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Upcoming Events
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January 24, 2013
10:00 - 12:00
Texas Supreme Court Courtroom
205 West 14th Street
Austin, TX
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| News
From the Office of Court Administration (OCA)
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High Courts Adopt Final Statewide eFiling Rules
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On December 13, 2013, the Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals issued a joint order adopting rules to govern electronic filing. The new rules supersede all local rules and templates on eFiling, including the justice court eFiling rules. The changes made by both orders are effective January 1, 2014.
Highlights of the new rules include:
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eFiling mandatory through eFileTexas pursuant to the Supreme Court's order requiring eFiling in certain courts; - eService mandatory for documents that are eFiled if the email address of the party or attorney to be served is on file with eFileTexas;
- Wills are not required to be eFiled, while documents under seal or presented in camera and documents to which access is otherwise restricted by law or court order are prohibited from being eFiled;
- Electronic signatures are authorized by filers, clerks and the court;
- Clerks are authorized to send notices, orders or other communications about the case electronically;
- Clerks are prohibited from refusing a document that fails to conform with the rules, but may return the document to the filer for correction;
- Clerks are authorized to designate the electronic documents as the official record and are not required to keep both paper and electronic versions of the documents unless otherwise required by local rule; and
- Sensitive data is defined and required to be redacted by the filing party unless the inclusion of the data is required by statute, court rule or administrative regulation.
In a separate order, Miscellaneous Docket No. 13-9172, the Supreme Court approved the technology standards set by the Judicial Committee on Information Technology. |
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Courts and Clerks Transition to New eFiling System
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Congratulations to all the courts in their transition from the Texas.gov eFiling system to the new eFiling system - eFileTexas.gov! Previously eFileTexas.gov was known as TexFile. This name change represents a shift to focus more on the attorneys as filers as well as a response to the ongoing litigation involving Tyler Technologies. The new system has already surpassed the number of daily filings seen on Texas.gov and is projected to receive almost 300,000 in the month of January (almost 10X the number of filings from January 2012).
Please encourage all attorneys to register for eFiling now! All it takes is a visit to eFileTexas.gov to select a service provider. From there, attorneys can register and begin to file. Doing this BEFORE the mandatory date is preferable in that it allows the attorneys to make an informed choice on their service provider.
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Judicial Committee on Information Technology Meets
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The JCIT met on December 13 to review the eFiling transition success. The committee discussed the new rules and received an update on the new eFiling system. The committee was also briefed on the existing and potential issues with the system as we move past the 1/1 mandatory date for the top 10 counties. All agreed on mitigation strategies to ensure a successful transition from permissive to mandatory eFiling.
The committee also introduced the next version of technology standards (which were approved by the Supreme Court). These standards introduce eFiling standard codes for Attorney General IV-D child support cases for use statewide. The standards sub-committee was instructed to proceed with standardizing more eFiling codes and configurations in order to provide filers with a uniform eFiling experience statewide.
The next meeting of JCIT is January 24, 2013 from 10AM-Noon in the Texas Supreme Court courtroom. The meeting is open to the public and all are welcome to attend.
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E-Filing Certification Form due for $2 Local Fee
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Cost Recovery Fee for E-Filing
HB 2302, 83rd Legislature, R.S., amended the Government Code, Chapter 72 to permit a local government that uses the electronic filing system to charge up to $2 for each electronic transaction for cost recovery. The local fee may be charged if:
- the fee is necessary to recover the actual system operating costs reasonably incurred by the local government to accept electronic payment methods or interface with other technology information systems;
- the fee does not include an amount to recover local government employee costs, other than costs for directly maintaining the system;
- the governing body of the local government approves the fee using the local government's standard approval process for fee increases; and
- the local government annually certifies to the Office of Court Administration (OCA) on a form prescribed by OCA that the amount of the fee is necessary to recover the actual system operating costs incurred by the local government or appellate court.
The bill sets a September 2019 expiration date for the $2 fee.
OCA has prescribed the form referenced in item (4), above. It is posted on the OCA Web site, and can be found by following the links listed below:
- Judicial Entities
- Judicial Committee on Information Technology (JCIT)
- Electronic Filing
- $2 Transaction Fee Certification Form [PDF] (MSWord]
Or you can go directly to this URL:
http://www.courts.state.tx.us/jcit/Efiling/EfilingHome.asp.
Not later than December 1, 2018, OCA must file a report with the certain legislative members detailing the number of local governments collecting the $2 local fee and the necessity of the local governments to continue collecting the fee.
As of December 17, 2013, most local jurisdictions have not filed the prescribed certification form. If your county has not yet submitted the certification form, please complete and submit it by email to efilingfee@txcourts.gov. For assistance with completing the form, email efilingfee@txcourts.gov or call OCA at 512-463-1625.
