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• Does filing a mandamus petition automatically stay the trial court order at issue?

• Does filing an appeal stop enforcement of the judgment?

• If an appeal is transferred from one court of appeals district to another and there is a conflict in the case law of the two courts, does the transferee court apply its own law or the law of the transferring court?

• When should a litigant file a petition for review versus an application for writ of error?

• When can a court of appeals consider findings of fact? In what situations should a litigant request findings of fact?

• What is the deadline to file a petition for writ of mandamus?

• What is a transcript? What is a statement of facts?

• If the trial court clerk or court reporter misses the deadline (or is about to miss the deadline) to file the record, what do the appellants need to do?

• What happens if the trial court judge does not file findings of fact by the deadline?

• May a litigant cite to an unpublished opinion in an appellate brief?

• If a litigant misses the deadline to file an appellate brief, may the litigant file a motion for extension after the fact?

• Can a judgment be superseded by pledging real estate or personal property?

• Is an appellate court judgement enforceable as soon as it is issued?

• If parties do not supersede the judgment against them, do they lose their right to appeal?

• If a litigant misses the deadline to file a petition for review, may the litigant file a motion for extension after the fact?

• If a litigant misses the deadline to file a notice of appeal, can the case still be appealed?

• Does the date that a trial court judge denies a motion for new trial impact appellate deadlines?

• How should a litigant calculate the amount of bond or cash deposit required to supersede a judgment?

• How can a litigant get an appeal accelerated or otherwise expedited?

• What must a litigant do to qualify for oral argument in the court of appeals?

• What is a notice of restricted appeal?

• May a litigant ever choose which court of appeals will hear the litigant’s appeal?

• Is filing a mandamus petition necessary to preserve error for appeal?

• If a litigant wishes to seek mandamus relief against a trial court judge, must the litigant seek such relief from the court of appeals before seeking the relief from the Texas Supreme Court?

• When may a litigant file an interlocutory appeal?

• When is the deadline to file a notice of appeal in Texas?

• Where is a Texas notice of appeal supposed to be filed?

• What does it mean to “perfect” an appeal in Texas?

• When is the deadline to file an appellee’s brief in Texas?

• When is the deadline for an appellant to file a reply brief in Texas?

• What is a “reply brief”?

• When is the deadline to file a court of appeals brief in Texas? When is the deadline to file an appellate brief in Texas?”

• Is it possible to get an extension of the deadline to file an appellate brief (such as an appellant’s brief, appellee’s brief, or reply brief) in a Texas court of appeals?

• What must be included in a motion to extend the deadline to file a Texas appellate brief (such as an appellant’s brief, appellee’s brief, or reply brief)?

• When is the deadline to file an appellate record in Texas?

• When is the deadline to file a reporter’s record in Texas?

• When is the deadline to file a clerk’s record in Texas?

• When is the deadline to file a petition for review in a Texas appeal?

• When is the deadline to file a motion for rehearing in a Texas appeal?

• When is the deadline to file a motion for reconsideration in a Texas appeal?

• When is the deadline to file a motion for en banc consideration of a Texas court of appeals decision?

• When are court of appeals justices are assigned to a case in Texas?

• What is the word limit for an appellee’s brief in a Texas appeal?

• What is the word limit for an appellant’s brief in a Texas appeal?

• What is the word limit for a Texas Supreme Court brief?

• What is the word limit for a response to a petition for review in the Texas Supreme Court?

• What is the word limit for a reply brief in a Texas appeal?

• What is the word limit for a petition for review to the Texas Supreme Court?

• What is the word limit for a court of appeals brief in Texas? What is the word limit for an appellate brief in Texas?

• What is the page limit for an appellee’s brief in a Texas appeal?

• What is the page limit for an appellant’s brief in a Texas appeal?

• What is the page limit for a court of appeals brief in Texas? What is the page limit for an appellate brief in Texas?

• What is a court of appeals “panel”?

• What does “en banc” mean?

• Is it possible to seek review from the Texas Supreme Court without first filing a motion for rehearing or reconsideration in the court of appeals?

• In a Texas appeal, what is a “petition for review”?

• In a Texas appeal, what is a “brief on the merits”?

• What size font is required for an appellate brief in Texas?

• What is the word limit for a respondent’s brief in the Texas Supreme Court?

• What is the word limit for a petitioner’s brief in the Texas Supreme Court?

• What is an “original proceeding”?

• What is a “relator”?

• What is a “real party in interest”?

• What is a “petition for writ of mandamus”?

• What is a “certificate of service” in a Texas appeal?

• What is a “certificate of conference” in a Texas appeal?

• What is a “certificate of compliance” in a Texas appellate filing?

• What font is required for an appellee’s brief in Texas?

