Lubbock County District Court Records

Lubbock County District Court Overview

Texas runs a layered court system, and the district court sits at the top of the trial level. Every Texas county is served by at least one district court. These benches handle the biggest cases the state sees outside the appeals courts. In Lubbock County, six numbered district courts share the bench load. Each one is a court of general jurisdiction. Each one can hear felony, civil, family, and juvenile cases under state law.

The six courts sit in one place. They all work out of the Lubbock County Courthouse at 904 Broadway, in downtown Lubbock. Lubbock County is the seat of the 7th Administrative Judicial Region of Texas. The local district benches pull cases from across Lubbock County, and a few share regional duty with nearby counties under their enabling statutes. The Texas judiciary describes the trial-court tier on its public pages.

The county's own Courts page sets the scene for every bench in the building.

The county Courts landing page lists the courthouse address, the general 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM hours, and links to each numbered court served by the building.

That page from lubbockcounty.gov sits one click from the District Courts directory used for any Lubbock County District Court records search.

The Six Lubbock County District Courts

The six district courts that serve Lubbock County share the same address and the same main phone line. Each court has its own elected judge. The table lists every numbered bench, the sitting judge as published by the county, and the contact info pulled from the official courts directory.

The 72nd is the oldest active bench in Lubbock County. It dates to 1914. The 99th followed in 1927. Later courts were added as the county grew and the caseload grew with it.

The county publishes the full District Courts list with each judge.

That District Courts directory on the county site is the source for the bench table above, and it is the page to use when you need to confirm a current judge.

Case Types in the Lubbock County District Court

A district court hears the biggest case types Texas trial courts handle. The mix at Lubbock County mirrors what most large urban counties see. Felony criminal cases come first by weight. Family cases come next, and most are tied to divorce, custody, support, or protective orders. Civil cases round out the docket, often as suits over money or property that exceed the limits set for the lower benches.

Here are the main case types you can expect to find on a Lubbock County district court docket.

• Felony criminal cases indicted by a Lubbock County grand jury, including state jail, third-degree, second-degree, first-degree, and capital matters.
• Civil cases over the dollar limits set for the JP and county-court benches, plus most injunctive and declaratory matters.
• Family law filings including divorce, custody, child support, SAPCR, protective orders, adoption, and name changes.
• Juvenile proceedings under Texas Family Code Chapter 51, which are confidential by statute.
• Civil rights and other federal-style state claims when state law and venue rules send them to district court.
• Appeals from some lower-court rulings, depending on case type and statute.

Note: family cases at this level go to the District Clerk, not the County Clerk, because the family bench sits in district court.

Lubbock County District Court Case Numbers

The District Clerk sets the case number when a new case is filed. The format tells you the type of case at a glance. Cases filed after August 2021 use hyphens. Older cases use a packed format with no hyphens. The Clerk's office posts the rules in its eFiling FAQ, and the formats below come straight from that source.

Common Lubbock County district court number formats:

• Civil: DC-2023-CV-XXXX, with a four-digit sequence at the end.
• Family: DC-2023-FM-XXXX, with a four-digit sequence at the end.
• Felony criminal: DC-2023-CR-XXXX, with a four-digit sequence at the end.
• Criminal magistrate: PFF-2023-MAG-XXXX, a 14-character sequence assigned to the defendant.
• Pre-August 2021 cases: a packed format such as 2015123456 or 2015123456A with no hyphens.

If a number does not pull up, contact the District Clerk eFiling line at 806-775-1577 for civil and family, or 806-775-1578 for criminal. Both lines are staffed during court business hours.

District Court vs County Court at Law vs Justice Court

Texas splits trial work across three levels. The district court is the top trial bench. The county court at law sits below it. The justice court, also called the JP court, sits at the base. Each layer has its own job, its own dollar limit, and its own appeals route. The table compares the three at a high level for Lubbock County.

For details on the lower benches, see the Lubbock County Justice Court page and the related County Clerk page that supports county-court records.

How a Case Moves Through the System

A case starts at the level that fits its size and type. From there it can move up on appeal. The Texas trial-court rung sits below two state high courts. Civil appeals end at the Supreme Court of Texas. Criminal appeals end at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The flow below is the standard path for a Lubbock County case.

