Western District of Texas

What the Western District of Texas is

The Western District of Texas is one of four federal trial courts in the state. It is part of the broader Texas federal court system, alongside the Northern District and the Southern District. Congress created the districts in 28 U.S.C. § 124, which begins: "Texas is divided into four judicial districts to be known as the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas." For this district the statute says: "The Western District comprises seven divisions."

Federal district courts hear federal crimes. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3231 they have "original jurisdiction, exclusive of the courts of the States, of all offenses against the laws of the United States." That is why a drug, firearms, fraud or immigration related case that arises in this part of Texas is charged here rather than in state court.

The district is large and sits on the border. The court's own history page says it is the largest district in the country where a state has more than one district, and that "The El Paso, Pecos and Del Rio Divisions all border the Rio Grande River and Mexico". The court's probation office describes "a very heavy criminal docket." The district also runs across two time zones. Most of it is on central time, but El Paso and Hudspeth counties are on mountain time, so check the time on any hearing notice.

Seven divisions and the counties in each

The court's Jurisdiction and Venue page assigns counties to divisions. The county where the offense happened usually tells you which courthouse to look at first. The court's lists are:

• Austin: Bastrop, Blanco, Burleson, Burnet, Caldwell, Gillespie, Hays, Kimble, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Mason, McCulloch, San Saba, Travis, Washington and Williamson. Court is held at Austin.
• Waco: Bell, Bosque, Coryell, Falls, Freestone, Hamilton, Hill, Leon, Limestone, McLennan, Milam, Robertson and Somervell. Court is held at Waco.
• El Paso: El Paso and Hudspeth. Court is held at El Paso.
• San Antonio: Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Comal, Dimmit, Frio, Gonzales, Guadalupe, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Medina, Real and Wilson. Court is held at San Antonio.
• Del Rio: Edwards, Kinney, Maverick, Terrell, Uvalde, Val Verde and Zavala.
• Pecos: Brewster, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Loving, Pecos, Presidio, Reeves, Ward and Winkler.
• Midland-Odessa: Andrews, Crane, Ector, Martin, Midland and Upton.

The statute's court locations track these divisions: "Court for the Austin Division shall be held at Austin." Pecos is the one with an added city. The current statute reads "Court for the Pecos Division shall be held at Pecos and Alpine." For Midland-Odessa the statute says court "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."

Courthouses and clerk's offices

The court lists these addresses. Match them against your papers before the day of a hearing.

• Austin: U.S. Courthouse, 501 West Fifth Street, Austin, Texas 78701. The clerk's office is Suite 1100, phone (512) 916-5896.
• Waco: U.S. Courthouse, 800 Franklin Avenue, Waco, Texas 76701. The clerk's office is Room 380, phone (254) 750-1501.
• El Paso: Albert Armendariz, Sr. U.S. Courthouse, 525 Magoffin Avenue, El Paso, Texas 79901. The clerk's office is Suite 105, phone (915) 534-6725, on mountain time.
• San Antonio: U.S. Courthouse, 262 West Nueva Street, San Antonio, Texas 78207. The clerk's office is Room 1-400, phone (210) 472-6550.
• Del Rio: U.S. Courthouse, 111 East Broadway, Del Rio, Texas 78840. The clerk's office is Room L100, phone (830) 703-2054.
• Pecos: Lucius D. Bunton, III U.S. Courthouse, 410 South Cedar Street, Pecos, Texas 79772. The clerk's office phone is (432) 445-4228.
• Midland: U.S. Courthouse, 200 East Wall, Midland, Texas 79701. The clerk's office is Room 222, phone (432) 686-4001.
• Alpine: U.S. District Clerk's Office, 2450 State Hwy. 118, Alpine, Texas 79830, phone (432) 837-7323.
• Fort Hood: the court lists a Fort Hood office at the Waco address, 800 Franklin Avenue, Room 380, phone (254) 287-5158. It serves the Fort Hood Military Reservation.

The clerk's office takes filings and answers procedural questions, but it cannot give legal advice. The court cites 28 U.S.C. § 955 for that limit.

Who prosecutes cases here

The United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas brings the federal charges. It describes a district of 68 counties in central and western Texas with about 93,000 square miles and 660 miles of border with Mexico. Its headquarters are at 601 NW Loop 410, Suite 600, San Antonio, Texas 78216, main phone (210) 384-7100, and it staffs offices in Alpine, Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland and Waco. It also keeps an unstaffed office inside the Pecos courthouse.

The office's Criminal Division is its largest, with over 100 Assistant United States Attorneys spread across those cities. Its areas include appellate work, cross border crimes, cyber crime, major crimes, national security, narcotics and organized crime task force cases, public corruption and white collar crime. The office's seven division offices correspond to the seven judicial divisions, so the lawyer prosecuting you is usually based near your courthouse. If you are charged with drug trafficking or drug importation, expect border investigations and task force agents behind the case.

