TEXARKANA, Texas - The Texas Supreme Court issued an emergency order Monday extending the suspension of evictions to May 7.
A prior order suspended evictions until April 19. No trials or hearings related to an eviction may be conducted prior to April 30 and a writ of possession or execution of a writ of possession cannot occur until May 7.
An exception is if it can be shown that "the actions of the tenant, or the tenant's household members or guests, pose an imminent threat of physical harm to the plaintiff, the plaintiff's employees, or other tenants, or criminal activity; and the court signs an order stating procedures for the case to proceed."
Non-essential court hearings are suspended, though they may be conducted by video conferencing when possible. Most Texas and county judges in Bowie and surrounding counties are holding court using Zoom video-conferencing software broadcast on a YouTube channel. The proceedings are closed to most visitors but available for public viewing.
Orders have also been issued recently suspending certain deadlines in civil cases. Hearings in criminal cases involving defendants free on bond have been routinely rescheduled for future dates.
Anyone with a question about a pending civil or criminal case should contact their attorney or the court to which their case is assigned.
More orders are expected to come.