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What to Expect when Evictions Resume, by Howard Bookstaff

Posted by Education Department on Friday, May 15, 2020

Court Will Be in Session Soon:

Multiple Area JPs Share What to Expect When Evictions Resume

Webinar Recap (May 15, 2020)

 

By: Howard M. Bookstaff, General Counsel

 

            Yesterday, we had a number of people tune in to the webinar entitled "Court Will Be in Session Soon: Multiple Area JPs Share What to Expect When Evictions Resume". I want to thank Harris County JPs Holly Williamson, David Patronella and Russ Ridgway, Brazoria County JP Sharon Fox, Fort Bend County JP Kelly Crow and Montgomery County JP Matt Beasley for their appearance. 

  The following is a recap of the points to take away from the webinar:

 

  • Most courts will resume eviction trials the first week of June.

 

  • Many of the courts will have their constables re-serve residents with evictions to establish a trial date.

 

  • Be sure to confirm your trial date and time. Your court may be scheduling eviction trials at different times throughout the day.

 

  • Many of the courts will have in-person trials, but will consider having participants attend remotely, when necessary.

 

  • Courts will encourage practicing social distancing, good hygiene, environmental cleanliness and sanitation by following certain rules such as limiting the amount of people in the courtroom, allowing people to appear remotely if necessary and following certain recommended guidelines with respect to cleaning the courtroom.

 

Before you come to court, check the court's website to determine whether there are any special rules that will apply when you appear in court. If you cannot get the information from the website, call the court clerk.  

If you are unsure of when a pending eviction action will be tried, contact the court clerk with respect to your case. 

I understand that there were some technology issues we had on the webinar. We apologize if you could not hear all the comments. We are working to correct these issues in future webinars.