Texas Water Code - WATER § 11.320. Scope of Judicial Review

(a) In passing on exceptions, the court shall determine all issues of law and fact independently of the commission's determination.  The substantial evidence rule shall not be used.  The court shall not consider any exception which was not brought to the commission's attention by application for rehearing.  The court shall not consider any issue of fact raised by an exception unless the record of evidence before the commission reveals that the question was genuinely in issue before the commission.

(b) A party in interest may demand a jury trial of any issue of fact, but the court may in its discretion have a separate trial with a separate jury of any such issue.

(c) The legislature declares that the provisions of this section are not severable from the remainder of this subchapter and that this subchapter would not have been passed without the inclusion of this section.  If this section is for any reason held invalid, unconstitutional, or inoperative in any way, the holding applies to the entire subchapter so that the entire subchapter is null and void.