Upcoming Events
Thu, Sep 15, 2016
1:00pm - 4:00pm
Office of Court Administration
205 West 14th Street
Austin
Thu, Sep 22, 2016
Room 131, Austin
Fri, Sep 23, 2016
Room 131, Austin
Thu, Oct 6, 2016
9:00am - 1:00pm
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News from the Office of Court Administration
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Judicial Council adopts final amendments to Collections Improvement Program Rules
At its meeting on August 19, the Texas Judicial Council adopted the final amendments to the Collections Improvement Program (CIP) rules, making changes responsive to public comments received on the previously published amendments. The amendments, which will be published in the September 2 edition of the Texas Register, will become effective on January 1, 2017. The preamble to the rules amendments explains the changes that were made in response to the public comments. CIP technical assistance staff will begin training local programs and releasing model forms and procedures for local program consideration in the upcoming weeks.
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Supreme Court amends rules on indigent filers in civil cases
On August 31, in Miscellaneous Docket No. 16-9122, the Supreme Court of Texas approved final amendments to the procedural rules that permit an indigent litigant to proceed without payment of court costs in a civil case. The Court also approved the final version of a new form Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs, which trial court clerks must make available to all persons without charge. In May, the Court issued a preliminary order amending Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 145 and 502.3 and Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure 20.1, 25, and 32 and soliciting public comments. After reviewing the public comments, the Court made additional changes to Rules 145 and 20.1. The Court also approved conforming amendments to Texas Rules of Civil Procedure 126, several of the rules of practice in justice court, and Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 43.4.
The amended rules take effect September 1 and apply to any contest of, or challenge to, a claim of inability to afford payment of court costs pending on that date.
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Judicial Council provides preliminary approval to legislative proposals for 85th Legislature
At its meeting on August 19, the Texas Judicial Council provided preliminary approval to 13 legislative proposals for the 85th Legislature. The proposals will be drafted into formal resolutions to be considered by the Judicial Council at its October 28 meeting.
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Supreme Court repeals order mandating reporting of judicial appointments and fees
Due to the implementation of Senate Bill 1369 on September 1, 2016, the Supreme Court has repealed its order mandating similar information regarding judicial appointments and fees. The statutory requirements for reporting appointments and fees for attorney ad litem, guardians ad litem, guardians, mediators, and competency evaluators enacted by SB 1369 remain. Information and training resources on the new requirements have been posted.
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New Technology Standards Adopted
The Judicial Committee on Information Technology adopted a new version of the Technology Standards in their August 26th meeting. The highlights of the changes include:
- Standards for filing proposed orders and requesting citations
- Expanded Criminal eFiling codes
- JP Codes for both civil and criminal
The new Technology standards are available on the Technology Standards page. Also on that page, you can find the timeline to give your feedback on other standards that need to change.
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State examines ways to curb financial exploitation of older Texans
The Texas House of Representatives House Research Organization issued a report that examines current Texas law and policies to help prevent financial exploitation of the elderly and a few issues the Legislature may consider. Included in the report is an update on the efforts of OCA's Guardianship Compliance Program.
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Courts and Agencies Submit 2018-2019 Budget Requests
The Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, Courts of Appeals, and the judicial branch agencies submitted 2018-2019 budget requests during August. All of the courts and agencies, as well as most other state agencies, were required to submit budgets that cut 4% from the 2016-2017 biennial appropriations. All courts and agencies presented their budget requests to the staff of the Legislative Budget Board and Governor's Office of Budget and Policy in the last two weeks. The Legislature will consider the budget requests during the 85th Legislative Session beginning in January.
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Conference of Chief Justices endorses report with concrete ways to improve civil justice
 A new report, Call to Action: Achieving Civil Justice for All, recommends concrete improvements in the American civil justice system. The report calls on state judicial leaders to implement 13 recommendations, which are designed to meet the challenges of contemporary civil caseloads by taking advantage of modern technologies and highly trained court staff to provide effective oversight and timely intervention to move civil cases to resolution. The report has been endorsed by the Conference of Chief Justices and was produced with the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System (IAALS). It was simultaneously endorsed by the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA).
