§ 30.008.Demand for Jury Trial in Justice Court; Failure to Appear
Title 2. Trial, Judgment, and Appeal · Subtitle B. Trial Matters · Chapter 30. Miscellaneous Provisions · Last amended 1997 · Last verified August 29, 2026
Full Text of § 30.008
Plain-English Summary
A cost-allocation provision addressing a specific waste.
A justice court may order a party who demands a jury trial and who fails to appear for the trial to pay the costs incurred for impaneling the jury.
The waste is real and falls on other people. Summoning a justice court jury brings citizens away from work for a case that then does not happen, and the county bears the cost.
Subsection (b) preserves flexibility: the court may release a party from the obligation for good cause. A party prevented from attending by illness or emergency is not caught by a rule aimed at those who do not turn up.
Subsection (c) supplies enforcement: the order may be enforced by contempt as prescribed by Section 21.002(c) of the Government Code — which matters, since a justice court's ordinary collection tools are limited.
The section is permissive throughout. The court may order payment, may release for good cause, and the order may be enforced by contempt. Nothing is automatic.
It fits the justice court context, where parties are often unrepresented and a demanded jury trial is more likely to be abandoned without notice than in a district court.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I demand a jury in justice court and do not show up?
The court may order you to pay the costs incurred for impaneling the jury.
Can I be excused?
Yes. The court may release a party from the obligation for good cause.
How is the order enforced?
By contempt, as prescribed by Section 21.002(c) of the Government Code.
Amendment History
- Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 122, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
- Renumbered from Civil Practice and Remedies Code Sec. 30.007 by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 31.01(4), eff. Sept. 1, 1997.