Quote:

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Effective October 15, 2026, the Southern District of Texas will begin implementing procedures for establishing the new College Station Place of Holding Court.

The College Station Place of Holding Court will serve Austin, Brazos, Fayette, Grimes, Madison, Walker, and Waller Counties. The Houston Place of Holding Court will serve Colorado, Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Wharton Counties.

Beginning today, attorneys filing new civil cases in CM/ECF will be able to select College Station when filing new civil cases. Judge Drew B. Tipton will preside over the College Station docket and will receive 75% of the civil cases filed in College Station and 100% of the criminal cases filed in College Station. Chief Judge Randy Crane will receive 25% of the civil cases filed in College Station.

In conjunction with these changes, the Court has issued General Order 2026-13 and Special Order H-2026-2, which establish the College Station docket and provide for the reassignment of pending civil cases where the venue is in the new College Station Place of Holding Court to Judge Tipton. The orders also reassign existing civil cases in the Houston Division to District Judge Angela V. Colmenero upon the signing of her Commission by the President.

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.txs.uscourts.gov%2Fsites%2Ftxs%2Ffiles%2Fgeneral-orders%2FGeneral_Order_2026-13_2026_Third_Amended_Division_of_Work_Order.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Cmmaddox%40brothers-law.com%7C968ebe31cbb046607d5d08df2afd1f7d%7C224fcb9e26644bc785eeede0cbd9571d%7C0%7C0%7C639276938895592391%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XoZ6Nh%2FTsptsmv7crTBoHFErKcMWdAzB4WR19jdRvWI%3D&reserved=0
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The Court has proposed amendments to its Local Rules addressing the designation of places of holding court and the assignment, reassignment, and transfer of civil and criminal cases. These proposed amendments can be viewed HERE:
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.txs.uscourts.gov%2Fsites%2Ftxs%2Ffiles%2FAddition_of_LR1_and_LR2_CrLR18_Redline.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Cmmaddox%40brothers-law.com%7C968ebe31cbb046607d5d08df2afd1f7d%7C224fcb9e26644bc785eeede0cbd9571d%7C0%7C0%7C639276938895644945%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=eSDrF1U%2BushXqxQXKJwy02nzIy7cqktAbnDOucKMt2Q%3D&reserved=0

Members of the Bar are encouraged to review the proposed rules and provide comments by Sunday, November 15, 2026.

Although the establishment of a federal courthouse in College Station will require additional planning and coordination, these case assignment and filing changes represent an important first step toward expanding access to federal court services in the region. In the interim, the Bob Casey Courthouse in Houston, Texas will remain the mailing address and physical location for hearings and filings that are made in person for the College Station Place of Holding Court.

Please visit the Court's website to view the proposed local rules, General Order 2026-13, Special Order 2026-2, and other information about the College Station Place of Holding Court.

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On the one hand, it's further confirmation that CS is not the small town of yesteryear and the volume of cases in the region continues to increase. On the other hand, I am looking forward to cases being handled in CS instead of Houston.

Cesspool Hustler said:

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Feds.

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If you know, you know, but it's frequently much better to be in federal than state court.

Interesting to see if they put a US attorneys office there.

So we know where?
ETA:

Looks like Rusk St for now!

Although the establishment of a federal courthouse in College Station will require additional planning and coordination, these case assignment and filing changes represent an important first step toward expanding access to federal court services in the region. In the interim, the Bob Casey Courthouse in Houston, Texas will remain the mailing address and physical location for hearings and filings that are made in person for the College Station Place of Holding Court.

Im Gipper said:

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So we know where?
ETA:

Looks like Rusk St for now!

Although the establishment of a federal courthouse in College Station will require additional planning and coordination, these case assignment and filing changes represent an important first step toward expanding access to federal court services in the region. In the interim, the Bob Casey Courthouse in Houston, Texas will remain the mailing address and physical location for hearings and filings that are made in person for the College Station Place of Holding Court.

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They haven't said. On Aggieland board I think somebody said they'd work out temp location until they built the courthouse

redeyeone said:

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Interesting to see if they put a US attorneys office there.

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Hope they do! Might be able to get my AUSA significant other and I the hell out of East Texas!

New opportunities to venue shop

anything filed in this Federal courthouse the filing attorney will know if it is criminal case Judge Tipton will get it & if a civil case 75% chance Tipton gets it if not Crane

The ability to venue shop imo does not help the judicial system in the same way gerrymandering does not help the the political system

will it help our student athletes that are charged with possession of an illegal substance be processed faster?

New favorable patent venue? Waco didn't work out.

More federal judges on the way to make this happen? Appointed?

B-1 83 said:

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More federal judges on the way to make this happen? Appointed?

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more like Disappointed.

Sq 17 said:

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New opportunities to venue shop

anything filed in this Federal courthouse the filing attorney will know if it is criminal case Judge Tipton will get it & if a civil case 75% chance Tipton gets it if not Crane

The ability to venue shop imo does not help the judicial system in the same way gerrymandering does not help the the political system

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Merely knowing which judge you will get is not venue shopping. If you were to file in state court instead, most of the counties served by this federal court have only one or two district court judges. Same scenario.

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Cesspool Hustler said:

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Feds.

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If you know, you know, but it's frequently much better to be in federal than state court.

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Depends on several things. You usually don't want to be a plaintiff in Federal court. Attorneys who primarily litigate in state court will find federal court not to their liking. While some federal court judges are better judges than their state counterparts, others are, well, not. They can make your life miserable.

However, if you routinely practice in federal court -- especially on the defense side -- then yeah, it CAN be better.

As an aside, DISTRICT court judges should NOT have lifetime appointments.

Does this mean I could get called for federal jury duty?

