The Northern District of Texas
The Northern District of Texas covers Dallas–Fort Worth and much of North Texas, the Panhandle, and the South Plains. Its seven divisions sit in Dallas, Fort Worth, Abilene, San Angelo, Amarillo, Wichita Falls, and Lubbock.
Divisions and courthouse cities
Federal law divides the Northern District into divisions by county. The table below follows the text of 28 U.S.C. §124.
| Division | Court held at | Counties |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas | Dallas | Dallas, Ellis, Hunt, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, and Rockwall |
| Fort Worth | Fort Worth | Comanche, Erath, Hood, Jack, Palo Pinto, Parker, Tarrant, and Wise |
| Abilene | Abilene | Callahan, Eastland, Fisher, Haskell, Howard, Jones, Mitchell, Nolan, Shackelford, Stephens, Stonewall, Taylor, and Throckmorton |
| San Angelo | San Angelo | Brown, Coke, Coleman, Concho, Crockett, Glasscock, Irion, Menard, Mills, Reagan, Runnels, Schleicher, Sterling, Sutton, and Tom Green |
| Amarillo | Amarillo | Armstrong, Briscoe, Carson, Castro, Childress, Collingsworth, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Donley, Gray, Hall, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Potter, Randall, Roberts, Sherman, Swisher, and Wheeler |
| Wichita Falls | Wichita Falls | Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cottle, Foard, Hardeman, King, Knox, Montague, Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young |
| Lubbock | Lubbock | Bailey, Borden, Cochran, Crosby, Dawson, Dickens, Floyd, Gaines, Garza, Hale, Hockley, Kent, Lamb, Lubbock, Lynn, Motley, Scurry, Terry, and Yoakum |
County names shown in current spelling; see 28 U.S.C. §124 for the statutory text.
Court locations, local rules, and judges' procedures are posted on the court's official website. Check there for current addresses and filing requirements.
Cities in the district
Cities in the district include Dallas (Dallas County), Fort Worth (Tarrant County), Lubbock (Lubbock County), Amarillo (Potter and Randall counties), Abilene (Taylor County), Wichita Falls (Wichita County), and San Angelo (Tom Green County). Collin and Denton counties are in the Eastern District, so the parts of Dallas and Fort Worth that extend into those counties fall within the Eastern District.
Civil rights cases in this district
Federal courts have jurisdiction over civil actions "arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States" (28 U.S.C. §1331). That includes claims under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for excessive force, false arrest, and First Amendment retaliation. A §1983 case is usually filed in the district, and often the division, where the events happened or where the defendants are located. The two-year Texas filing deadline applies statewide; see §1983 deadlines.
Appeals to the Fifth Circuit
Appeals from final decisions of the Northern District go to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (28 U.S.C. §1291), which hears appeals from Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi (28 U.S.C. §41). Some orders, including many denials of qualified immunity, can be appealed before trial. See our appeals and qualified immunity pages.
Brandon J. Grable is admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Grable PLLC is based in San Antonio and serves clients across Texas. See all four districts on our Texas federal courts page.
This page is general information about Texas and federal law, not legal advice for your situation. Laws and court decisions change, and every case turns on its own facts.
Talk With Grable PLLC
If you believe a Texas officer or government agency violated your civil rights, contact Grable PLLC to discuss your situation. Filing deadlines apply, so it helps to reach out sooner rather than later.