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Supreme Court Posts Expedited Foreclosure Forms for Comment
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On December 12, 2013, in Miscellaneous Docket No. 13-9171, the Court approved a set of forms for expedited foreclosure proceedings under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 736. The forms are required by the Act of May 27, 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S. (HB 2978), and section 22.018 of the Texas Government Code. The Court's administrative order sets a public comment period that runs through January 31, 2014. The Court may make changes to the forms in response to comments received. The Court plans to approve the final version of the forms before March 1, 2014. |
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Gideon Recognition for Montgomery County Juvenile Program
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The Commission presented the Gideon Award to a delegation from Montgomery County recognizing the positive impact of the county's new indigent defense program for juvenile defendants, which is staffed by experienced attorneys who are all Board Certified in Juvenile Law. According to local officials, the Contract Defender attorneys have been innovative in suggesting and utilizing using varied approaches and/or alternatives to the detention of juveniles. The Juvenile Prosecutors and Judge have been willing to consider and utilize these alternatives. As a result of this approach, according to an internal examination of data, the number of juveniles in detention has been reduced, and the number of days juveniles spend in detention has been reduced.
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L to R: Commissioner Craig Doyle, Judge Cara Wood, 284th DC, Genoveva Mendoza, Judge Mary Ann Turner, CCL #4, Ron Leach, Director Juvenile Justice Center, Judge Kathleen Hamilton, 359th DC, Bill Pattillo, Attorney, Christopher Allen, Attorney (holding plaque) Judge Sharon Keller.
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Court Approves Distribution of Bar's Voluntary Contributions for Access to Justice Programs
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The Texas Supreme Court issued an order on November 22 that approved disbursing total contributions Texas lawyers made to access to justice programs in the State. View article...
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OCA completed the 2013 Annual Report of the Judicial Support Agencies, Boards and Commissions. Check out the FlipBook version here.
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Texas Court Remote Interpreter Service (TCRIS)
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 | | Marco Hanson |
Free Licensed Spanish Court Interpreters for Court Hearings
Beginning January 7, 2014, OCA will offer free Spanish interpretation services to courts by licensed court interpreters. The interpretation services will be provided by speakerphone or videoconferencing.
Approximately one in seven Texans does not understand enough English to meaningfully participate in a court hearing. Most of those individuals are Spanish speakers. During the last session, the Legislature approved funding for OCA to implement the Texas Court Remote Interpreter Service (TCRIS) to help courts address this language barrier. OCA's TCRIS staff interpreters are licensed by the State after having passed stringent written and oral exams, and are experienced in courtroom procedures. The interpretation services are available in all types of cases and, currently, in any level of trial court (district, county, justice, and municipal).
OCA will send further information on TCRIS to judges in the near future. In the meantime, please contact Marco Hanson, Language Access Coordinator, at marco.hanson@txcourts.gov or (512) 936-7559, if you would like further information or assistance.
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Guidelines for Best Practices for Civil Litigation
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The Conference of Chief Justices, with the assistance of the National Center for State Courts has created a committee charged with developing guidelines and best practices for Civil Litigation. The committee will meet in Spring of 2014. Harris County was one of 10 counties selected nationally to participate in the study. More information here... |
| Attorney General Opinion |
The Office of Attorney General has issued an opinion on whether a justice of the peace may serve as a court-appointed investigator for an indigent defendant in a felony case.
GA-1032 The Office of Attorney General has issued an opinion on whether the Kleberg County commissioners court may create and fund an additional bailiff position for the 105th District Court.
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Judicial Appointments
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Gov. Rick Perry has made the following appointments:
The Supreme Court has made the following appointments:
Bexar County Commissioners also unanimously appointed attorney Tina Torres as judge of County Court-at-Law No. 10. Judge Irene Rios must step down from that bench in order to run for the 4th Court of Appeals, and Torres plans to run for the post in the March primary.
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The Governor's Criminal Justice Division (CJD) is currently accepting applications for solicitations noted below. Applications must be certified by the applicant agency's Authorized Official no later than midnight on the following dates:
Due Dates
Friday, January 31, 2014
- Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program - Local Projects
Friday, February 28, 2014
- Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program - Discretionary Drug Court Projects
- General Victim Assistance - Direct Services Programs
- Violent Crimes Against Women Criminal Justice and Training Projects
- Juvenile Service Projects - Local Projects
- Juvenile Service Projects - Statewide Projects
- Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program
- Specialty Court Projects
- Prostitution Prevention Program
Submission Process
There are three phases to development of an application:
NOTE: An application must be certified by the Authorized Official before it is accepted by CJD for consideration. Applications not certified by the due date will not be considered for funding.
Please ensure that your agency is familiar with the eGrants submission process. If you need further assistance or clarification on how to submit and certify an application, please email CJD at eGrants@governor.state.tx.us or refer to the eGrants Users Guide located at https://eGrants.governor.state.tx.us/updates.aspx.
Detailed funding information and a calendar listing these opportunities can be located at https://eGrants.governor.state.tx.us/fundopp.aspx.
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Judicial Training Resource Links
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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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