Justice of the Peace Courts
Judge Ralph Swearingin Jr.
Judge Ralph Swearingin has a life dedicated to service to the community and serving the law. He has been Judge of the Tarrant County Precinct 1 Justice Court since January 2007.
Judge Swearingin brings years of law enforcement experience, legal knowledge and judicial experience to the Justice Court.
Prior to entering the judiciary, Judge Swearingin held a career in policing with more than 30 years of diverse law enforcement experience, including 19 years at the command level.
He is a recipient of the Fort Worth Police Department’s Medal of Valor, is a 1988 graduate of the 155th session of the FBI National Academy, holds a Master Police Officer Certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education and retired from the Fort Worth Police Department in December 2006.
Important Notice: Effective September 1, 2017
Effective September 1, 2017, a $5 fee will be added to any civil action or proceeding requiring a filing fee; per Senate Bill 42 (Section 51.971), the Judicial and Court Personnel Training Fee.
The Court’s eFile provider is currently working to create a category to accept the $5 fee by the September 1st date. Until such category is created, any case filed without the $5 fee added will be rejected. Please contact the court for further information.
For your convenience we now offer two ways to eFile:
1. Use eFileTexas Self-help to file new cases for small claim and eviction cases. Simply answer a series of questions to help prepare and file your court forms online.
2. Use eFileTexas to file new cases and add additional documents to existing small claim, eviction or debt claim cases. This service does not provide a step-by-step guide as eFileTexas self-help. Documents have to be scanned into the program before filing.
Additional information on how to file your case online.
How to calculate your E-Filing cost and avoid your case being rejected.
New filings include the following costs: filing fees ($46), constable service fee per defendant $75 if serve in Tarrant County (please select correct precinct), and copy fees ($1 for first page, 25 cents per additional page). For example: new filing against 1 defendant with 9 pages documents, total costs will be $124 ($46 filing fees, $75 constable 1 service fee, $1 copy for first page, $2 for remainder 8 additional pages).
See Fees. Court reserves the right to correct payment if under or over paid.
Any questions, contact us at JP1court@tarrantcounty.com or 817-884-1395.
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Office Info
1895 Courthouse
100 W. Weatherford St, Room 450
Fort Worth, TX 76196
Phone: 817-884-1395
Fax: 817-850-2342
Monday - Friday: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
E-mail Us
New case filings accepted until 4 p.m. with the exception of appeals.
Important Updates
Justice Court 1 follows the same Severe Weather Policy as the Fort Worth Independent School District (FWISD). If FWISD delays its opening or is closed, Justice Court 1 will do so as well. However, call our office to confirm closure or delay.
Truancy
Effective September 1, 2015, the offense of Failure to Attend School is repealed along with the designation of truancy as Conduct Indicating a Need for Supervision. Following these changes, Chapter 65 of the Family Code is created, which identifies the procedures and rules for handling truant conduct as a civil procedure in a truancy court.
All offenses for Failure to Attend School prior to September 1, 2015, are to be expunged under section 45.0541 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court in which the individual was convicted or a complaint for a truancy offense was filed shall order the conviction, complaints, verdicts, sentences and other documents relating to the offense -- including any documents in the possession of a school district or law enforcement agency -- to be expunged from the individual's record.
Effective September 1, 2015, truancy court procedures and proceedings in cases involving allegations of truant conduct are provided in Chapter 65 of the Family Code. Other areas of law associated with truant conduct have seen amended or repealed: Code of Criminal Procedure, Family Code, Education Code, Government Code, Penal Code, and Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
Forms
Forms marked with an asterisk (*) must be in triplicate (three identical copies), otherwise the court will make copies for you for which you will be charged.
Accessibility Notice: Due to the complexity of the preceding documents, these documents are scanned images. If you require assistance in accessing the information, please contact Justice Court One at 817-884-1395.
Tarrant County provides the information contained in this web site as a public service. Every effort is made to ensure that information provided is correct. However, in any case where legal reliance on information contained in these pages is required, the official records of Tarrant County should be consulted. Tarrant County is not responsible for the content of, nor endorses any site which has a link from the Tarrant County web site.
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