Texas Judicial Council

The Texas Judicial Council was established in 1929 by Article 2328a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, to continually study and report upon "the organization, rules, procedure and practice of the judicial system of the State of Texas, the work accomplished and the results produced by that system and its various parts and methods of its improvement." The Council studies strategies to improve the administration of justice; formulates methods to simplify judicial procedures; and submits its recommendations to the Governor, the Legislature, and the Supreme Court. The state Office of Court Administration (OCA) helps the Council fulfill its functions by maintaining information on the docket activities of every appellate, district, county-level, justice of the peace, and municipal court in the state. Since its inception in 1977, OCA has performed all necessary staff functions for both the agency and the Council.

The duties assigned to the Council by Chapter 71, Government Code include:

(1) continuously study the organization, rules, procedures and practice, work accomplished, results, and uniformity of the discretionary powers of the state courts and methods for their improvement;

(2) receive and consider advice from judges, public officials, members of the Bar, and citizens concerning remedies for faults in the administration of justice;

(3) design methods for simplifying judicial procedure, expediting the transactions of judicial business, and correcting faults in or improving the administration of justice;

(4) file a complete detailed report with the Governor and the Supreme Court before December 2 of each year on Council activities, information from the Council's study, and Council recommendations; and a supplemental report on Council activities, findings, or recommendations at a time it considers advisable;

(5) investigate and report on any matters concerning the administration of justice that the Supreme Court or the Legislature refers to the Council; and,

(6) gather judicial statistics and other pertinent information from the several state judges and other court officials of this state.

Membership of the Council

Pursuant to House Bill 2297, 75th Legislature, Council membership is composed of: the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the presiding judge of the Court of Criminal Appeals; the chairof the Senate Jurisprudence Committee; one member of the senate, appointed by the lieutenant governor; the chair of the House Judicial Affairs Committee; one member of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house; two justices of the courts of appeals and two district judges designated by the chief justice; two judges of county courts, statutory county, or statutory probate courts appointed by the chief justice; two justices of the peace and two municipal court judges selected by the chief justice; and six citizen members, including three attorneys and two non-lawyers, appointed by the governor.

Prior to passage of H.B. 2297, Legislative members of the Council were: State Senator Don Henderson, immediate past chair of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee; State Senator Rodney Ellis, chair of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee; State Representative Senfronia Thompson, House Judicial Affairs Committee chair; and Representative Betty Denton, immediate past chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

Members from the Courts of Appeals who served in 1997 were Justice LeeAnn Dauphinot of the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth and Chief Justice Richard Barajas of the 8th Court in El Paso.

The two presiding judges of the Administrative Judicial Regions who served as members were: Judge Stephen B. Ables, presiding judge of the 6th Administrative Judicial Region, Kerrville, and Judge Olin B. Strauss, presiding judge of the 4th Administrative Judicial Region, Jourdanton.

Attorney members were: W.T. (Tom) McDonald, Bryan; Judith K. Guthrie, Tyler; Debbie D. Branson, Dallas; Joe Spurlock II; Algenita Davis, Houston; Cynthia Solls, Dallas; and Diego Pena, San Antonio

Lay members on the Council were: Rae Jackson, Longview and Richard P. (Dick) Richards, Aransas Pass.

The Texas Judicial Council met twice during Fiscal Year 1997, on January 24 and April 11, 1997.

Report on Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency

The Council unanimously voted to support the recommendations of the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency, which was created in the fall of 1995 to study and recommend ways to improve the state court system. In January 1997, the Commission issued a comprehensive report that suggested various improvements in court funding, computer technology, judicial selection, and legal staff recruitment. While Council members voted to support the Commission's recommendations contained in Volume I of the Commission report, they agreed to defer consideration on the basic judicial selection proposals (Volume II) until legislation implementing them had been filed during the legislative session.

Judicial Committee on Information Technology

The Judicial Committee on Information Technology was created by Senate Bill 1417, the Judicial Efficiency Bill, during the 75th Legislature. The committee is charged with developing and overseeing the design and implementation of a coordinated statewide computer communication network and comprehensive justice information system.

