§ 151.001.Referral by Agreement

This chapter allows a private trial with a public judgment, and it starts with consent.

Agreement of the parties is the trigger. A court cannot send a case to a special judge over anyone’s objection.

The referring court must be one of four kinds: a district court, a statutory probate court, a statutory county court, or the business court.

The case must be a civil or family law matter already pending in that court.

The referral is discretionary for the judge. The section says the judge may order the referral, so agreement of the parties opens the door without compelling the court through it.

The referring court then stays its own proceedings pending the outcome of the trial. That word is mandatory, and it keeps two tracks from running at once.

Any or all issues may go. Issues of fact or law, one or all of them, may be referred.

Partial referral is the flexible part. Parties can send a single dispositive question to a judge with the right background and keep the rest of the case where it is.

The referral is to a person, not to a program. Section 151.002 requires the motion to name the special judge and confirm that the judge has agreed to hear the case.