The Second Court of Appeals sits in Fort Worth and covers Archer, Clay, Cooke, Denton, Hood, Jack, Montague, Parker, Tarrant, Wichita, Wise, and Young counties.
Criminal filings at this court have grown sharply—from 161 in fiscal year 2021 to 497 in fiscal year 2025—driven by population growth in Denton and Tarrant counties. After a court of appeals decision, either party can file a Petition for Discretionary Review (PDR) asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reconsider the outcome. The CCA grants about 4.0% of PDRs from Second Court decisions and, when it does, rules against the lower court in about 70% of those cases.
This Court hears appeals from pretrial habeas denials (articles 11.08 and 11.09) and from 11.072 rulings (community supervision). Habeas under article 11.07—the main felony route—is filed with the convicting court and decided by the Court of Criminal Appeals. See Direct Appeals and Postconviction Relief for the full map.
Second Court of Appeals—Cases
- Ex parte Couch, No. 02-19-00216-CR (pretrial habeas). Money-laundering indictments under section 34.02(a)(4) of the Texas Penal Code arising from the “affluenza” matter. We argued that the statute is facially unconstitutional because, by reaching the mere intent to finance or invest funds believed to further criminal activity, it punishes thought without an act in violation of the First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendments.
- Ex parte Van Dyke, No. 02-20-00039-CR (post-conviction habeas under article 11.072). A no-contest plea to making a false report to a peace officer. We argued that the State suppressed favorable, material evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland by not disclosing that it suspected another man had actually burglarized the vehicle, and that the other man’s later admission was newly discovered evidence of actual innocence.