The duties assigned to the Committee by Chapter 77, Government Code include:

(1) developing programs to implement the information technology recommendations from Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency;

(2) establishing minimum standards for voice storage and retrieval services, including voice messaging and electronic mail services, local area networks, Internet access, electronic data interchange, data dictionaries, and other technological needs of the judicial system;

(3) developing a coordinated statewide computer and communication network that links all courts in Texas;

(4) researching the possible uses of existing computer and communication networks developed by other state agencies;

(5) establishing minimum standards for electronically based document system and recommending rules relating to the electronic filing of documents with courts;

(6) instituting security guidelines for controlling access to and protecting the integrity and confidentiality of information available in electronic form;

(7) creating a state judicial system web page for use on the Internet accessible to the public for a reasonable access fee set by the supreme court after consultation with the committee;

(8) establishing minimum standards for an internal computer and communication network available only to court staff;

(9) recommending pilot programs relating to new technologies as applied to the judicial system;

(10) recommending training and technical assistance programs for users of the coordinated statewide computer and communication network;

(11) developing funding priorities regarding the various technological needs of the judicial system; and

(12) recommending distributions to courts from the judicial technology account in the judicial fund.

The committee operates under the direction and supervision of the chief justice of the supreme court. The 15 members of the committee are appointed by the chief justice and are representative of appellate court judges, appellate courts clerks, district court judges, county court judges, statutory probate judges, justices of the peace, municipal court judges, district attorneys, court reporters, court administrators, district or county clerks, members of the legislature, attorneys, and the general public. A member of the Office of Court Administration (OCA) serves as a nonvoting member, and OCA provides staff support for the committee.

On August 11, 1997, Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips appointed members to the committee and named Peter Vogel of Dallas as chair and Dr. Don Hardcastle of Waco as vice-chair. The following persons were chosen by the chief justice to serve on the committee for two-year terms ending August 31, 1999:

State Senator Rodney Ellis, Houston; State Representative Pete P. Gallego, Alpine; Judge Lamar McCorkle, 133^rd Judicial District, Houston; Judge Steve M. King, Tarrant County Probate Court No. 1, Ft. Worth; Jay Johnson, former Swisher County Judge, Austin; Patricia A. Ott, Williamson County Justice of the Peace Pct. 1, Round Rock; Presiding Judge Michael L. O'Neal, City of Dallas Municipal Court, Dallas; District Attorney Jaime Esparza, 34^th Judicial District, El Paso; Diane Wilson, Ft. Bend County Clerk, Richmond; Michael N. Milby, Clerk, U.S. District Court for the Southern District, Houston; Peggy Culp, Clerk, 7^th Court of Appeals, Amarillo; Bob Wessels, Harris County Criminal Courts Administrator, Houston; and Judy Miller, past president, Texas Court Reporters Association, Dallas.

Justice Nathan Hecht, Supreme Court of Texas, Austin; Judge Sharon Keller, Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, Austin; and Justice Bill Vance, Tenth Court of Appeals, Waco were appointed to serve as non-voting liaison members, at the pleasure of the chief justice.

Office of Court Administration

Chapter 72, Government Code, establishes the state Office of Court Administration (OCA) to provide administrative support and technical assistance to all courts in the state. The agency is charged with the implementation of the Court Administration Act and of the rules of administration promulgated by the Supreme Court. The statute authorizes the OCA to provide staff support to the Texas Judicial Council.

