--- title: "Jim S. Johnson | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jim-s-johnson" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-07-28" --- # Jim S. Johnson Texas 431st District Court · District Judge, Denton County 431st District Court (general jurisdiction, mixed docket) ## Profile - Court: Texas 431st District Court - State: Texas - Role: District Judge, Denton County 431st District Court (general jurisdiction, mixed docket) - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-28 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### audio video and exhibit technology Scope: judge specific The 431st District Court provides an audio/video system for publishing exhibits in open court, but counsel must bring a laptop to connect. Exhibits must also be supplied on a USB drive, with documents as PDF, audio as MP3, and video as MP4. Evidence excerpt: The court has an audio/video system for publishing such exhibits in open court, but you must bring your own laptop for connecting to the system. [431st District Court Exhibit Rules](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10233/Exhibit-Rules-PDF) Source checked: 2026-07-28 ### electronic devices and recording Scope: courtwide Denton County permits participating attorneys and their staff to use electronic devices during hearings, but otherwise prohibits electronic-device use and prohibits recording court proceedings. Evidence excerpt: No electronic devices shall be used in Court, except by attorneys or the attorney's staff during hearings in which that attorney is participating. Further, no audible sounds from communication devices or other electronic devices shall be permitted and no recording of court proceedings shall be permitted. [Uniform Rules of Court for the District and Statutory County Courts of Denton County, Texas](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/957/Uniform-Rules-of-Court-for-the-District-and-Statutory-County-Courts-of-Denton-County-Texas-PDF) Source checked: 2026-07-28 ### civil trial materials and exhibits Scope: courtwide For a Denton County civil trial, parties must deliver witness and exhibit lists, motions in limine, and proposed jury instructions or questions when reporting for trial. Exhibits must be marked, exchanged, and examined at least seven days before trial. Evidence excerpt: At least seven (7) days prior to commencement of trial, all exhibits must be marked, exchanged, and examined by counsel so that the trial will not be delayed by such examination. [Uniform Rules of Court for the District and Statutory County Courts of Denton County, Texas](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/957/Uniform-Rules-of-Court-for-the-District-and-Statutory-County-Courts-of-Denton-County-Texas-PDF) Source checked: 2026-07-28 ### ai generated filings Scope: courtwide Denton County District Courts require certification that material created or contributed to by generative AI was independently verified by a person using traditional, non-AI legal sources before submission. Evidence excerpt: Any information created or contributed to by generative artificial intelligence-including, but not limited to, language, quotations, sources, citations, arguments, and legal analysis-was, before submission to this Court, independently verified as accurate using traditional (non-AI) legal sources by a human being. [Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence in Denton County District Courts](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11419/Standing-Order-Regarding-Use-of-Artificial-Intelligence-Denton-County-District-Courts-PDF) Source checked: 2026-07-28 ### civil remote appearances Scope: statewide In civil district and county court proceedings, the court may permit or require electronic participation after appropriate notice; compelled electronic participation for oral-testimony proceedings requires good cause or party agreement, and a jury trial requires party agreement. Evidence excerpt: Upon appropriate notice by a party or the court, a court may allow or require a participant to appear at a court proceeding by videoconference, teleconference, or other available electronic means, except as otherwise provided in (2). [Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462948/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure-july-1-2026.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### civil recording and broadcasting Scope: statewide Civil district and county trial courts may permit courtroom recording or broadcasting only under Supreme Court guidelines, with the required party and witness consent, or for ceremonial proceedings. Evidence excerpt: A trial court may permit broadcasting, televising, recording, or photographing of proceedings in the courtroom only in the following circumstances: [Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462948/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure-july-1-2026.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/553/431st-District-Court) - [Official roster](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/553/431st-District-Court) - [Denton County 431st District Court official judicial roster](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/553/431st-District-Court) - [Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462948/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure-july-1-2026.pdf) - [Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 18c, Recording and Broadcasting of Court Proceedings](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462948/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure-july-1-2026.pdf) - [Uniform Rules of Court for the District and Statutory County Courts of Denton County, Texas](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/957/Uniform-Rules-of-Court-for-the-District-and-Statutory-County-Courts-of-Denton-County-Texas-PDF) - [Standing Order Regarding Use of Artificial Intelligence in Denton County District Courts](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11419/Standing-Order-Regarding-Use-of-Artificial-Intelligence-Denton-County-District-Courts-PDF) - [431st District Court Exhibit Rules](https://www.dentoncounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/10233/Exhibit-Rules-PDF) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jim-s-johnson", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jim-s-johnson", "name": "Jim S. 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Johnson", "item": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/jim-s-johnson" } ] } ] } ``` ## Biography ### Professional career - The Republican‐appointed judge of Texas’s 431st District Court in Denton County, serving since January 1, 2021, with a term through December 31, 2028 - Former attorney, CPA, CFO for Associates International Holdings Corp., CEO of Citifinancial Japan Inc., adjunct professor at Texas A&M School of Law ### Education - B.A. in Economics, Accounting, and Business — University of Texas at Austin, 1983 J.D. — Texas Wesleyan University School of Law, 2008 ### Additional information - Elected: November 3, 2020; re‐elected November 5, 2024 - Additional duties: Serves as a magistrate for search and arrest warrants in Denton County. - Johnson identifies as a strict constructionist and constitutional conservative, admiring U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, and Antonin Scalia. - Court focus: Civil trial law cases, including constitutional challenges, election disputes, contracts, real estate, personal injury, defamation, taxes, and business injunctions. - Board Certification: Civil Trial Law, Texas Board of Legal Specialization ## Published courtroom rules ### Shared court rules - [Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-119ce7e69a3752f1da3cfce0) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462948/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure-july-1-2026.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26. - [Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 21d, Appearances at Court Proceedings](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-a5f587f769df9f3231ef4f9a) — Scope is limited to the court class in the source claim. Shared court context only; case-type restrictions, exceptions, later amendments and case orders apply. This is not a personal preference or a complete rules inventory. [Official source](https://www.txcourts.gov/media/1462948/texas-rules-of-civil-procedure-july-1-2026.pdf). Collected 2026-07-26.