§ 151.006.Powers of Special Judge

The powers section, and the one limit in it is telling.

The trial is conducted as a court trying an issue without a jury. The special judge finds the facts as well as applying the law.

The special judge has the powers of the referring judge while serving, which is what allows rulings on evidence, motions and everything else a trial requires.

Contempt is the exception. A special judge may not hold a person in contempt unless the person is a witness before the special judge.

The carve-out for witnesses is practical. A trial cannot function if a witness can refuse to answer without consequence.

The limit elsewhere reflects who the special judge is. Contempt is the power to jail or fine, and the chapter reserves it, as to parties and lawyers, for the elected judge whose court the case sits in.

Parties who need coercive relief go back to the referring court, which retains the case under a stay.

The powers include the ones that shape a trial. Ruling on objections, admitting evidence, and deciding motions are all within the referring judge’s authority and so within the special judge’s.

The contempt limit is narrow, not symbolic. Coercive authority over parties and lawyers stays with the elected judge who retains the case.