 | SCOT Advisory Committee Meeting | https://www.txcourts.gov/scac/meetings/2021-2030/ |
| 8/25/2025 | SCOT Relator's Reply to the Respondents' Response to Petition for Writ of Mandamus | Link to SCOT site > https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2734562 |
| 7/25/2025 | SCOT response to Petition for Writ of Mandamus filed | Link to SCOT site > VIEW PDF > |
| 7/21/2025 | Express News Article: Texas Attorney General's Office tells Bexar to 'phase out' court system |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/texas-attorney-general-bexar-presiding-court-20778279.php |
| 7/11/2025 | Express News Article: Bexar County Judge: Change in presiding court system will be 'catastrophic' |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/bexar-judge-dismantling-court-system-20766173.php |
| 7/8/2025 | District Court requests SABA publish a resolution signed by 10 (of the 14) Civil District Court Judges in support of the central docket. | https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2700312 |
| 6/27/2025 | SCOT request answer by June 28 to the May 22 petition filed by Judge Hortick. | https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=b93cc3c1-d68f-49e1-9884-5b16af3d94d4&coa=cossup&DT=RESPONSE%20REQUESTED&MediaID=355fd2bc-c8da-4872-befd-74a59a29b94b |
| 6/27/2025 |
SCOT Advisory Committee Meeting Packet, |
Agenda, materials and meeting transcript. Central docket question begins on page 37294 of the transcript. https://www.txcourts.gov/scac/meetings/2021-2030/ |
| 6/26/2025 | Express News Article: Big change may be coming for Bexar County District Court |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/texas-court-bexar-county-district-system-hortick-20395125.php |
| 6/17/2025 | Texas Attorney General letter to Bexar County Counsel declining to represent the county. | https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2761484 |
| 5/22/2025 | Petition filed with SCOT by Judge Hortick: 1. Should the Bexar County central docket be permitted to operate? 2. May Admin Judge & Regional Judge disregard statutory language in the Govt Code? |
The SCOT Petition is expanded from the 4th Court of Appeals Petition and includes the question about the Central Docket. https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=64dba338-6743-40ad-932c-352a7eed5ee6&coa=cossup&DT=BRIEFS&MediaID=a7352f38-efdd-4d0e-92b0-7e51dbf13f6c Link to SCOT site > |
| 3/7/2025 | SCOT Advisory Committee Meeting: Central Docket is Item IV in the packet. |
Agenda, materials and meeting transcript. Central docket question begins on page 36812 of the transcript. https://www.txcourts.gov/scac/meetings/2021-2030/ |
| 2/26/2025 | SCOT CJ Blacklock's state of the judiciary address to the legislature, outlining plans for dismantling central docket and holding judges accountable. | https://www.txcourts.gov/supreme/news/chief-justice-jimmy-blacklock-delivers-2025-state-of-the-judiciary-address/ |
| 2/18/2025 | Express News Article: TX Supreme Court right to set Bexar County's presiding system in its sights |
https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorial/article/bexar-court-system-texas-supreme-court-20173135.php |
| 2/14/2025 | Express News Article: Judge Hortick just got help in her bid to change a key Bexar County court policy |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/christine-hortick-texas-supreme-court-bexar-civil-20165795.php |
| 2/13/2025 | Posted in SABA Weekly-Orders & Notices: | February 7, 2025: Supreme Court of Texas Referral of Rules issues, specifically request to study the Elimination of Pre-Grant Metris Briefings and Prohibiting the Central Docket. (with PDF of the order below) |
| 2/7/2025 | SCOT Chief Justice requests the SCOT Advisory Committee to study the replacement of the central docket system and propose draft rule amendments accomplishing this objective. | https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2700310 |
| 2/6/2025 | Motion for Rehearing denied by TX Fourth Court of Appeals. | https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=05eec187-b26d-4bbe-a50c-da622831d067&coa=coa04&DT=Order&MediaID=4d9ca5b6-6094-4f91-afef-1f835d9887b8 |
| 1/30/2025 | Motion for Rehearing filed to the TX Fourth Court of Appeals. | https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=b0017355-7e19-4702-aa1a-00e32efdf2ec&coa=coa04&DT=Motion&MediaID=c82b74ec-7bfb-402d-b349-37f41a5e08b1 |