The statute prescribes to OCA the following duties:

(1) assist the justices and judges in discharging their administrative duties;

(2) consult with the administrative judges and assist them in discharging duties imposed by law or by a rule adopted by the Supreme Court;

(3) recommend to the Supreme Court appropriate means to implement the Court Administration Act;

(4) examine the judicial dockets, practices, and procedures of the courts and the administrative and business methods or systems used in the office of a clerk of a court or in an office related to and serving a court and recommend necessary improvements or any other changes that will promote the efficient administration of justice;

(5) prepare and submit an estimated budget for the appropriation of funds necessary for the maintenance and operation of the judicial system, and study and recommend expenditures of funds appropriated for the maintenance and operation of the judicial system;

(6) consult with and assist court clerks, other court officers or employees, and clerks or other officers or employees of offices related to and serving a court to provide for the efficient administration of justice;

(7) consult with and make recommendations to administrators and coordinators of the courts to provide for uniform administration of the courts and efficient administration of justice;

(8) implement rules of administration or other rules adopted by the Supreme Court for the efficient administration of justice;

(9) perform such additional duties as may be assigned by the Supreme Court and by the Chief Justice; and

(10) prepare an annual report of the activities of the Office to be published in the Annual Report of the Texas Judicial Council; and

(11) publish an annual report regarding the demographic profile of the judicial law clerks and attorneys employed by the courts.

Further, Chapter 77, Government Code, calls for the OCA provide staff support to the JCIT.

In addition to these statutorily mandated duties, the agency performs other functions under the direction of the Supreme Court. OCA provides staff services to the Council of Presiding Judges of the Administrative Judicial Regions, the Board of Regional Judges for Title IV-D Account (Child Support Enforcement), and other committees and task forces appointed by the Supreme Court.

Under the authority of Section 71.035, Government Code, OCA produces monthly court activity reports on the 14 courts of appeals and approximately 2,300 trial courts of the state (396 district courts, 254 constitutional county courts, 191 statutory county courts at law and probate courts, 842 justice of the peace courts, and 850 cities with active municipal courts). The reports are based on statistics submitted to OCA from court clerks. OCA receives annual reports on court activities from the Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals. The information is stored on a database, providing ready access to docket information.

Administrative Judicial Regions

Chapter 74 of the Government Code divides the state into nine administrative judicial regions. The governor designates an active or retired district judge residing in an administrative judicial region to serve as presiding judge of that region. The statute creates the Council of Presiding Judges and designates the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court as chair. OCA provides administrative support to the Council, and compiles a monthly report on district, county, and juvenile court activity in each of the nine administrative judicial regions.

When sitting in supervision of the Title IV-D Masters program, the presiding judges comprise the Board of Regional Judges for Title IV-D Account, to which OCA also provides staff support. The Board of Regional Judges met on seven separate occasions during fiscal year 1997.

Equalization of

Courts of Appeals Dockets

The Supreme Court is charged with equalizing the dockets of the Courts of Appeals (Section 73.001, Government Code).

From information supplied by each of the Courts of Appeals, OCA prepares a consolidated monthly report on the docket status of the Courts of Appeals for the Supreme Court to consider when it determines the need to transfer cases between Courts of Appeals.

For the year ended August 31, 1997, a total of 763 cases--193 civil and 570 criminal--were transferred under this authority. The two Houston Courts may also transfer cases between themselves.

The following transfers between the Courts of Appeals were made on orders of the Supreme Court:

Annual Report on the Texas Judicial System

A comprehensive report on the Texas Judicial System has been compiled and published on an annual basis since 1929. The 1996 report contained 456 pages of case information and analysis of court activity at all levels of courts in the State of Texas and the activities of the Texas Judicial Council. OCA compiled and validated approximately 25,000 monthly reports on court activity in 1996 to produce this annual report.

The annual report includes information on the variances in subject-matter jurisdiction of Texas trial courts, the assignments of visiting judges by presiding judges of the nine Administrative Judicial Regions and a thorough, descriptive analysis of the judicial system.

Approximately 2,000 copies of this report were distributed to judges and clerks, members of the legislature, state and federal agencies, criminal justice planning units, local officials, and libraries.

Technical Assistance to Appellate Courts

The 16 appellate courts use automated case management systems developed by OCA. The agency provides on-going system training and technical assistance to the appellate courts.

Technical Assistance to Trial Courts

The Office of Court Administration has developed the automated OCA Case Management System, for use by the trial courts of the state. The systems are designed to improve case management by providing trial courts with pertinent information on cases on their dockets. The OCA Case Management System software has been requested by many courts and clerks' office personnel around the state.