The report containing the recommendations, "Call to Action: Achieving Civil Justice for All," is the result of more than two years' worth of research and discussion by a blue-ribbon group of legal and judicial leaders. The committee included state chief justices, trial court judges, court administrators, attorneys, and academics. Staff support was provided jointly by NCSC and IAALS (the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System).
The recommendations are designed to meet the challenges of contemporary civil caseloads by taking advantage of modern technologies and highly trained court staff to provide effective oversight and timely intervention to move civil cases to resolution.
They present a comprehensive framework that features: - Procedural reforms implemented in a variety of state courts that have been empirically tested and shown to substantially improve civil case processing;
- A right-sized staffing model for civil case processing that delegates substantial responsibility for routine caseflow management to specially trained professional staff, supported by effective case automation, permitting judges to focus on tasks that require their unique training and expertise;
- A Pathway Approach to caseflow management that assigns cases at filing based on the expected amount of court involvement needed to resolve the case, but offers sufficient flexibility for reassignment as the needs of the case change over time; and
- A renewed focus on high-volume calendars that comprise the vast majority of contemporary civil caseloads, especially improved access for self-represented litigants and greater attention to uncontested cases and greater scrutiny of claims to ensure procedural fairness for litigants.
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1st COA Issues Opinion on Court Costs
On July 12, 2016, the First Court of Appeals, Houston, Texas, issued a published opinion regarding the importance of court costs in multiple cases. In Williams v. State, a jury convicted the defendant of three first-degree felonies and assessed his punishment at various years in prison, and a $10,000 fine in each case, with the sentences running concurrently. On appeal, the defendant raised several issues relating to the assessment of court costs and the inclusion of assessed fines in his bills of cost. In summary, the court of appeals held that: 1) identical court costs should have been assessed only once because the defendant was convicted of three offenses that arose out of the same criminal episode, and the one-time identical costs should have been based on the lowest cause number of the three cases since the offenses were of the same category; 2) the defendant was only responsible for paying one of the three $10,000 fines assessed because the trial court ordered the sentences to run concurrently; and 3) fines are punitive and should not have been included in the defendant's bills of cost.
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NCSC accepting nominations for Burger Award
The National Center for State Courts is accepting nominations for the Warren E. Burger Award, the highest award recognizing a court administrator who has significantly contributed to improving the administration of the state courts. Service may be at the local, state, or national level. This prestigious award honors an individual who demonstrates professional expertise, leadership, integrity, creativity, innovativeness, and sound judgment. Nominations are due no later than Friday, October 14, 2016.
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Proposed Rule - JJDPA Formula Grant Program
- Proposed New Standards for Compliance with the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders (DSO), Separation, and Jail Removal Requirements - The proposed new standards would create numerical thresholds above which states would be considered out of compliance.
- Proposed Requirement That States Annually Report Compliance Data for 100% of Facilities - The proposed rule would require that states provide compliance-monitoring data, for each federal fiscal-year reporting period, for 100% of the facilities within the state that are required to report on compliance with the DSO, separation, and jail removal requirements.
- Proposed Changes to the Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Requirement - Under proposed rule, a state would be in compliance with DMC when it includes a DMC report within its state plan that contains a detailed description of adequate progress in implementing the 5-phase reduction model, which includes: (1) Identification of the extent to which DMC exists; (2) Assessment and Comprehensive Analysis to determine the significant factors contributing to DMC at each contact point; (3) Intervention strategies to reduce DMC; (4) Evaluation of the effectiveness of the delinquency prevention and system-improvement strategies; and (5) Monitoring to track changes in DMC statewide and in the local jurisdictions to determine whether there has been progress toward DMC reduction.
- Compliance Reporting Period Changed to Federal Fiscal Year - The proposed rule would change the reporting period for compliance-monitoring data to the federal fiscal year, consistent with the JJDPA.
- Proposed Definitions - The proposed rule would add a definition of the term "detain or confine" that clarifies that the term includes non-secure detention-that is, a juvenile is detained when he is not free to leave, even though he is not securely detained within a locked room or cell, or by being handcuffed to a cuffing rail or bench. The proposed rule also would add a definition of "placed or placement" such that that occurs only when a status offender or a non-offender who is an alien or is alleged to be dependent, neglected, or abused is detained or confined for a period of 24 hours or longer in a secure juvenile detention or correctional facility or for any length of time in a secure adult detention or correctional facility.