• What font is required for an appellant’s brief in Texas?

• What font is required for a Texas Supreme Court brief?

• What font is required for a petition for review to the Texas Supreme Court?

• What font is required for a court of appeals brief in Texas?

• What are the requirements of a motion for extension of the deadline to file a Texas Supreme Court petition for review?

• What are the requirements of a motion for extension of the deadline to file a Texas court of appeals brief?

• What are the requirements of a motion for extension of the deadline to file a response to a Texas Supreme Court petition for review or to file a Texas Supreme Court brief?

• In Texas, what is an “accelerated appeal”?

• Does a Texas appellate motion need to be verified?

• When is an appeal accelerated in Texas?

• When is an appeal “expedited” in Texas?

• When is a mandate issued after an appeal in Texas?

• What is the deadline to request findings of fact and conclusions of law in Texas?

• What is the deadline to request a reporter’s record in Texas?

• What is the deadline to request a clerk’s record in Texas?

• What is the deadline to file a notice of past-due findings of fact and conclusions of law in Texas?

• What is the deadline to file a motion for new trial in Texas?

• What is the deadline for a judge to provide findings of fact in Texas?

• What is an “expedited appeal”?

• What does it mean for a Texas appeal to be “submitted on briefs”?

• In Texas, what is an “interlocutory order”?

• In Texas, what is an “interlocutory appeal”?

• In Texas, what is a “final judgment”?

• In a Texas appeal, what is an “appellate record”?

• In a Texas appeal, what is a “reporter’s record”?

• In a Texas appeal, what is a “mandate”?

• In a Texas appeal, what is a “clerk’s record”?

• How long does it take for a Texas court of appeals to make a decision? How long does it take for a Texas court of appeals to issue an opinion? How long does it take for a Texas court of appeals to make a ruling?

• How is oral argument requested in a Texas appeal?

• What is the deadline to request an appellate record in Texas?

• What is the deadline to grant a motion for new trial in Texas?

• What is an “informal charge conference”?

• What is an “appellee’s brief”?

• What is an “appellant’s brief”?

• What is an “abuse of discretion”?

• What is a “sur-reply brief”?

• What is a “standard of review” in a Texas appeal?

• What is a “reply brief”?

• What is a “jury charge”?

• What is a “judgment notwithstanding the verdict”?

• What is a “judgment non obstante veredicto”?

• What is a “JNOV”?

• What is a “formal charge conference”?

• What is “stare decisis”?

• What is “de novo” review in a Texas appeal?

• In Texas, what is “plenary power”?

• How many justices are on the Supreme Court of Texas?

• How many justices are on a court of appeals in Texas?

• How do you pronounce “voir dire” in Texas?

• Why are cases transferred to a different Texas court of appeals?

• What is the deadline for a judge to sign a judgment in Texas?

• What is an “unreported case”? What is an “unreported opinion”? What is an “unreported decision”?

• What is an “unpublished case”? What is an “unpublished opinion”? What is an “unpublished decision”?

• What is a “Texas court of civil appeals”?

• What is a “special appearance”?

• What is a “South Western Reporter”?

• What is a “reported opinion”? What is a “reported case”? What is a “reported decision”?

• What is a “pinpoint cite”? What is a “jump cite”?

• What is a “parallel cite”?

• What is a “headnote”?

• What is “oral argument”?

• What does “S.W.3d” mean?

• What court of appeals will consider my case? Which court of appeals will decide my case? To which court of appeals will my case be assigned?

• What are “Texas Reports”?

• What are “special exceptions”?

• In Texas, what is a “published opinion”? What is a “published case”? What is a “published decision”?

• In Texas, what is a “memorandum opinion”?

• In Texas, what is a “docket equalization” order?

• In a Texas appeal, what does “not designated for publication” mean?

• What percentage of cases is reversed in the Texas Supreme Court?

• What percentage of cases is reversed in the court of appeals in Texas?

• What is the fee to file an appeal to a Texas court of appeals?

• What is the fee to file a motion in a Texas court of appeals?

• What is a “submission date” in a Texas appeal?

• What is a “string cite”? What is a “string citation”?

• What is a “record reference”?

• What is a “per curiam opinion”?

• What is a “civil case”?

• What is a “civil appeal”?

• What is a “case cite”? What is a “case citation”?

• What is “writ history”?

• What is “submission without oral argument” in a Texas appeal?

• What is “submission with oral argument” in a Texas appeal?

• What is “secondary authority”?

• What is “petition history”? What does “pet. history” mean?

• What is “legal authority”?

• What does “pet. denied” mean?

• What does “no pet.” mean?

• How long is an oral argument in a Texas appeal?

• Which Texas court of appeals districts have overlapping jurisdiction?