Having a high likelihood of getting a sympathetic judge leads to venue shopping. In Houston there are several Federal Judges that could get assigned to a case in CS there is just one

I do not mean to disparage this judge ability or fairness but knowing who would here a case can affect an attorney decision on where the case is filed
Seems like adding a "bench" in Houston would be easier than establishing a Federal Court in CS

MsDoubleD81 said:

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Does this mean I could get called for federal jury duty?

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You already can get a federal jury summons. It does mean jury service will become more convenient once a court is physically located in CS.

Sq 17 said:

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Having a high likelihood of getting a sympathetic judge leads to venue shopping. In Houston there are several Federal Judges that could get assigned to a case in CS there is just one

I do not mean to disparage this judge ability or fairness but knowing who would here a case can affect an attorney decision on where the case is filed
Seems like adding a "bench" in Houston would be easier than establishing a Federal Court in CS

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So, should we just put all court cases for every appeals district into one hopper and draw with ping-pong balls?

P.H. Dexippus said:

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Quote:

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Effective October 15, 2026, the Southern District of Texas will begin implementing procedures for establishing the new College Station Place of Holding Court.

The College Station Place of Holding Court will serve Austin, Brazos, Fayette, Grimes, Madison, Walker, and Waller Counties. The Houston Place of Holding Court will serve Colorado, Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Wharton Counties.

Beginning today, attorneys filing new civil cases in CM/ECF will be able to select College Station when filing new civil cases. Judge Drew B. Tipton will preside over the College Station docket and will receive 75% of the civil cases filed in College Station and 100% of the criminal cases filed in College Station. Chief Judge Randy Crane will receive 25% of the civil cases filed in College Station.

In conjunction with these changes, the Court has issued General Order 2026-13 and Special Order H-2026-2, which establish the College Station docket and provide for the reassignment of pending civil cases where the venue is in the new College Station Place of Holding Court to Judge Tipton. The orders also reassign existing civil cases in the Houston Division to District Judge Angela V. Colmenero upon the signing of her Commission by the President.

https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.txs.uscourts.gov%2Fsites%2Ftxs%2Ffiles%2Fgeneral-orders%2FGeneral_Order_2026-13_2026_Third_Amended_Division_of_Work_Order.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Cmmaddox%40brothers-law.com%7C968ebe31cbb046607d5d08df2afd1f7d%7C224fcb9e26644bc785eeede0cbd9571d%7C0%7C0%7C639276938895592391%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XoZ6Nh%2FTsptsmv7crTBoHFErKcMWdAzB4WR19jdRvWI%3D&reserved=0
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.txs.uscourts.gov%2Fsites%2Ftxs%2Ffiles%2FSpecial_Order_H-2026-02_College_Station_and_Judge_Colmenero_Houston_Dockets.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Cmmaddox%40brothers-law.com%7C968ebe31cbb046607d5d08df2afd1f7d%7C224fcb9e26644bc785eeede0cbd9571d%7C0%7C0%7C639276938895622940%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=am3ITFLt9k1lSgZQGmeJXwT80yion84Or0fwNDuKB2M%3D&reserved=0

The Court has proposed amendments to its Local Rules addressing the designation of places of holding court and the assignment, reassignment, and transfer of civil and criminal cases. These proposed amendments can be viewed HERE:
https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.txs.uscourts.gov%2Fsites%2Ftxs%2Ffiles%2FAddition_of_LR1_and_LR2_CrLR18_Redline.pdf&data=05%7C02%7Cmmaddox%40brothers-law.com%7C968ebe31cbb046607d5d08df2afd1f7d%7C224fcb9e26644bc785eeede0cbd9571d%7C0%7C0%7C639276938895644945%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=eSDrF1U%2BushXqxQXKJwy02nzIy7cqktAbnDOucKMt2Q%3D&reserved=0

Members of the Bar are encouraged to review the proposed rules and provide comments by Sunday, November 15, 2026.

Although the establishment of a federal courthouse in College Station will require additional planning and coordination, these case assignment and filing changes represent an important first step toward expanding access to federal court services in the region. In the interim, the Bob Casey Courthouse in Houston, Texas will remain the mailing address and physical location for hearings and filings that are made in person for the College Station Place of Holding Court.

Please visit the Court's website to view the proposed local rules, General Order 2026-13, Special Order 2026-2, and other information about the College Station Place of Holding Court.

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On the one hand, it's further confirmation that CS is not the small town of yesteryear and the volume of cases in the region continues to increase. On the other hand, I am looking forward to cases being handled in CS instead of Houston.

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I don't think this makes CS not a cow town.

If you like it that's fine but as towns go it's pretty awful.

What makes it awful?

Plenty to do unless you are in the "right out of college and not married" age. Low crime. Major airport isn't too far away. Relaxed pace of life.

What makes a town "not awful" in your book?

Im Gipper said:

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What makes it awful?

Plenty to do unless you are in the "right out of college and not married" age. Low crime. Major airport isn't too far away. Relaxed pace of life.

What makes a town "not awful" in your book?

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Things to do.

Really nice restaurants and bars.

Museums

Proximity to other geography. Coast, interesting landscape and trails or nice water.

Performing arts. (Don't even bring up MSC joke.)

Generally nice architecture and geography.

College station is generally an EXTREMELY ugly town. It's depressing just to be here.

College presence is overwhelming for size of town.

You live in a college town, the whole thing is a college town.

It's genuinely just what it is. A flat college town in the middle of no where with no distinguishing traits other than a big college.

"Urban" sprawl in CS makes the town less interesting and less appealing

So is this the courthouse we now run to when we are trying to sign the 25-year-old with seven years of eligibility because he was "hurt" his first four years?