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Precinct Four

  Elected Officials   >   Justice Courts   >   Precinct Four
COVID-19 Information

For more information about COVID-19 please visit our dedicated COVID-19 page.

For non-emergency health related questions, please call the Williamson County & Cities Health District at 512 943 3600.


We are still open!

However, due to continued uncontrolled community spread of COVID-19 in Williamson County, we are currently serving most of our clients virtually and are open to the public in-person by appointment only. Please do not show up in-person at our office in Taylor without an appointment. 

If you are scheduled for a hearing or a trial, your hearing or trial will be virtual unless otherwise notified.

If you're contacting us about booking a wedding, please email jp4@wilco.org directly as the process is easier over email than by phone. 

If you'd like to take care of a citation, set up a payment plan, or have any other court business, please email us at jp4@wilco.org or call us and leave a voicemail at 512-352-4155 with your name, reason for calling, and, if you have it, your case number. We will return your call or email as soon as possible.

Thank you!

 
How do I access virtual court?

Enter Virtual Court by clicking here or on the Virtual Court link in the sidebar to the left. You will be asked to sign in with your legal first and last names. 

Alternatively, you can call 1-415-655-0003 and enter access code 964 886 670.

It is important that you be on time. We will wait no more than five minutes for parties to sign in. Log in or call in early to ensure that you have a connection to the virtual court. Please avoid using Internet Explorer to access the virtual court. 

If you have trouble accessing virtual court, please email jp4@wilco.org and include "Virtual Court" in the subject line.


What to expect when you click on the virtual court link:

  • You will be asked to give your name and email, Please enter your full first and last name.
  • If you are early, you will be placed in a virtual waiting room and muted. This means you will not hear anything until you are moved out of the lobby. Do not be disturbed by the silence.

What to expect when you call in:

  • You will hear an automated greeting asking you for your access code.
  • Enter 964 886 670#
  • You will be muted on entry and hear silence or hold music until moved out of the waiting room. Please do not hang up at this time.
 
Relief from Eviction for Certain Tenants, Declaration Required

On September 1, the CDC released an order creating a federal moratorium on residential evictions for nonpayment of rent for “covered persons” from the effective date of the order, September 4, through December 31, 2020.

This order provides that a “covered person” may not be evicted from residential property based on nonpayment of rent or other amounts due under a lease or agreement. In order to be a “covered person” under this order, a tenant must provide to the landlord, owner of the residential property where they live, or other person who has a right to have them evicted or removed from where they live, a sworn Declaration that the tenant meets certain qualifications. 

Read More about Eviction Declaration Information

 
Announcements

FOR THE SAFETY OF OUR CLIENTS AND STAFF 

Beginning June 1, 2020, Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 will be open to the public by appointment only.

Click here for up-to-date information about Wilco closures and COVID-19 information.


ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF CONTACTING THE COURT:

1) Use the drop box to your left at the corner of the building to drop off documents and payments

2) Leave a voicemail at 512-352-4155 to enter a plea, make requests, and pay for your citations, and your call will be returned by the appropriate court clerks.

3) Petitions, Answers, and other Civil documents should be filed using E-File. E-File works best in Internet Explorer.

4) Click here to plead no contest and pay your citation in full.

5) Mail your documents, payments, and pleas to 211 W. 6th St., Taylor, TX 76574, or fax them to 512-352-4194

6) Forms downloaded off our website can be filed out and emailed to jp4@wilco.org or faxed to 512-352-4194. We are working to make these documents fillable so you won't have to print and scan.

Holiday Office Closures

The Justice of the Peace is open for business from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday in-person by appointment only or at any time virtually during normal work hours by email, phone, and in virtual court). The office observes the Williamson County holiday schedule and will be closed on the following dates in 2021:

  • May 31, 2021 for Memorial Day
  • July 5, 2021 in observance of Independence Day
  • September 6, 2021 for Labor Day

Citations with appearance dates that fall on a weekend or holiday will be extended to the next working day.

 
Justice of the Peace Stacy Hackenberg, Precinct Four

Headshot of Judge Stacy HackenbergStacy Hackenberg holds a master's degree in Mass Communication from Southern New Hampshire University and a bachelor’s of Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. Before being elected in 2018 as Justice of the Peace, she had a long career in training and database marketing. 