- Proposed Deletion of Federal Wards Provision - With the elimination of the federal wards provision, states would be required to report the secure placement of undocumented juvenile immigrants who are status offenders or non-offenders in state or local facilities pursuant to federal authority.
- Proposed Deletion of Provisions That Describe Recommendations Rather Than Requirements - The proposed rule would delete sections of the current regulation that do not contain requirements that states must meet to be in compliance with the Formula Grant Program requirements and that provide information that would be more appropriate for inclusion in policy guidance provided to states.
Comments are due October 7, 2016.
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Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA) Signed Into Law
On July 22, 2016, President Obama signed into law the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (P.L. 114-198). This is one of the major federal drug-addiction-response laws in the past 40 years and primarily focuses on the opioid epidemic. Key features of this law: - Expand resources to identify and treat incarcerated individuals suffering from addiction disorders by collaborating with criminal justice stakeholders and providing evidence-based treatment. For example, Section 503 amends the Omnibus Crime Control Act of 1968 to expand treatment focus for veterans under veterans treatment courts. In addition, Section 201 focuses on localized grants to state and local governments where opioid addiction is at a high level. These grants call for comprehensive, community-based responses that should include all aspects of the criminal justice system, including courts.
- Expand prevention and educational efforts-particularly aimed at teens, parents and other caretakers, and aging populations-to prevent the abuse of methamphetamines, opioids, and heroin, and to promote treatment and recovery.
- Expand the availability of naloxone to law enforcement agencies and other first responders to help in the reversal of overdoses to save lives.
- Expand disposal sites for unwanted prescription medications to keep them out of the hands of our children and adolescents.
- Launch an evidence-based opioid and heroin treatment and intervention program to expand best practices throughout the country.
- Launch a medication-assisted treatment and intervention demonstration program.
- Strengthen prescription-drug-monitoring programs to help states monitor and track prescription drug diversion and to help at-risk individuals access services.
A key part of this law is that it authorizes $181 million in new spending. However, the above programs must be funded every year by the regular appropriations process. Thus far, the FY 2016 Commerce Justice Science Appropriations bill fully funds the above programs. As always, keeping these response programs funded will be a challenge as other priorities arise.
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Research & Court Services Spotlight
Community engagement refers to the process by which community benefit organizations and individuals build ongoing, permanent relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision for the benefit of a community. Community engagement initiatives have shown promise in the area of court and justice systems. The following resources may assist you in developing community engagement initiatives in your jurisdiction.
This article relates the efforts of the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County to deliver effective community outreach. Ultimately, no single standing program can successfully maintain community outreach; rather, courts are challenged to pursue and coordinate a project-based approach, fostering both public education and citizen input.
The evaluation toolkit is designed to help judges and other criminal court practitioners assess their use of procedural justice both in terms of individual practices, as well as agency-level or environmental factors that may contribute to court users' perceptions of fairness. The toolkit includes a self-assessment, defendant survey, and courtroom observation instrument.
This white paper from the American Judges Association summarizes research on procedural fairness and makes the case that "procedural fairness is the critical element in public perception and satisfaction with the court system." The purpose of the paper is to identify and advocate for changes that will improve the daily work of the courts and its judges.
Participatory Defense: Family and Community Involvement in the Courts This video, a recorded session from the National Association for Court Management 2016 Annual Conference, features Raj Jayadev of Silicon Valley De-Bug's Albert Cobarrubias Justice Project. Mr. Jayadev shares a new model of community engagement in the courts called "participatory defense" - a community organizing methodology for families who have loved one facing charges to impact the outcome of the case and change the landscape of power in the courts. The organization has been using the practice in the Bay Area for seven years and is now training community organizations and public defender offices nationally on how to embed the practice in their counties. Mr. Jayadev shares the story of participatory defense, the impact on individual cases, reform campaigns that have launched from the approach, and examples of tools such as social biography videos and The First 24.
Courting Justice is a multi-city town hall series that invites state supreme, appellate and trial court judges to step down from the bench and listen to new perspectives on how the United States court system can better deliver justice for all. From litigants to public defenders, families of the incarcerated to prosecutors, every constituent can voice their concerns and share real-world solutions on how to rebuild the public trust in our judiciary. The first Listening Tour was taped at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 10. The show was broadcast nationally on PBS stations as the regular airing of the "Tavis Smiley Show" on June 22.
