Texas Federal Court Structure at a Glance
Court Locations in Texas — 28 U.S.C. § 124
The district structure of Texas is set by statute, quoted below from 28 U.S.C. § 124:
“Texas is divided into four judicial districts to be known as the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas.”
Court locations under the statute:
Court for the Dallas Division shall be held at Dallas.
Court for the Fort Worth Division shall be held at Fort Worth.
Court for the Abilene Division shall be held at Abilene.
Court for the San Angelo Division shall be held at San Angelo.
Court for the Amarillo Division shall be held at Amarillo.
Court for the Wichita Falls Division shall be held at Wichita Falls.
Court for the Lubbock Division shall be held at Lubbock.
Court for the Galveston Division shall be held at Galveston.
Court for the Houston Division shall be held at Houston.
Court for the Laredo Division shall be held at Laredo.
Court for the Brownsville Division shall be held at Brownsville.
Court for the Victoria Division shall be held at Victoria.
Court for the Corpus Christi Division shall be held at Corpus Christi.
Court for the McAllen Division shall be held at McAllen.
Court for Tyler Division will be held at Tyler.
Court for the Beaumont Division is to be held at Beaumont.
Court for the Sherman Division shall be held at Sherman and Plano.
Court for the Marshall Division shall be held at Marshall.
Court for the Texarkana Division shall be held at Texarkana, and may be held anywhere within the Federal courthouse in Texarkana that is located astride the State line between Texas and Arkansas.
Court for the Lufkin Division shall be held at Lufkin.
Court for the Austin Division shall be held at Austin.
Court for the Waco Division shall be held at Waco.
Court for the El Paso Division shall be held at El Paso.
Court for the San Antonio Division shall be held at San Antonio.
Court for the Del Rio Division shall be held at Del Rio.
Court for the Pecos Division shall be held at Pecos and Alpine.
Court for the Midland-Odessa Division shall be held at Midland.
Court may be held, in the discretion of the court, in Odessa, when courtroom facilities are made available at no expense to the Government.
Court for the Eastern District of Texas on such date.
Federal White-Collar Cases in Texas
Federal fraud offenses committed in Texas are prosecuted in the district where the offense occurred. Jurisdiction is statutory: “The district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States.” (18 U.S.C. § 3231).
Circuit assignment is statutory as well. 28 U.S.C. § 41 provides:
“Fifth District of the Canal Zone, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas.”
The Fifth Circuit hears appeals from the district courts in Texas. The district courts listed above maintain public websites with local rules, judge information, and case-location details; the federal court finder at uscourts.gov also covers Texas.
The principal federal fraud statutes — mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341), wire fraud (§ 1343), and bank fraud (§ 1344) — apply in every federal district. Bank fraud carries a statutory maximum of 30 years: “shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.” (18 U.S.C. § 1344).
This page is part of the White-Collar Case Law Research Desk reference library. Additional research notes are published as new court decisions are issued.
Primary sources
- 28 U.S.C. § 124 — Texas (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “Texas is divided into four judicial districts to be known as the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas.”
- 28 U.S.C. § 41 — Number and composition of circuits (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “Fifth District of the Canal Zone, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas.”
- 18 U.S.C. § 3231 — District courts (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “The district courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States.”
- 18 U.S.C. § 1344 — Bank fraud (law.cornell.edu). Verbatim: “shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.”
White-Collar Federal Defense Reference by State
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