The Fourth Court of Appeals was created in 1893 out of territory taken from the First and Third courts of civil appeals. It has intermediate appellate jurisdiction of both civil and criminal cases appealed from lower courts in thirty-two counties of Texas; in civil cases where judgment rendered exceeds $100, exclusive of costs, and other civil proceedings as provided by law; and in criminal cases except in post -conviction writs of habeas corpus and where the death penalty has been imposed.
The Fourth Court of Appeals is comprised of seven Justices who hear cases from thirty-two counties located in South Texas and the Texas Hill Country. The counties served by the Fourth Court of Appeals are:
- Legal Citation:
- Texas Constitution, Article V, Section 1
Texas Government Code Annotated, § 22.201
Latest News & Updates
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The Fourth Court of Appeals will accept electronic filings from the
parties. This is the Court's preferred method for filing. A party may electronically file (e-file) any document that may
be filed with the court in paper form, except a document under seal or subject to a motion to seal. Documents e-filed with
the Fourth Court of Appeals must conform to Local Rule 10 of this Court's Local Rules pertaining to electronic filing of
documents. E-filing must be done through Texas.gov, the portal established by the Texas Legislature.
Visit http://www.texas.gov/en/tx-efiling/Pages/default.aspx
to learn more. E-filed briefs must follow the Texas Supreme Court's Redaction Guidelines found at
http://www.supreme.courts.state.tx.us/ebriefs/RedactionGuidelines.pdf.
Please note an e-filed document must include the e-filer's email address, in addition to any other information required by the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure.
If a party opts not to e-file a document and to file the document in paper form instead, the original document filed with the court must be in the form provided by Rule 9.4 of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. However, one of the copies must be unbound and one-sided and contain no hard covers, tabs, or any other item that would impede the scanning of the document. In lieu of tabs, separator pages with the title of the item immediately following should be used.
For more information about creating electronic briefs, please read the Guide to Creating Better Electronic Briefs found on the Texas Supreme Court's website. You can also watch a video that shows step-by-step instructions for using Adobe Acrobat to create an electronic brief.
- Statistical Update:
- The Fourth Court of Appeals: Fiscal Year 2010-2011 Review [pdf]
Paper documents may be filed with the court during normal business hours which are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. In case of an emergency, filings may be made after 5:00 p.m. provided counsel coordinates the filing with the Clerk of the Court. A party can coordinate an emergency filing by contacting the Clerk of the Court at (210) 335-2635 during normal business hours to arrange for the court to remain open to a reasonable time to accommodate the emergency filing. Otherwise, documents may be e-filed through Texas.gov, the portal established by the Texas Legislature.
To view or print PDF files you must have the Adobe Acrobat® reader. This software may be obtained without charge from Adobe. Download the reader from the Adobe Web site.
Updated: 30-Apr-2012
