District Clerk

The Travis County District Clerk is the office of record for all proceedings heard in district courts.  This includes most personal injury lawsuits, disputes involving over $100,000 in value, family law, tax collection cases, and appeals from nearly all state administrative agencies. 

Records of felony and some misdemeanor cases are kept by the District Clerk. Deputies of the clerk carry out the decision of the courts by issuing writs, abstracts of judgements, preparation of warrants, or commitment documents in criminal matters.

Amalia Rodriguez-Mendoza has served as the District Clerk for Travis County since 1991.

Historical Records Project

In 2008, Ms. Rodriguez-Mendoza launched an important project to identify district court case files of historical significance and to preserve them in their original form for future use and reference. For the purposes of this project, a case with historical significance was defined has having at least one of the following characteristics:

• The case involves a unique legal issue or controversy, prominent party, or other high profile or newsworthy aspect.
• The case has useful or significant informational content that reflects or exemplifies the cultural, political, economic, or social history of Austin and of Travis County.

With the assistance of an archivist, and in collaboration with several notable judges, lawyers, and the District Attorney, case files dating from as early as the 1890s through the present were identified.  Some of the several hundred case files identified include:

• State of Texas v. Chicago, Rock Island and Texas Railway Co., No. 13,230, 1898
• State of Texas v. John Dowell, No. 15,627, 1906
• State of Texas v. Gulf Oil Corporation, No. 65,870, 1943
• Heman Marion Sweatt v. Theophilus Shickel Painter, et al., No. 74,945, 1946
• Edgewood Independent School District, et al. v. William F. Kirby, No. 362,516, 1984
• Mary Melinda Ballard v. Fire Insurance Exchange, No. 99-005252, 1999
• City of Sunset Valley, Texas; Save Barton Creek Association, Inc.; and Save Our Springs Alliance, Inc. v. City of Austin, et al., No. GV-04-000101, 2004
• John Woorall, et al. v. Pedernales Electric Cooperative, et al., No. GN-07-002234, 2007

The next phase of the project will focus on preserving of these records.  The case files will be processed and arranged according to archival standards and will receive basic preservation treatments.  The records will be rehoused into archival, acid-free containers; staples and page fasteners will be removed; roll and folded pages will be flattened; and fragile and photographic items will be enclosed in protective sleeves.

In addition to case files, the District Clerk's office keeps minutes of all civil and criminal proceedings, bound volumes of which date back to as early as 1840.  As one of the most frequently referenced and handled types records held by the District Clerk, many of the volumes are deteriorating and in need of conservation treatments to rebind, deacidify and stabilize the pages.  The final phase of the historical records project will address the selection and hiring of a preservation service to complete the necessary treatments.

Return to Top