CourTex 
September 2013
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In This Issue
Chief Justice Jefferson to Resign
Hecht Appointed Next Chief Justice
Keller selected for Harvard Executive Session
Judicial Branch Certification Commission Rules
WINGS Group Begins Work
New Forms Promulgated by OCA
Thirteenth Court of Appeals to Implement TAMES
Supreme Court Approves Proposed Statewide Electronic Filing Rules
TexFile expands options for Filers
Texas.Gov to cease eFiling operations on November 30
Implementation of New Indigent Defense Reporting Requirements
Weighted Caseload Study by Indigent Defense Commission
Indigent Defense Commission awards grants
Updated Fair Defense Laws Published
Creating Solutions to Language Barriers in State Courts
Occupational Driver's License Application Fees in Justice Courts
Judicial Appointments
Attorney General Answers Where Bond Surrender Should Be Filed
Flagship Course on How to Manage a Capital Case
Judicial Training Resource Links
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News 
From the Office of Court Administration (OCA)

Chief Justice Jefferson to Resign Effective October 1

Capping an esteemed tenure on the Supreme Court of Texas and as Chief Justice, Wallace B. Jefferson announced that he will resign effective October 1. In addition to numerous other accomplishments, Jefferson has provided leadership, assistance and guidance in the following achievements since 2004:

  • In the area of access to courts:
    • A 389% increase in civil legal aid funding by the state;
    • A 227% increase in criminal indigent defense funding;
    • The simplification of the county court at law jurisdiction;
    • The simplification of the justice and small claims courts' jurisdiction and rules;
    • Increased courthouse and judicial personal security;
    • Disaster preparedness and recovery plans for the judiciary, including a seat at the statewide level for the branch;
    • Increased language access in Texas courts through local plans and statewide resources;
  • In the area of technology:
    • Increased the trial courts' usage of technology to report statistics from 28% to 98%;
    • Implemented the Texas Appeals Management and eFiling System (TAMES) in 14 of 16 appellate courts;
    • Mandated eFiling at the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeals, District Courts and County Courts.
    • Transitioned the eFiling contract from the executive to the judicial branch;
    • Implemented specialized case management systems for the child protection and child support courts;
  • In the area of transparency:
    • Instituted webcasting in the Supreme Court Courtroom for oral arguments and meetings;
    • Increased access to appellate court documents through the web;
    • Revised court statistical data to provide more insight into the trial courts' workload;
    • Implemented reporting on the Supreme Courts' performance on meeting internal deadlines;
  • In the area of protecting vulnerable citizens:
    • Implemented Guardianship Certification Board and Process Server Review Board to oversee critical oversight of court professions;
    • Led reforms of juvenile justice system to reduce the school-to-prison pipeline;
    • Instituted divorce forms for unrepresented litigants;
  • In the area of good government:
    • Consolidated four existing boards overseeing certain court professions into the Judicial Branch Certification Commission; and
    • Instituted the Shared Solutions Summits to allow courts to collaborate for best practices.

Perry Appoints Justice Nathan Hecht as next Chief Justice

Governor Perry announced the appointment of Justice Nathan L. Hecht as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, effective October 1. Justice Hecht has served on the Supreme Court since 1988 and is the senior justice on the Court. He has authored more than 350 opinions during that time.

 

Justice Hecht has led the Court's rules efforts as the liaison to the Supreme Court Advisory Committee. In addition, he has been key to the Court's efforts to increase access to justice through basic civil legal services.

 

Justice Hecht previously served as a justice on the Texas 5th Court of Appeals in Dallas and as a district judge of the 95th Judicial District Court in Dallas.

Keller selected for Harvard Executive Session on Community Corrections

Presiding Judge Sharon Keller will be a member of a new Executive Session on Community Corrections that will convene over the next three years at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government. The Executive Session is a joint project of Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and the National Institute of Justice. Approximately thirty individuals from around the country who are knowledgeable in the areas of criminal justice and corrections will consider the meaning and future of community corrections. The Session aims to develop best practices and thinking for professionals across the safety and justice spectrum. 

