Upcoming Events
Jun 2, 2016 1:00pm
John H. Reagan Building
105 W 15th St.
Room 131, Austin
Jun 2, 2016
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News from the Office of Court Administration
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Texas Fellows graduate at U.S. Supreme Court
 Eighteen graduates, including OCA Director of Research and Court Services Scott Griffith, OCA Research Specialist Amanda Stites, Lubbock County Assistant Director of Court Administration Cryctal Spradley, and Johnson County Court Coordinator Iryna Spangler, celebrated their achievement at the U.S. Supreme Court on May 6, 2016. Major General William K. Suter, 19th Clerk of the Supreme Court of the United States (ret.), was the graduation speaker. Major General Suter spoke about the importance of leadership and what each graduate can and should bring to state courts and our system of democratic governance. ICM Fellows certification is the highest and most demanding professional development certificate offered by the Institute for Court Management (ICM). To become an ICM Fellow, participants complete a rigorous 16-month program that includes the design and completion of an independent court research and improvement project that contributes to the growing professional literature on court administration. Since 1970, nearly 1,250 court leaders have become Fellows of the Institute for Court Management. More...
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Re:SearchTX on Target for Access to Judges in June
Remote Electronic Search Texas (re:Search), the tool to allow judges to view all eFiled documents, is currently being tested by a select group of judges. It's expected to rollout within the next month to judges in the 136 counties impacted by the last eFiling mandate and to the rest of the judges in the state shortly thereafter.
re:SearchTX will be especially effective for judges that span multiple counties. It will allow them to look at all eFiled documents via a single portal. It also allows judges to create "folders" allowing them to follow particular cases.
The tool is expected to be available to attorneys of record by the end of the year.
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OCA works to meet needs of counties identified through Equipment Loan Program
OCA has received many applications from counties in need of computer equipment to support eFiling. We're currently working to satisfy all requests received from counties with less than 20,000.
We expect to have equipment delivered to those counties by mid-June.
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TAMES Attorney Portal Coming Soon
The Texas Appeals Management and eFiling System (TAMES) attorney portal is currently undergoing testing from several appellate courts. This tool will allow attorneys in appellate cases to securely access all case documents. The portal will be made available across all appellate courts in June/July.
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Supreme court approves rules amendments for inability to pay
On May 16, 2016, in Miscellaneous Docket No. 16-9056, the Supreme Court approved amendments to the rules that govern when a party can proceed in court without payment of court costs. The Court rewrote Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 145 and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 20 and made corresponding changes to Rule of Civil Procedure 502 and Rules of Appellate Procedure 25 and 32. The Court also approved a form Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, which clerks will be required to provide to litigants. The amendments become effective September 1.
The Court's order invites public comments on the amendments and the form and requests that all comments be sent to rulescomments@txcourts.gov by August 1. The amendments and form may be changed before the effective date in response to comments received.
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Article Details Establishment of the Texas Office of Court Administration
Administrative Director David Slayton writes about the creation of the Texas Office of Court Administration in the Spring issue of the Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society.
Answering the Call in the Wilderness: Establishment of the Texas Office of Court Administration
Unknown to most, the vast majority of the work of the courts occurs of the bench by judges, court coordinators, clerks, and other court personnel. Read more...
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Mental Health Matters: For Veterans
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Presiding Judge Brent A. Carr, County Criminal Court #9 in Fort Worth, started the Veterans Court Diversion Program in 2009. This court is featured in an episode on the Mental Health Channel.
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| Mental Health Matters: Episode 3, For Veterans
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Service members returning from war are at higher risk for mental health issues. What programs can help them reintegrate and reduce their exposure to substance abuse, homelessness and incarceration?
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Research & Court Services Spotlight
Organizational Change Management (OCM) is defined as " a framework structured around the changing needs and capabilities of an organization. OCM is used to prepare, adopt and implement fundamental and radical organizational changes, including its culture, policies, procedures and physical environment, as well as employee roles, skills and responsibilities." The following resources may assist you in planning for managing change in your court.
The National Center for State Courts has a guide that links to online resources on leadership/change management in the courts. From the resource guide webpage,
"Court systems require effective leadership and management practices to respond to important issues, such as public trust and confidence, court and community collaboration, and timeliness and consistency. The demand for increased services from courts, along with proper strategic planning and team building, can be more easily forecasted and implemented when sound leadership, planning, and organizational change management are in place."
The California Department of Technology has produced this guide to provide a practical overview of organization change management. While written to help departments implement a new financial information system, the overview, tools and templates can be helpful in implementing any change. The first step in managing organizational change is determining your organization's readiness for change. The Organizational Change Management Readiness Assessment is a downloadable Excel spreadsheet that can be used to assess readiness in five areas: 1) communication; 2) sponsorship; 3) stakeholder management; 4) readiness; and 5) training.
Communication is a critical element in implementing successful change. This 10-question checklist can be used as a guide to plan for new initiatives and projects and as a guide for communicating about the need for and value of improvements.
For additional information on this topic or to discuss how OCA can help you with organizational change management, please contact OCA's Scott Griffith, Director of Research and Court Services, or Amanda Stites, Research Specialist at (512) 463-1625.
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Attorney General Opinion
Re: What qualifies as a "judicial function" of a county judge such that the judge may claim a state salary supplement under section 26.006 of the Government Code (RQ-0078-KP)
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ABA tool for lawyers in supporting decision-making
Four American Bar Association entities jointly have developed a new resource to help lawyers identify and implement decision-making options for persons with disabilities that are less restrictive than guardianship. The PRACTICAL Tool is a product of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging, Commission on Disability Rights, Section on Civil Rights and Social Justice, and Section on Real Property, Trust and Estate Law, with assistance from the National Resource Center for Supported Decision-Making. PRACTICAL is an acronym for nine steps lawyers can use to identify legal and practical approaches to heighten self-determination before moving ahead with guardianship. The four-page Tool can be used in the case interview process and assist in case analysis. The 22-page Resource Guide expands on the steps and includes links to key resources. PDF and Word versions of the PRACTICAL Tool are available for no-cost download at http://www.ambar.org/practicaltool, which also includes information about a free June 28 webinar in which speakers will summarize each of the Tool's steps and give examples of their use.
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Language access topic of NCSC's newest graphic novel
NCSC has released the sixth in a series of graphic novels that help educate the public about the courts. Justice Case Files #6: The Case of No Pets Allowed tells the story of the Ruiz family, who has received an eviction notice from their landlord because they own a dog. The parents speak minimal English and rely on their teenage son, who is bilingual, for English translation. The book follows the family through the court process of fighting the eviction but not understanding the process because of language barriers. When the family realizes the courts provide interpreters, the outlook for their case improves. The books are available in print and online. More...
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Nominate an outstanding judge for NCSC's Rehnquist Award
NCSC is currently accepting nominations for the 2016 William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence, one of the nation's highest judicial honors. Nominations are due Friday, June 17, 2016. The Rehnquist Award recognizes a state court judge who demonstrates the outstanding qualities of judicial excellence, including integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, knowledge of the law, professional ethics, sound judgment, intellectual courage, and decisiveness. The recipient is recognized during an awards ceremony held at the U.S. Supreme Court, hosted by Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr. Last year's honoree was Judge Steve Leifman, associate administrative judge of the Miami-Dade County Court-Criminal Division in Florida, pictured here with Chief Justice Roberts. Nominations may be submitted to Stacey Smith, NCSC, 300 Newport Ave., Williamsburg, VA 23185 or by email. More...
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