Jury Trials to Commence at Westside

HOUSTON, Texas – For the first time in recent memory, the City of Houston’s Municipal Courts Department will begin holding jury trials at a location other than 1400 Lubbock. Beginning December 2, 2010, Court 18 will add more than 60 jury trial cases to its docket on Thursdays only.

According to Director and Presiding Judge Barbara E. Hartle, this is a matter of convenience as well as improving court services.  “We have the ability to alleviate some of the overcrowding at 1400 Lubbock while offering trials closer to the place where violations were cited. This provides an excellent opportunity for us to increase customer service and court efficiency,” Judge Hartle stated.

The court is located inside the Westside Command Station at 3203 South Dairy Ashford. Currently, jury summons are sent to citizens for the Lubbock court location only. With the addition of jury trials at Westside, jurors will be summoned randomly to either location.

Westside is one of the City’s five satellite courts and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m.

The City of Houston Municipal Courts, which annually handles over 1.2 million civil and criminal cases, such as traffic offenses and city ordinance violations, is among the largest court systems in the United States. For more information regarding the Municipal Courts, please visit the website at www.houstontx.gov/courts, or call the City's Helpline at 3-1-1 or 713.837.0311 if outside of Houston. 

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