Case flow: Justice Court / County Court at Law › District Court › Court of Appeals › Supreme Court of Texas (civil) or Court of Criminal Appeals (criminal)

For most felony work, a case starts with a magistrate appearance after arrest. It moves to grand jury, then to indictment, then to the district court for arraignment, pretrial, plea or trial, and sentencing. A civil case starts with a petition filed with the District Clerk. The defendant files an answer, the parties trade discovery, and the court sets pretrial, mediation, and trial dates. A divorce or family case follows the same civil rhythm, but with extra steps for temporary orders, mediation, and final decree.

Note: trial de novo from a JP case goes to the county court at law, not straight to district court.

The District Clerk Supports the District Courts

The Lubbock County District Clerk is the official keeper of every district court file. The clerk also serves the three county courts at law for several listed functions. Sara L. Smith is the current District Clerk. The office indexes pleadings, secures court records, collects filing fees, manages money held in trust, and runs the county jury system. Since January 1, 2026, every new district court filing is kept in electronic form only, under Texas Local Government Code Section 205.002.

For records access and copy requests, the District Clerk is the office to call.

Self-represented filers may still file in person. The clerk file-stamps and scans the paper and then shreds it under the new retention rule. For party or case lookups, see the Lubbock County court records page or the court dockets page.

Appeals from the Lubbock County District Court

Most appeals from a Lubbock County district court go to the Texas Court of Appeals. Lubbock County sits in the Seventh Court of Appeals district, which is based in Amarillo and covers a large slice of West Texas and the Panhandle. Civil appeals can then go on to the Supreme Court of Texas. Criminal appeals can go on to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Death-penalty appeals follow a special route directly to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

The state judiciary explains the appellate tier on its public courts page.

That overview from txcourts.gov sets the trial-court rung that the Lubbock County District Court fills. The same site documents the appeals tier on a separate page.

The Texas Courts of Appeals overview outlines the fourteen appellate districts, the Seventh District in Amarillo among them.

That appellate page is the official reference point for any Lubbock County District Court appeal that goes up the ladder.

Specialty Dockets Within the District Courts

The county's Courts page lists a Specialty Courts division under the courts department. These dockets aim to fix the cause of repeat cases, not just punish them. A drug or treatment court works with people who have substance use issues. A veterans treatment track coordinates with local veterans services. A mental health docket works with treatment providers and probation. Programs sit inside the district courts and the county courts at law.

The county's official text does not list every program length, every presiding judge, or every graduation count. Call the District Clerk or check the county Courts page for the current setup. Local research notes confirm a research gap on the published program text, so verify any specialty program detail with the court before you rely on it for a plea or referral.

Federal Court Is Separate from the District Court

The Lubbock County District Court is a state court. Federal cases in Lubbock are not heard at 904 Broadway. They are heard at the George Mahon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 1205 Texas Avenue, between Broadway and 14th Street. The Lubbock Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas sits there. Federal civil and criminal matters, federal civil rights cases, and federal-question filings go through that bench, not through the county district courts.

The Northern District page for Lubbock lists the federal building, parking, and the courtroom device policy.

That page from txnd.uscourts.gov tells visitors how to reach the federal building and what to expect at security.

Bankruptcy is handled separately again. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas has a Lubbock office at 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 306.

The Bankruptcy Court site handles cases that the state district court cannot. For full case-level lookup of any federal matter, the standard tool is PACER.

The PACER portal serves federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate dockets. PACER charges per page, with fee exemptions set by the federal courts. The main federal district site also runs CM/ECF for filing.

That site at txnd.uscourts.gov is where federal filers and federal case readers start. A felony arrest tied to a federal charge ends up at one of those federal pages, not in the state file. For arrest-level state files, see the Lubbock County arrest records page.

Lubbock County Courthouse Contact

The six district courts all sit in one building. The same building holds the county courts at law, the justice courts, the District Clerk, the County Clerk, and the District Attorney. General court hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday, with a noon closure.

For sealed filings or expunction questions, the District Clerk runs separate lines. The Expunctions line is 806-775-1373. The Archives line is 806-775-1322. Walk-in filers should bring photo ID and follow the courthouse security rules.

Related Lubbock County Court Pages

The District Court ties to many other Lubbock County offices. For case-level lookup, see the Lubbock County court records page. For dated event logs and hearing settings, see the court dockets page. For the clerk that supports these benches, see the District Clerk page. For misdemeanor and probate filings, see the County Clerk page. For traffic, eviction, and small claims work, see the Justice Court page.