| 1/22/2025 | Presiding Court Advisory Committee final meeting. The work product resulted in proposed "Extended Assignments" Rule. |
Proposed rule submitted for consideration to the Civil District Court Judges. https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2702325 |
| 1/15/2025 | Express News Article: Judge Hortick's bid to pull out of Bexar court system denied by 4th Court of Appeals |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/hortick-court-system-bid-denied-appeals-court-20035584.php |
| 1/15/2025 | Petition denied by the TX Fourth Court of Appeals. | https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=974dcaf0-c6f1-44e1-bd71-28f534b4cf90&coa=coa04&DT=Opinion&MediaID=48c44df3-29d7-461c-944c-a27780e9e967 |
| 1/4/2025 | Express News Article: Bexar County Judge says bosses "abused their discretion" by ordering her to work within the court system |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/judge-christine-hortick-appeals-court-opt-out-20013118.php |
| 12/26/2024 | Petition filed to the TX Fourth Court of Appeals. | https://search.txcourts.gov/SearchMedia.aspx?MediaVersionID=ecdb61eb-0ec0-4f9a-bcb4-f5928188cbfc&coa=coa04&DT=Brief&MediaID=6b55c1e9-08d0-452b-8ae7-ff5646752bfa |
| 9/13/2024 | Express News Commentary: Why I'm fighting to change Bexar County's civil court system By Judge Hortick |
https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/bexar-county-judge-christine-hortick-19760118.php |
| 9/4/2024 | Express News Commentary: Bexar County structure works for our community. By: Javier Herrera, David Rodrigues, Michael Ireland and Buck Sralla. |
Javier Herrera is president of the San Antonio Trial Lawyers Association. David Rodriguez is a San Antonio family law attorney. Michael Ireland and Buck Sralla are members of the Family Law Section of the San Antonio Bar Association. |
| 8/30/2024 | Express News Editorial: Bexar County should let Judge Hortick run her own docket |
https://www.expressnews.com/opinion/editorial/article/christine-hortick-presiding-bexar-county-19731202.php |
| 8/29/2024 | TV Appearance: Judge Hortick appears on KLRN On the Record (timestamp 10:39) |
https://video.klrn.org/video/aug-29-2024-merger-between-utsa-and-ut-health-ytxq6g/ |
| 8/21/2024 | Express News Article: Judge Hortick says she'll take fight over Bexar County rules to TX Supreme Court |
https://www.expressnews.com/news/article/judge-christine-hortick-fight-bexar-court-rules-19714921.php |
| 8/15/2024 | KSAT News Article: Bexar County Judge Hortick goes rogue, rebels against civil court scheduling system |
https://www.ksat.com/news/ksat-investigates/2023/11/22/records-show-disparity-in-how-often-civil-judges-are-available-to-assist-presiding-court/ VIEW PDF > |
| 8/15/2024 | Posted in SABA Weekly-Orders & Notices: | August 13, 2024: The Civil District Court Judges have been alerted that inaccurate information is circulating on social media regarding attorneys setting matter for hearing outside of the Presiding Court system. Official notices will always originate from the Civil Court Administrative Office and will be posted to the Bexar County Civil Court webpage. Questions regarding procedure may be relayed to the Civil District Court Administrative Offices at (210) 335-2300. |
| 8/14/2024 | Special Orders to Comply with the Bexar County Civil District Court Local Rules issued by Local Administrative Judge Jackie Valdes and Regional Administrative Judge Sid Harle | https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2700309 |
| 8/12/2024 | Judge Hortick posts a notice on social media that effective August 19, 2024, she will no longer participate in the presiding system. | |
| 6/12/2024 | 1st meeting of the Presiding Court Advisory Committee to choose Committee members & establish the committee's purpose. The Committee is to meet monthly. | |
| 5/16/2024 | The Bexar County District Court Presiding Court Advisory Committee created. | https://sanantoniobar.org/docDownload/2700308 |
| 11/21/2023 | TV: KSAT piece about presiding court transparency and judge absences aired the Tuesday prior to Thanksgiving. |
https://www.ksat.com/news/ksat-investigates/2023/11/22/records-show-disparity-in-how-often-civil-judges-are-available-to-assist-presiding-court/ |