The Federal Public Defender and appointed counsel

People who cannot afford a lawyer can ask the court for appointed counsel. The Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Texas operates under the Criminal Justice Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3006A, and the federal court decides who qualifies. The defender organization is headquartered in San Antonio, with staffed branches in Midland, Waco, El Paso, Del Rio, Austin and Alpine. Its listed offices are:

• San Antonio: 300 Convent Street, Suite 2300, San Antonio, TX 78205, phone 210-472-6700.
• Austin: 504 Lavaca Street, Suite 960, Austin, TX 78701, phone 512-916-5025.
• El Paso: 700 E. San Antonio Avenue, Suite D-401, El Paso, TX 79901, phone 915-534-6525.
• Waco: 510 Austin Avenue, Suite 1200, Waco, TX 76701, phone 254-730-6300.
• Del Rio: 2205 Veterans Blvd., Suite A2, Del Rio, TX 78840, phone 830-703-2040.
• Alpine and Pecos: 108 N. 10th Street, Alpine, TX 79830, phone 432-837-5598.

The defender's office also has trial preparation space in the San Antonio and Pecos courthouses. When the defender's office cannot take a case, appointments can go to private lawyers on a Criminal Justice Act panel. The court posts the district's Criminal Justice Act plan and panel pages for several divisions, and appointment is governed by that plan rather than a separate local criminal rule.

Pretrial Services and Probation

The district has separate Pretrial Services and Probation offices. Pretrial Services was established in 1988 and lists its mission as "Preserving the constitutional rights of those accused." and "Reducing unnecessary detention." An officer typically interviews a new defendant before the first release decision. Under Rule CR-5a, the officer must first tell you that you may decline to speak or give information and that you may have a lawyer present during the interview. The resulting report goes to both the defense lawyer and the prosecutor. Talk to a lawyer before you answer questions about your finances, your family or the charge.

The Probation Office matters later. It prepares the presentence report that the court relies on at sentencing. The office calls it "perhaps the most important document in the Federal criminal sentencing process." Our pages on the presentence report and federal sentencing explain how to prepare for it. Under Rule CR-32, if the usual time limits are waived, the officer gives the report at least 24 days before sentencing and objections are due within 10 days after it is given. After sentencing the report stays confidential except for listed agencies and persons the court orders.

The first days of a federal case

After an arrest, you are brought before a magistrate judge for an initial appearance, where you are told the charge and your rights and the court takes up counsel and release. If the government asks to hold you, a detention hearing follows under 18 U.S.C. § 3142. The standard is that detention requires a finding that "no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required and the safety of any other person and the community". Our detention hearing page explains the factors. Documents showing where you live, work and who depends on you are worth gathering at once. Under Rule CR-16, discovery for a release or detention hearing is due "not later than the commencement of a hearing on pretrial release or detention".

Felony charges usually come by indictment from a grand jury, followed by arraignment, where you enter a plea. If you have received a target letter or a grand jury subpoena, you may be at an earlier stage of the same process.

Local criminal rules

The court's rules state: "These rules may be cited as the Western District of Texas Rules." The criminal rules are in Section II of the Local Court Rules and carry a CR prefix. Rule CR-1 applies them in all criminal proceedings before the district and magistrate judges, and also provides that "Any judge of this court may waive a requirement of any of these rules when it is in the interest of justice." The ones that most change what a defendant's lawyer does are:

• Pretrial motions (CR-12): unless the court orders otherwise, the defendant files them "within 14 days after arraignment". The government's deadlines are 14 days after receiving the defendant's motions or 21 days after arraignment.
• Discovery (CR-16): the parties may skip standard discovery requests if they confer and file the Disclosure Agreement Checklist by the pretrial motion deadline. Trial discovery is generally due 14 days after arraignment.
• Responses to motions (CR-47): a party opposing a motion must respond "within 11 days of service of the motion." A motion must cite its legal authority and include a proposed order.
• Sentencing (CR-32): the court should sentence within 60 days after the verdict or guilty plea, except for good cause.
• Magistrate judges (CR-58): they are designated to handle misdemeanor offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 3401.

The court also posts standing orders, and some are specific to one division. Multi judge divisions use a random assignment plan. Read the orders for your division along with the rules.

Appeals go to the Fifth Circuit

Texas is in the Fifth Circuit, which also covers Louisiana and Mississippi. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1294, appeals go "From a district court of the United States to the court of appeals for the circuit embracing the district;". The deadline is short. Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 4(b)(1)(A) says "In a criminal case, a defendant's notice of appeal must be filed in the district court within 14 days after the later of:" the entry of either the judgment or the order being appealed, or the filing of the government's notice of appeal. Our federal appeals page covers the process. Appeal planning starts before sentencing, because the 14 days begin when judgment is entered.

A note on penalties

This page lists no sentences because a court page cannot predict them. Penalty figures elsewhere on this site, such as those on mandatory minimum pages, are statutory maximums or guideline ranges, not forecasts. Drug quantity, loss amount, criminal history and the facts of the offense all change the real range in a case.

Talking to a lawyer about a case in this court

Before a first call, gather what you have. Bring every document you were given: the complaint, indictment, summons, release conditions, search warrant, and any letter from the government. Write down the county where the events happened, the date and time of any arrest, and the agency involved. Note the courthouse and any hearing date on your papers, and whether it is on central or mountain time. Collect proof of your address, job, family ties and health, which matter at a detention hearing.

Do not discuss the facts with agents, with co-defendants or on social media. If a prosecutor offers a meeting, do not agree until you understand what a proffer session can cost you. If you were interviewed by a pretrial services officer, tell your lawyer what you said. Our federal criminal process pages describe each stage in more detail. If you want to talk through a case in the Western District of Texas, you can request a consultation.

Federal representation outside California is subject to applicable court admission requirements. Pro hac vice admission and association with local counsel may be required.