Judicial Branch Certification Commission Rules begin to take shape

The Judicial Branch Certification Commission will not be officially created until September 1, 2014, but under SB 966the Supreme Court has authority to promulgate rules for and appoint members of the Commission beginning on September 1, 2013. OCA has been working with members of each profession to draft a set of rules for consideration by the Supreme Court later this year. OCA expects to publish a set of rules to the professions in early November. Shortly thereafter, the Supreme Court will consider those rules pursuant to its normal process. OCA anticipates that the Supreme Court will promulgate the final rules for the Commission next summer. Updates on the rulemaking process will be provided in future editions of CourTex.

WINGS Group Begins Work on Guardianship System

The Texas Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders (WINGS) group has begun its work to identify issues that exist within the guardianship system. The interdisciplinary group will explore the guardianship system from multiple angles to determine if there are improvements that can be made to better protect those subject to the guardianship system. A survey meant to collect input from the broader guardianship stakeholder community will soon be released and reviewed by the WINGS group. Information from this group will be funneled to the Texas Judicial Council Elders Committee for their consideration. More information on the work of these two groups will be featured in future editions of CourTex.

New Forms Promulgated by OCA pursuant to Legislative Directives

OCA was directed by the 83rd Legislature to promulgate several forms. The following form is available now: 

  • Certification of Cost Recovery Fee for eFiling ($2 county transactional charge) - Click here. 

Two additional forms will be available on the Publications page of the OCA website before the end of the month:

  • Constitutional Challenge to State Statutes
  • Petition for Non-Disclosure for filing by mail or electronically

Thirteenth Court of Appeals to Implement TAMES

In September, OCA will be deploying TAMES to the 13th Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi and Edinburg. This court presents particular challenges due to its dual locations. Once complete, the court will no longer need to transport paper documents 150 miles between the two locations. Additionally, clerks and court reporters that submit documents to the court will be able to leverage the same report submission portal that the rest of Texas currently uses. After this court, the last court to get TAMES will be the Court of Criminal Appeals. The system is currently being modified to allow for a writs management system for use by the court. Once complete, the team will deploy TAMES to the Court of Criminal Appeals.

 

Later on, the team will be working on functionality to allow appellate courts to transfer cases between courts electronically. The team is also in talks with TDCJ to find a way to allow people that are incarcerated to send files to the courts as well as receive notices from the court electronically.

Supreme Court Approves Proposed Statewide Electronic Filing Rules

The Supreme Court approved proposed statewide electronic filing rules for public comment on August 16, 2013, in Misc. Docket No. 13-9128. The rules follow the Court's directive in its order mandating electronic filing in civil cases beginning January 1, 2014 (Misc. Docket. No. 12-9208, as amended by Misc. Docket No. 13-9092), which stated that the Court would "adopt rules governing e-filing and e-service in accordance with the mandate." The initial draft statewide rules were prepared by the Judicial Committee on Information Technology (JCIT), a 15-member committee appointed by the Court, and were reviewed by the Supreme Court Advisory Committee (SCAC). Following SCAC review, the Court incorporated the key components into the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, as shown in the Court's order approving the proposed rules.

 

Some notable aspects of the proposed e-filing rules are:

  • All e-filing must be done through the official statewide portal (TexFile)
  • Attorneys and parties that e-file must provide email addresses
  • Filing and service are complete upon transmission of document to e-filing service provider
  • TexFile will send confirmation notice of filing and service
  • Attorneys in civil cases must consent to e-service
  • If e-filing is unsuccessful due to a technical failure, the filer may seek relief from the court
  • Courts may require parties to submit paper copies of a document by local rule

In addition, the proposed rules contain provisions that require parties in civil cases to redact social security or other taxpayer-identification numbers; numbers of bank accounts and other financial accounts, including credit cards; and identification numbers on driver's licenses, passports, and other similar government-issued personal identification cards.

 

The Court is now accepting public comments on the rules. Comments may be submitted before October 31, 2013 to

[email protected]. The Court will revise the rules following public comment and will approve a final version of the rules in December 2013, effective January 1, 2014.