The Building Community Trust Model Curriculum and Instruction Manual offers foundational instruction on addressing racial disparity in our criminal justice system, providing resources and training tools for those in the judicial, prosecutorial, and defense agencies, as well other members of the legal professional community. This comprehensive guide works towards equipping actors in the criminal justice system with the appropriate knowledge for fostering cultural competency.
For additional information on this topic or to discuss how OCA can help you with community engagement, please contact OCA's Scott Griffith, Director of Research and Court Services, or Amanda Stites, Court Services Manager at (512) 463-1625.
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Attorney General Opinion
Opinion: ( KP-0109) The constitutionality of a volunteer justice court chaplaincy program and opening daily judicial proceedings with prayer Summary: A Justice of the Peace does not violate the Establishment Clause by opening a court session with the statement "God save the State of Texas and this Honorable Court." A court would likely conclude that a Justice of the Peace's practice of opening daily court proceedings with a prayer by a volunteer chaplain as you describe is sufficiently similar to the facts in Galloway such that the practice does not violate the Establishment Clause. A court would likely conclude that the volunteer chaplain program you describe, which allows religious leaders to provide counseling to individuals in distress upon request, does not violate the Establishment Clause.
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The National Judicial College offers courses in Austin
The National Judicial College will conduct two education programs from January 30 - February 2, 2017.
Effective Caseflow Management and Judicial Philosophy and American Law will be held in Austin at the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel.
"Justice delayed is justice denied" (Gladstone). Effective, efficient caseflow promotes justice and upholds the very purpose of our courts. This class is designed to take judges or court administrators through a rigorous examination of the components of effective caseflow management.
Caseflow program details and learning objectives can be reviewed HERE. Judicial Philosophy traces the philosophical underpinnings of American law beginning with the Declaration of Independence and continuing through the U.S. Constitution, Civil War and Reconstruction, New Deal, and the Warren Court to the present day. Special emphasis is placed on the various judicial philosophies and historical events that played a part in forming American law as it now exists. The faculty addresses the application of judicial philosophy to future problems.
Judicial Philosophy program details and learning objectives can be reviewed HERE.
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Training Opportunities - Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Regulations
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is offering training sessions on the new ICWA regulations. The intent of the sessions is to assist jurisdictions in the implementation of the final ICWA rule that was published on June 14, 2016. The target audiences for the training sessions include federally recognized Indian Tribes, state courts, and child welfare agencies. Some of the sessions involve on-site training in various locations across the country and other sessions are by webinar. Currently, the first session is scheduled for August 15, 2016 and the last session is scheduled for November 17, 2016.
Information about the schedule of training sessions can be found on the BIA Web site. This Web site also includes the training materials and the full text of the regulation.
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Education Stability in Foster Care Webpage
The Children's Bureau has launched a new Webpage, Educational Stability in Foster Care, which offers resources, best practices, and state examples developed to assist child welfare and education professionals to use to improve the educational success of children and youth in foster care. The Webpage contains resources that address common challenges, including immediate enrollment, collaboration among agencies, transportation, data sharing, and decision-making. The Webpage also includes the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) non-regulatory guidance jointly released by the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education and a link to the federal legislation.
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Synthesis - Child Welfare and Education Collaboration
The Children's Bureau has also released a publication, Synthesis: Child Welfare-Education System Collaborations to Increase Educational Stability, which encompasses ten Children's Bureau-funded projects designed to improve the educational stability and permanency outcomes for children in foster care aged 10 to 17. Interventions included transportation arrangements to allow youth to remain in their schools after placement in a different school district; access to children's educational histories for child welfare professionals; development of data-sharing capabilities among child welfare, education, and court systems to ensure educational accomplishments; and recognition of challenges faced by these youth and that those challenges are addressed.
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Judicial Appointments
Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Robert E. "Bobby" Bell of Edna as judge of the 267th Judicial District Court in Calhoun, DeWitt, Goliad, Jackson, Refugio and Victoria Counties.
The Supreme Court of Texas has made appointments to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation Board of Directors. Order
The Supreme Court of Texas made appointments to the Judicial Committee on Information Technology. Order
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Resources in Response to Traumatic Stress
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