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Upcoming Events
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3:30 PM
The Westin Riverwalk Hotel
420 W. Market Street
San Antonio
January 30, 2014
9:00 AM
Texas Supreme Court Courtroom
205 West 14th Street, Austin
January 31, 2014
Tom C. Clark Bldg.
205 W. 14th St., Suite 605
Austin
February 7, 2014
9:00 AM
John H. Reagan Bldg.
105 W. 15th St, Rm 140
Austin
February 21, 2014
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Texas Supreme Court Courtroom
205 West 14th Street, Austin
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On twitter?
Follow our new account @TXCourts - The twitter handle covers news and updates from the judicial branch.
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| News
From the Office of Court Administration (OCA)
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eFiling
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 eFiling using eFileTexas.gov, the state's new eFiling system is now mandatory in all civil cases in the top 10 most populous counties of the state and in the Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals and the 14 intermediate Courts of Appeals. The system typically sees more than 13,000 filings a day and has almost 50,000 registered users. The eFiling mandate continues with the next batch of counties becoming mandatory on July 1st of this year. eFiling was featured on the cover of the Texas Bar Journal this month. For more information, please visit eFileTexas.gov.
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Judicial Committee on Information Technology
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The Judicial Committee on Information Technology met on December 13th to review the completion of the eFiling transition as well as review expectations for the mandate that went into effect earlier this month. After feedback from the filing community and the service providers, the Standards subcommittee was directed to develop standards and best practices around eFiling for use by the district and county clerks. Filers continue to be frustrated by the different efiling codes and processes for the same item from county to county. Visit the JCIT webpage for more information.
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Texas Court Remote Interpreter Service (TCRIS)
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Responding to the need for langue interpreters in the state, this month OCA announced the expansion of its remote interpreter services. Known as TCRIS, the program is open to judges in every county for just the cost of a phone call or video - conference. For more information and to meet the Language Access Coordinator check out this short audio presentation about the program.
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Texas Indigent Defense Commission Awards $37 Million to Counties
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At its December meeting, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission voted to disburse $37 million in formula grant funding to Texas counties to help them ensure that all Texans can access constitutionally required legal defense services. In addition to scheduling the regular quarterly payments over the fiscal year totaling $22 million, most counties will receive a special one-time formula grant payment disbursing the $15 million that accumulated in the Fair Defense Account, but which the legislature had not previously appropriated in the 2012-2013 budget. Counties are eligible to receive formula grants based on their compliance with the central requirements of the Fair Defense Act. The amount of a county's formula grant is calculated based on a combination of population and indigent defense expenditures. You can see the full formula grant award schedule by county here.
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Status of Court Security in State Courts
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The National Center for State Courts recently released its report on the status of court Security in State Courts. You can read it here.
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DOJ Proposed Regulations to Strengthen Background Checks System for Firearms Possession
On January 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice released a proposed regulation aimed at clarifying who, due to mental health reasons, is prohibited under federal law from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting firearms. The proposed amendments to existing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulations are intended to provide general guidance on the federal law and assist states to determine what information can be appropriately shared with the federal background check system - the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The proposed revised definition clarifies that the statutory terms "adjudicated as a mental defective" and "committed to a mental institution" include persons who are found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect; persons lacking mental responsibility or deemed insane; and persons found guilty but mentally ill, regardless of whether these determinations are made by a state, local, federal or military court. The proposed regulation also clarifies that the statutory term includes a person committed to involuntary inpatient or outpatient treatment. Comments on the proposed regulations must be submitted on or before April 7, 2014. (Kay Farley, kfarley@ncsc.org).
HHS Proposed HIPAA Regulations Related to Background Checks System for Firearms Possession
Also on January 7, 2014, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released proposed regulations to modify the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) to expressly permit certain HIPAA covered entities to disclose to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) the identities of individuals who are subject to a federal "mental health indicator" that disqualifies them from receiving, possessing, shipping, or transporting firearms. As proposed, only entities with authority to make adjudication or commitment decisions that make individuals subject to the federal mental health prohibitor or that serve as repositories of information for NICS reporting purposes would be permitted to disclose information to NICS. Comments on the proposed regulations must be submitted on or before March 10, 2014. (Kay Farley, kfarley@ncsc.org).
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| Attorney General Opinion |
Whether Government Code section 51.608, which requires that court costs imposed on a defendant in a criminal proceeding be the amount required on the date the defendant is convicted, violates federal and state constitutional prohibitions of ex post facto laws. ( RQ-1135-GA)
Confidentiality of records in juvenile misdemeanor cases. (RQ-1136-GA)
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Judicial Appointments
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Earlier this month, Judge Barbara Hervey from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals was chosen to be a member of the newly formed National Forensic Science Commission. The Commission was formed to examine the forensic-science community and the efficacy of the use of forensic science in the criminal-justice system. Press release.
Judge Mary Murphy, Presiding Judge of the First Administrative Judicial Region, and Judge Judy Warne of the 257th District Court in Houston were appointed by the Supreme Court to the Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families for a term to expire on November 30, 2016.
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**NEW**Competitive Drug Court Grants Available
Deadline: March 18, 2014
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is seeking applications for funding to establish or enhance Drug Court services, coordination, offender management, and recovery support services.
Eligible drug court models must include one of the following types: Adult Drug Courts; Driving While Intoxicated (DWI)/Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Courts; Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Mental Health Courts; Veterans Treatment Courts; and Tribal Healing to Wellness Courts. Court programs that combine or propose to combine the above-referenced Drug Court models (meeting the requirements of such) with other court programs or dockets are also eligible for funding, although the funding under this program must be used to address only those clients eligible for Drug Court services.
For Category 1: Implementation and Category 2: Enhancement, applicants are limited to states, state and local courts, counties, units of local government, and Indian tribal governments (as determined by the Secretary of the Interior) on behalf of a single jurisdiction Drug Court.
For Category 3: Statewide, applicants are limited to state agencies such as the state court administrative offices, state criminal justice agencies, and other state agencies involved with the provision of substance abuse, mental health or related services to criminal offenders such as the State Administering Agency (SAA), the Administrative Office of the Courts, and the State Alcohol and Substance Abuse Agency.
BJA anticipates that it will make up to 60 awards for varying amounts and time periods.
Information: https://www.bja.gov/Funding/14DrugCourtSol.pdf
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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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