TexFile expands options for Filers

The number of potential electronic filing service providers (EFSPs) continues to grow, with 19 EFSPs indicating they are developing a product to interact with TexFile. This is a dramatic increase in options over the six existing EFSPs under the Texas.gov eFiling system. The EFSPs provide attorneys and filers with varying levels of optional services and pricing. In addition to the commercial EFSPs, the TexFile EFSP service has begun, providing attorneys and filers with a "low-frills" but free EFSP option.

 

EFSPs are required to be certified by OCA before they can be used in conjunction with TexFile. Each EFSP is working to attain this certification. As of today, three EFSPs have been certified. You can find a listing of the certified EFSPs on the TexFile website.

The TexFile team has also begun to assist in the counties hosting EFSP fairs in order for local attorneys to review the various electronic filing service providers and the value added services they all offer. For attorneys who already have an electronic service provider, there is no need to select another provider. At those EFSP fairs, the TexFile team also presents the basic mechanics and rules behind the TexFile system.

Case management vendors have also been hard at work, integrating their systems with TexFile. A fully integrated eFiling system will ultimately allow the clerk's office to accept a filing and have it attached and properly docketed in a one button push. This allows clerk's to deploy their existing staff to higher level functions and lets them take action on all the items on their "if we ever have time" list.

 

This month OCA also release the certification form, related to HB2302 that counties must complete in order to charge the $2/transaction fee starting January 1. The form can be downloaded here.

 

Additional information on TexFile can always be found on the TexFile website at www.TexFile.com.

Texas.Gov to cease eFiling operations on November 30

In August, OCA was officially notified by Texas.gov that the existing eFiling system provided by NICUSA will cease operations on November 30. The TexFile team has already begun to transition counties on the Texas.gov system over to TexFile. The current go live schedule is kept updated on the TexFile websiteThe top 10 most populous counties that are under a mandate to file all civil cases electronically by January 1 are a part of this move. 

Implementation of New Indigent Defense Reporting Requirements

The Commission has been working with stakeholders to develop forms and process to implement HB 1318 by Representative Sylvester Turner. The bill seeks to gather information on caseloads handled by attorneys providing representation to indigent defendants via two new reports beginning in 2014. Commission staff has met with a variety of stakeholders, including counties, courts, and the criminal defense bar to find ways to implement HB 1318 in a seamless manner while providing meaningful information to policy makers. Indigent defense plans are required to be submitted to the Commission every odd numbered year and are next due November 1st, 2013. The new attorney reporting requirements in HB 1318 must now also be included in the attorney qualification section of each indigent defense plan. Additionally, each juvenile board's plan must also be amended because of HB 1318's new expedited time-frame for appointment of counsel. Beginning September 1st, counsel must be appointed to represent children prior to their initial detention hearing unless it is "not feasible due to exigent circumstances". Finally, HB 1318 requires the following additional items be submitted, if applicable:

  • Public defender's office plan or proposal submitted to the commissioners court;
  • Any plan of operation for a managed assigned counsel program submitted to commissioners court; and
  • Any contract for indigent defense services.

The Commission plans to continue to use the online system first rolled out for the 2009 plan submission process on the website maintained by PPRI. Building on the 2011 process Commission staff plans to send out by mid-September the full instructions for this process. To permit judges to easily submit the needed revisions to their existing plans, staff will also send an email to each of the judges responsible for submission of the existing plans (local administrative district, local administrative statutory county/constitutional county judge, and juvenile board chair) with a hyperlink directly to their plan or plans after logging into the system. For a more lengthy discussion about the reporting requirements and IDP submissions, watch for the upcoming September 2013 newsletter that will soon be posted on the TIDC website.

Weighted Caseload Study by Indigent Defense Commission 

When court-appointed attorneys are asked to represent too many clients with too few resources, the constitutional right to legal representation established in the US Supreme Court decision, Gideon v. Wainwright may be jeopardized. To address this concern, a number of states have developed evidence-based caseload standards through weighted caseload studies. House Bill 1318 calls for the Indigent Defense Commission to conduct such a study in Texas.

