Sec. 24.139.  37TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT (BEXAR COUNTY).  (a)  The 37th Judicial District is composed of Bexar County.
(b)  This section applies to the 37th, 45th, 57th, 73rd, 131st, 144th, 150th, 166th, 175th, 186th, 187th, 224th, 225th, 226th, 227th, 285th, 288th, 289th, 290th, 379th, 386th, 399th, 407th, 408th, 436th, 437th, and 438th district courts in Bexar County.
(c)  The district courts in Bexar County have concurrent jurisdiction.
(d)  The 144th, 175th, 186th, 187th, 226th, 227th, 289th, 290th, 379th, 399th, and 437th district courts shall give preference to criminal cases.  The terms of those courts begin on the first Mondays in January and July.  Each term continues until the court has disposed of the business for that term.
(e)  The terms of the 37th, 45th, 57th, 73rd, 131st, 150th, 166th, 224th, 225th, 285th, 288th, 407th, 408th, and 438th district courts begin on the first Mondays in January and July.
(e-1)  The 386th and 436th district courts shall give preference to juvenile matters under Title 3, Family Code.  The terms of those courts begin on the first Mondays in July and January.  Each term continues until the court has disposed of the business for that term.
(f)  The district clerk shall docket successively on the dockets of the courts that do not give preference to criminal cases all civil cases and proceedings so that the civil cases and proceedings are docketed in rotation and equally distributed among the courts.
(g)  The district clerk may consolidate the minutes of the district courts.  If the clerk decides not to consolidate the minutes, the judge of each district court shall sign the minutes of each court term not later than the 30th day after the end of the term and shall also sign at the end of each volume of the minutes.  Each judge sitting in a court shall sign the minutes of the proceedings held before him.  If the clerk decides to consolidate the minutes, each judge may accept responsibility for the proceedings held before him by signing at the end of the minutes or at the end of the volume.
(h)  All bonds taken for the appearance of defendants, parties, or witnesses in any district court or in any inferior court in Bexar County are binding on all defendants, parties, or witnesses, and their sureties, in any of the courts in which the case is pending or to which the case may be transferred.  If a case is transferred, all process, bonds, recognizances, and obligations extant at the time of transfer shall be returned and filed in the court to which the case is transferred and are valid and binding as if originally issued out of that court.
(i)  The judge of each district court may take a vacation at any time during the year.  During a judge's vacation, the court term remains open, and the judge of any other district court may hold court during the judge's vacation.  The judges of the district courts shall, by agreement among themselves, take their vacations so that there are district court judges in the county at all times.
(j)  The Bexar County sheriff or the sheriff's deputy shall attend each court as required by law or by the judge.
(k)  The judges of the courts that give preference to criminal cases may impanel special and general grand juries as needed or by agreement between the judges.
(l)  By a majority vote, the judges of the courts that give preference to criminal cases may jointly appoint not more than four grand jury bailiffs.  The bailiffs serve at the will of the judges and may be removed by a majority vote of the judges.
Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.  Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 90, Sec. 6, eff. Aug. 30, 1993;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 497, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
Amended by: 
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 165 (H.B. 2936), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.