• Where is the Texas’s “Thirteenth District Court of Appeals” located?

• What is the fee to file a petition for review in the Texas Supreme Court?

• What is the fee to file a mandamus petition in the Texas Supreme Court?

• What is the fee to file a mandamus petition in a Texas court of appeals?

• What is the “Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals”?

• What is Texas’s “Second District Court of Appeals”?

• What is Texas’s “Fifth District Court of Appeals”?

• What is an “amicus curiae brief”?

• What is a “Supreme Judicial District”?

• What is a “post-submission brief” in a Texas appeal?

• What is a “petition for writ of mandamus”?

• What is a “majority opinion”? What is a “plurality opinion”? What is a “dissenting opinion”?

• What is a “letter brief” in a Texas appeal?

• What is “The Greenbook”?

• What is “The Bluebook”?

• What happened to the Galveston Court of Appeals?

• In Texas, what is the difference between (1) “reversed and remanded” and (2) “reversed and rendered”?

• In Texas, what is an “intermediate court of appeals”?

• In Texas, what does it mean when an appellate court “affirms”?

• Who prepares the record in a mandamus in Texas? Who prepares the record in an original proceeding in Texas?

• What is the difference between “petition filed” and “petition pending”?

• What is the deadline to file a mandamus in Texas?

• What is the “Texas Commission of Appeals of the Texas Supreme Court”? What does “opinion adopted” mean?

• What is required to be included in the appendix of a Texas court of appeals brief?

• What is an “index of authorities”?

• What is a “statement of the case”?

• What is “subsequent history”?

• What is “petition pending”?

• What is “petition dismissed”?

• What is “petition denied”? What is “petition granted”?

• What does “writ ref’d n.r.e.” mean?

• What does “reversed on other grounds” mean?

• What does “petition filed” mean?

• What does “pet. ref’d” mean?

• What does “pet. dism’d w.o.j.” mean?

• What does “mandamus denied” mean?

• Is a clerk’s record required in a Texas accelerated appeal?

• When is the fiscal year for Texas appellate courts?

• What is the significance of a cause number or case number in a Texas appeal?

• What is an “associate justice” on a Texas appellate court?

• What is an “agreed statement of the case” in a Texas appeal?

• What is an “agreed record” in a Texas appeal?

• What is a “writ of error”?

• What is a “restricted appeal”? What is a “writ of error appeal”?

• What is a “permissive appeal”?

• What is a “partial reporter’s record”?

• What is a “bill of review”?

• What is a “bill of costs” and who prepares it in Texas?

• What is “oral argument conditionally requested”?

• What does “sitting by assignment” mean in a Texas appeal?

• What are “points of error” in a Texas appeal?

• What are “multifarious points”?

• What are “issues presented” in a Texas appeal?

• What are “costs on appeal”?

• In the context of a Texas appeal, what does the abbreviation “J.” mean?

• In the context of a Texas appeal, what does the abbreviation “C.J.” mean?

• In a Texas appellate court, what is a “briefing attorney”? In a Texas appellate court, what is a “law clerk”?

• What is the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals?

• What is the First Administrative Judicial Region of Texas?

• What is the Eighth Administrative Judicial Region of Texas?

• What is an “appeal”?

• What is a “waiver letter”?

• What is a “supersedeas bond”?

• What is a “deposit in lieu of bond”?

• What is a “cross point”?

• What is a “cross appeal”? In Texas, what is the deadline to file a “notice of cross-appeal”?

• What happens if the deadline to file a document would fall on a weekend or a holiday?

• What are the “old rules” of appellate procedure?

• On the deadline to file a Texas appellate document, what time is the document due?

• How is “supersedeas” pronounced?

• When is the deadline to file an appellant’s brief in Texas?

• In a Texas appeal, does the clerk’s record include the entire trial court file?

• In a Texas appeal, when is the deadline to file an appellate docketing statement?

• In a Texas appeal, what is a “docketing statement”?

DISCLAIMER: This website contains answers to frequently asked questions about Texas appellate procedure. Although these answers are applicable to many appeals from Texas state courts, these answers only address the general rules and do not address any exceptions to the general rules. Consequently, these answers may not be applicable to your particular case. You should not rely upon any answer to a Texas appellate law FAQ. In fact, you should not rely upon any information on this website. Rather, you should have a Texas appellate lawyer review the background of your particular appeal and provide you with answers specific to your case. Dallas appellate attorney Chad Ruback has provided this general information about Texas appeals for educational purposes only, and nothing herein shall constitute legal advice. Moreover, nothing herein shall establish an attorney-client relationship with Mr. Ruback or his appellate law firm. Mr. Ruback will not be your attorney unless and until he signs a representation agreement expressly agreeing to be your attorney.