 

Beginning this fall, attorneys from across the state will be recruited to track the time spent on court-appointed cases for up to twelve weeks. Results will be reviewed by a panel of experts charged with developing recommended guidelines based on the evidence. The study, which will be implemented by the Public Policy Research Institute at Texas A&M University, will be completed by 2014.

 

Up until now, standards developed in 1973 by the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals were the best resource available for estimating reasonable workloads. Though often cited, the "NAC Standards" do not include sufficient information to support how they were derived and appear to be based on a consensus of opinions rather than objective evidence. In addition, the standards have not been adjusted to reflect the many changes to the criminal justice system since 1973, including the use of technology and changes in law.

 

The Texas study will improve upon the NAC standards by considering the ways in which factors such as the seriousness and complexity of the charges, increasing use of forensic evidence, and high-consequence sentencing policies impact the amount of time required to provide effective representation. The project will also break new ground because it is the first large-scale time study focusing on both private assigned counsel and public defender attorneys. 

Indigent Defense Commission awards grants to Counties for Innovative Projects 

For information about awards and additional appropriations approved by the Commission at the August 23, 2013 Commission meeting, please see the TIDC press release.

Updated Fair Defense Laws Published 

The Commission recently published "Fair Defense Laws, 2013-2015" on the TIDC website. The publication contains all the statutes dealing with indigent defense and all the administrative rules adopted by the Commission. It is updated with all the changes made by the legislature and revisions to rules from the last two years. The legislative changes are discussed in each section and commentary with key court rulings and attorney general opinions are also included.

Creating Solutions to Language Barriers in State Courts

The National Center for State Courts has just released A National Call to Action, Access to Justice for Limited English Proficient Litigants: Creating Solutions to Language Barriers in State Courts, which offers steps courts can take to implement and/or improve language access programs. The National Call to Action is the culmination of a multi-year NCSC project aimed at addressing limited English proficiency challenges in the courts. This publication serves as a useful guide for courts to improve services to LEP litigants, a core function of the courts. For more information about language access to courts, go to www.ncsc.org/languageaccess.

 

OCA is in the process of instituting a Language Access Program, where courts will have remote access to free Spanish interpreters via telephone and webcast services. See also OCA's Language Access webpage. 

Occupational Driver's License Application Fees in Justice Courts 

Representative Harold Dutton recently requested an Attorney General Opinion regarding whether justice courts may charge a fee for the filing of an application for an occupational driver's license (RQ-1148-GA). To see the request, click here 

Judicial Appointments

Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Robert Hofmann of Mason as judge of the 452nd Judicial District Court in Edwards, Kimble, McCulloch, Mason and Menard counties for a term to expire at the next general election.  View article...

 

Also appointed by Gov. Perry, David Stith of Corpus Christi, will now serve as judge of the 319th Judicial District Court in Nueces County for a term to expire at the next general election.  View article...

Attorney General Answers Where Bond Surrender Should Be Filed 

Attorney General Greg Abbott has released opinion GA-1021 regarding the proper court in which a surety must file a release of surety for the surrender of a bond principal under articles 17.16 and 17.19 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Resources

Flagship Course on How to Manage a Capital Case Coming to San Antonio 

Course will be held November 4-7, 2013

In implementing the death penalty, society has an obligation to ensure it doesn't execute an innocent person. As a result, lawyers and judges have created a costly, time-consuming, resource-consuming system that provides for multiple levels of review to ensure the process is as fair and accurate as humanly possible. This after-the-fact review system has resulted in a criminal prosecution process that is unique to death penalty cases which includes expanded speedy trial time limits, the appointment of two qualified defense attorneys, defense mitigation teams, special jury selection procedures, and multi-phase trials.More information is available here.

Judicial Training Resource Links

About the OCA

OCA is a state agency in the judicial branch that operates under the direction and supervision of the Supreme Court of Texas and the chief justice and is governed primarily byChapter 72 of the Texas Government Code.  www.txcourts.gov

 

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