On March 9, 2004, the Honorable Oscar J. Hale, Jr., was elected by the citizens of Webb County to serve as only the second judge of the 406th Judicial District Court. Judge Hale took office on January 1, 2005.

The 406th District Court was created in 1999 by the Texas Legislature to serve the County of Webb. It was created as a special district court to give preference to cases involving domestic violence, cases under the Family Code and Health and Safety Code and the court began operations in January of 2001. Subsequently, the board of Judges agreed to have the 406th District Court handle all the family law matters that were filed in the district court along with all of the protective orders.

Upon taking office in January 2005, Judge Hale agreed to handle all of the newly filed felony drug cases in order to help equalize the dockets of the district courts. Also in March 2005 Judge Hale impaneled the first grand jury of the 406th Judicial District Court. Consequently, this court now handles about one third of all the felony criminal cases, including all the newly filed child abuse cases and felony domestic violence cases.

Additionally, the 406th District Court also handles 10% of the general civil cases filed in Webb County. As a result, the 406th District Court now has the second busiest docket among the four district courts in Webb County. Moreover, between January 1, 2005 and November 1, 2005, there were more than 900 new cases assigned to the docket of the 406th District Court. Throughout that same period, the court also presided in over 1,800 cases and disposed of more than 875 of those cases.

By working with our state legislators during the 79th Legislative Session, Judge Hale was successful in expanding the jurisdiction of the 406th District Court. The 406th District Court will now be able to assist the county court with all
misdemeanor cases and with any civil cases arising out of the Family Code or Health and Safety Code. Judge Hale was also successful in modifying the terms of court for the 406th Judicial District Court. Effective September 1, 2005, the new terms of court for the 406th District Court will begin on the first Mondays in January, April, July, and October. A new grand jury will be impaneled to serve during each term of court.

During his first year in office, Judge Oscar J. Hale also worked on improving the local rules for Webb County. In fact, the Board of Judges appointed Judge Hale to serve as the Chairperson for the Local Rules Committee in 2005. The Board of Judges are currently working on revising our local rules in order to better serve our community and to ensure that justice continues to prevail in Webb County. The new rules should be in effect for 2006.