The Fourth Court of Appeals sits in San Antonio and covers Atascosa, Bandera, Bexar, Brooks, Dimmit, Duval, Edwards, Frio, Gillespie, Guadalupe, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Karnes, Kendall, Kerr, Kimble, Kinney, LaSalle, McMullen, Mason, Maverick, Medina, Menard, Real, Starr, Sutton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Webb, Wilson, Zapata, and Zavala 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 7.6% of PDRs from Fourth Court decisions and, when it takes a case, rules against the lower court in about 88% of those. The district runs from San Antonio south to the Rio Grande, covering Webb County (Laredo) and a broad border corridor where immigration consequences compound the stakes of any criminal conviction.
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.
Fourth Court of Appeals—Cases
- 04-23-00216-CR—Owens v. State—direct appeal—harassment
- 04-21-00412-CR—Ex parte Owens—post-conviction habeas corpus
- 04-20-00486-CR—Williams v. State—direct appeal—promotion of prostitution