She was a Girl Scout troop leader for her two daughters for 13 years. She worked with their BSA Venturing Crew and helped found the Baden Powell Scouting Association’s 7th Trailblazers group in 2013. She also was a volunteer and paid instructor for the American Red Cross, teaching everything from Wilderness First Aid Basics to Babysitting.

She is active at United Christian Church, a United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ blended congregation, in Austin. She is former Council Co-Chair for Social Justice for the church. 

She is a strong advocate for LGBT rights and firm believer in the power of education to improve lives. During the 2017 Texas Legislative session and special session, she testified three times against the bathroom bill. She completed the Pacific School of Religion’s Gender, Sexuality and the Bible Certificate program  to help further her LGBTQ activism.

She lives in Round Rock in a full-to-bursting multi-generational household that includes her husband, Tom; daughters Madeline and Catherine; son-in-law Breylin; a housemate, three dogs and three cats.

 
Justice of the Peace

The office of the Justice of the Peace was created by the Texas Constitution. The Justice presides over Criminal Class C Misdemeanors which include, but are not limited to, offenses found in the Traffic Code, Penal Code, Health and Safety Code, Education Code, Parks and Wildlife Code, and the Alcohol & Beverage Code. Civil Justice Court with a jurisdictional limit of $10,000 and a Small Claims Court with a jurisdictional limit of $10,000. In addition the Justice presides over numerous administrative actions, such as appeals on the concealed handgun permits driver license suspensions, peace bonds, illegal lockouts, illegal towing, magistration, and search warrants. The Justice is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency mental warrants, search warrants, arrest warrants or death inquests.

 
Court News

New Legislature Changes Fees

  • 20 September 2019
  • Author: bawassink
  • Number of views: 1864
  • 0 Comments

The Texas Legislature passed into law statutes that increase the fine and fees for many charges by $20. Please note that the pre-printed forms you receive or download may not reflect the new charges.

Read more
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Status of JP 4 Court During Pandemic

Taylor, TX – June 1, 2020 – Williamson County Judge Bill Gravell ordered all county offices to close to the public at noon on March 19. Although we have been closed for face-to-face interaction with the public since then, our staff is conducting business remotely to keep the Court operating to the fullest extent possible.

Your JP 4 Court continues to operate remotely and we started a phased-in reopening beginning June 2.

Court will be open for appointments only. Clients will be notified electronically of the dates and times to come to court. Signs will be posted on the doors of the courthouse alerting people they need to park in a designated parking spot and that they need to wait until a clerk tells them they can come into the courthouse. When people enter they will undergo a health check (details to be determined) and they will need to wear a mask. Our clerks will be wearing masks and practicing social distancing to protect clients as best we can.

Starting June 15 we will begin scheduling virtual eviction hearings. Plaintiffs and defendants will be provided with information to connect with the Court electronically.

Later in the summer we will schedule in-person eviction hearings and eventually add small claims and debt claim cases to our virtual and in-person services.

On the criminal side, people can continue to enter pleas, pay fines and court costs, ask to take the driving safety course and set up payment plans by emailing JP4@wilco.org or calling (512) (352-4155) and leaving a voice mail. A clerk will return calls within one business day.

In the past few weeks large rolling cabinets that held several thousand case files and took up a significant amount of office space have been removed. We are working with the County’s Facilities Department to turn that new space into cubicles for staff.

Our staff continue to digitize cases as we move to a paperless system. They also are cleaning up the database of cases so we have an accurate sense of open and closed cases. We are updating processes and procedures to make court records paperless as much as possible, saving taxpayers money as we reduce the need for paper, printing and hard-copy filing.

We have filed:

  • 34 Criminal Cases*
  • 3 Evictions**
  • 102 Debt Claims
  • 76 Truancy and Parent Contributing to Non-Attendance cases closed and dismissed

We have also:

  • Processed $10,455.28 in fines and fees for 143 criminal and civil cases.
  • Processed 403 motions and writs for civil cases
  • Granted 45 requests to take the driving safety course
  • Closed and dismissed 136 criminal cases and 134 civil cases.
  • Conducted 12 inquests
  • Officiated 9 weddings

*A computer glitch has prevented tickets issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety from being filed.

** On March 19 the Texas Supreme Court ordered a halt to all evictions except where there is a case of imminent harm or criminal activity. The Court lifted the ban on evictions on May 18.