Federal Judiciary

Plano Courthouse Dedication

By Michael Smith

Yesterday was the dedication ceremony for the newest federal courthouse in the Eastern District of Texas, in Plano, which is a suburb immediately north of Dallas.  The new courthouse is a second place of holding court for the Sherman Division, and civil cases will be split 50/50 between the two courthouses via a random draw.  The two courthouses currently have the same judges and jury panels, so the distinction (at least for civil cases) at present is simply where trials will occur.  Judge Richard Schell and Magistrate Judge Don Bush have already moved in, although some work still continues. 
The Plano courthouse is 24 miles from D/FW airport via express highways, placing it a whopping one mile farther from D/FW than the federal courthouse in downtown Dallas.  If I went through everything it's close to I'd be writing the rest of the day - the Stonebriar Mall that my family does its Christmas shopping at is a couple of stop lights away, and our firm's Plano office is across the street and down one light at Preston Road & Legacy.  The courthouse is essentially at Preston Road and Hedgecoxe, but you have to hire local counsel to find out how the latter is pronounced.

Full post as published by Eastern District of Texas Federal Court Practice on August 14, 2008 (boomark / email).