United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas

About This Court

Located in the Fifth Circuit, the Eastern District of Texas covers the eastern portion of the state, including cities such as Tyler, Beaumont, Sherman, Marshall, Texarkana, and Lufkin. The district borders Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, and encompasses a mix of urban, suburban, and rural communities in the Piney Woods and Gulf Coast regions of Texas.

The Eastern District of Texas has gained national prominence for its significant volume of patent litigation. For many years, certain divisions within the district, particularly the Marshall division, attracted a disproportionately large share of patent infringement cases filed in the United States, making it one of the most closely watched patent venues in the country.

The district also handles a broad range of federal civil and criminal matters, including cases arising from its proximity to the Texas-Louisiana border and the commercial activity associated with the energy and petrochemical industries in the region.

Proceedings are governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and Federal Rules of Evidence, along with the court's local rules. Bankruptcy cases are handled by the companion Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Texas.

Divisions

Beaumont Division (Beaumont), Lufkin Division (Lufkin), Marshall Division (Marshall), Sherman Division (Sherman), Texarkana Division (Texarkana), Tyler Division (Tyler)

Caseload

The Eastern District of Texas is historically known for its high volume of patent infringement cases, particularly in the Marshall division, which drew filers from across the country. The district also handles a substantial number of civil cases involving commercial disputes, personal injury, and federal criminal matters.

Bar Admission

Attorneys must be admitted to practice before the Eastern District of Texas by filing an application with the clerk's office and meeting the court's local bar admission requirements, which generally include membership in good standing with the State Bar of Texas or another state bar.

Clerk's Office

211 West Ferguson Street, Tyler, TX 75702

(903) 590-1000

Active Judges 10

Name	Appointed By	Confirmed	Law School
J. Barker	Donald J. Trump	2019	University of Texas School of Law
Ron Clark	George W. Bush	2002	University of Texas School of Law
Marcia Crone	George W. Bush	2003	University of Houston Law Center
James Gilstrap	Barack Obama	2011	Baylor University School of Law
Sean Jordan	Donald J. Trump	2019	University of Texas School of Law
Jeremy Kernodle	Donald J. Trump	2018	Vanderbilt University Law School
Amos Mazzant	Barack Obama	2014	Baylor University School of Law
Richard Schell	Ronald Reagan	1988	Southern Methodist University School of Law (now Dedman School of Law)
Robert Schroeder	Barack Obama	2014	American University, Washington College of Law
Michael Truncale	Donald J. Trump	2019	Southern Methodist University School of Law (now Dedman School of Law)

Local Rules

72 local rules extracted from this court's published rules. See the court's official website for the authoritative text.

Civil Rules 36

Rule	Title
CV-1	Scope and Purpose of Rules
CV-10	Form of Pleadings
CV-11	Signing of Pleadings, Motions, and Other Documents
CV-12	Filing of Answers and Defenses
CV-26	Provisions Governing Discovery; Duty of Disclosure
CV-3	Commencement of Action
CV-30	Depositions Upon Oral Examination
CV-34	Production of Documents and Things
CV-38	Right to a Jury Trial; Demand
CV-4	Complaint, Summons, and Return
CV-42	Consolidation; Separate Trials Consolidation of Actions
CV-43	Taking of Testimony
CV-47	Selecting Jurors
CV-5	Service and Filing of Pleadings and Other Documents
CV-50	Judgment as a Matter of Law in a Jury Trial
CV-5.2	Privacy Protections for Filings Made with the Court
CV-54	Judgments; Costs
CV-56	Summary Judgment Procedure
CV-6	Computation of Time
CV-62	Stay of Proceedings to Enforce a Judgment
CV-63	Inability of a Judge to Proceed, Reassignment of Actions after Recusal or Disqualification
CV-65	Injunctions
CV-65.1	Security; Proceedings Against Sureties
CV-7	Pleadings Allowed; Form of Motions and Other Documents
CV-72	Magistrate Judges
CV-77	District Courts and Clerks
CV-79	Records Kept by the Clerk
CV-81	Removed Actions
CV-83	Rules by District Courts; Judge's Directives
LAR (a)	Authority and Scope
LAR (b)	Maritime Attachment and Garnishment
LAR (c)	Actions in Rem: Special Provisions
LAR (d)	Possessory, Petitory, and Partition Actions
LAR (e)	Actions In Rem and Quasi In Rem: General Provisions
LAR (f)	Limitation of Liability
LAR (g)	Special Rules

Criminal Rules 10

Rule	Title
CR-1	Scope
CR-10	Arraignments
CR-16.1	Pretrial Discovery Conference
CR-24	Trial Jurors
CR-47	Motions
CR-49	Service and Filing
CR-49.1	Privacy Protection for Filings Made with the Court
CR-55	Records
CR-59	Matters Before a Magistrate Judge
CR-6	The Grand Jury

Attorney Rules 3

Rule	Title
AT-1	Admission to Practice
AT-2	Attorney Discipline
AT-3	Standards of Practice to be Observed by Attorneys

Patent Rules 23

Rule	Title
1-1	Title
1-2	Scope and Construction
1-3	Effective Date
2-1	Governing Procedure
2-2	Confidentiality
2-3	Certification of Initial Disclosures
2-4	Admissibility of Disclosures
2-5	Relationship to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
2-6	Assignment of Related Cases
3-1	Disclosure of Asserted Claims and Infringement Contentions
3-2	Document Production Accompanying Disclosure
3-3	Invalidity Contentions
3-4	Document Production Accompanying Invalidity Contentions
3-5	Disclosure Requirement in Patent Cases for Declaratory Judgment
3-6	Amending Contentions
3-7	Opinion of Counsel Defenses
3-8	Disclosure Requirements for Patent Cases Arising Under 21 U.S.C. § 355 (Hatch-Waxman Act)
4-1	Exchange of Proposed Terms and Claim Elements for Construction
4-2	Exchange of Preliminary Claim Constructions and Extrinsic Evidence
4-3	Joint Claim Construction and Prehearing Statement
4-4	Completion of Claim Construction Discovery
4-5	Claim Construction Briefs
4-6	Claim Construction Hearing

View all local rules →

Other Courts in the 5th Circuit

Eastern District of Louisiana New Orleans, Louisiana Middle District of Louisiana Baton Rouge, Louisiana Northern District of Mississippi Oxford, Mississippi Northern District of Texas Dallas, Texas Southern District of Mississippi Jackson, Mississippi Southern District of Texas Houston, Texas Western District of Louisiana Shreveport, Louisiana Western District of Texas San Antonio, Texas