Harris

This page has Harris-specific information on name & gender marker change.

There has been reports that judges in Harris County are hostile to gender marker change.

Additionally, there is a report that Houston courts can no longer do gender marker change:

"When a Houston Court of Appeals makes a decision that is directly on point, all district courts in Houston, including but not limited to family courts, are bound by that decision. It's similar to when the Supreme Court decided Obergefell, gay marriage become the law. The Houston Courts of Appeals are the 'Supreme Court' over the Houston district courts.

Someone appealed denial of a name change, resulting in a holding that there is no right to a gender marker change in Texas. But that decision only binds courts 'under' the Houston courts. For other courts, like in Austin or San Antonio, they can decline to follow that decision. Houston judges cannot."

Judges

Please list only judges that you know firsthand to be sympathetic/supportive to name and gender marker changes by transgender people.

Friendly

• Nothing known yet.

Hostile

• Nothing known yet.

Unknown

• Nothing known yet.

Court Cases

Harris County, August 2, 2016

On August 2, 2016, the 14th Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's decision to deny a request for a gender designation change.

This is similar to another case where a petition for gender marker change denied by trials court and upheld on appeal, petitioner's counsel had asserted that Texas Family Code Section 2.005 (b)(8) authorizes Texas courts to render sex change orders that judicially change a person's gender identifier. See that case for details.