The Texas Manage Child Support IV-D Masters software program, a special program for child support enforcement, has been developed for use by the IV-D Masters and their assistants, who are appointed by the regional presiding judges to hear cases filed by the Attorney General's Office.

Seminars on Case Management Systems

OCA has conducted a series of one-day seminars to train judges

and court personnel in the use of the automated case management

systems. Seminar participants included trial judges, district and county clerks, court coordinators, data processing personnel, and other trial court personnel from a geographical cross-section of the state, including both urban and rural counties.

During the year ended August 31, 1997, 33 seminars were conducted, with a total attendance of 236 persons, including 47 judges, 149 District, County, Justice of the Peace and Municipal Court clerks and their deputies, 26 trial court coordinators, 12 judges' secretaries, one county auditor, and one IV-D Assistant.

User manuals have been developed for each of the automated computer programs and are provided to court personnel to aid in the use of these programs.

Child Support Assistance

The Office of the Attorney General provided $50,000 to the State Board of Regional Judges for Title IV-D Account to administer the Title IV-D program in fiscal year 1997. Additional monies were provided to pay the salaries and expenses of Child Support Masters and were matched by federal Title IV-D funds. The program employed 39 IV-D Masters and 38 administrative assistants to the Masters.

The State Board of Regional Judges for Title IV-D Account met seven times during the period September 1, 1996, to August 31, 1997. OCA provided administrative support to the board.

OCA was appropriated $50,135 in General Revenue Funds for Child Support Enforcement Assistance during fiscal year 1997. The focus of this program is to maintain and enhance the an automated system previously developed by OCA to support the child enforcement responsibilities of the State Board of Regional Judges for Title IV-D Account, Title IV-D Masters and the individual courts. The system is designed to enable the IV-D masters and court clerks to maintain an adequate case management system for all IV-D cases and to communicate child support enforcement information between their offices and the trial courts in their regions. The agency provided system training and technical assistance to the IV-D Masters and their administrative assistants. OCA coordinated the Title IV-D Masters' Seminar held on July 24-25, 1997.

Support to Other Agencies

OCA provides information on the Texas Judicial System and court activities to other state agencies and professional organizations, and to many individual citizens. It maintains contact with the state court administrative offices of other states, the American Judicature Society, the National Center for State Courts, and other national organizations, to keep abreast of new developments in the administration of justice in other states and to provide them with information on the Texas Judicial System.

Model Program: Collection of Fines and Court Costs

uring fiscal year 1997, OCA developed a model collections program designed to increase the collection of fines and court costs, including the Crime Victims Compensation Fund court cost, and to increase respect for court orders. A pilot program was tested in the county-level courts in Brazoria County, starting September 3, 1996.

The Office of the Attorney General contracted with OCA to develop the model collections program providing money from the Crime Victims Compensation Fund to OCA to fund the program development.

The pilot program was highly successful. A comparison of collections in the county-level courts in Brazoria County during the period September through November 1995 (prior to the implementation of the collections program) with the period September through November 1996 (after the implementation of the program) indicates the following:

1) More fines and court costs are being paid. The 1995 collection rate for dollars collected was 75.02%; the 1996 collection rate for dollars collected was 85.18%. This is a 10.16% increase in the rate of dollars collected;

2) More fines and court costs are being collected sooner. There was a 136% increase from 1995 to 1996 in the dollar amounts collected within 60 days of sentencing; and a 73% increase in the dollar amounts collected and jail time credit given within 60 days of sentencing;

3) Because fines and court costs are being collected sooner, this resulted in additional interest revenue to Brazoria County. If the 1996 collection rates for dollars collected are applied to the amount of dollars collected in 1995, it is estimated that Brazoria County would have realized an additional $27,210 in interest revenue in 1995;

4) More defendants are paying their fines and court costs rather than serving time in jail to satisy them. The 1995 amount of jail time credit given was $61,600; the 1996 amount of jail time credit given was $25,934. It is estimated that Brazoria County realized additional savings of $13,210 in 1996 because fewer defendants served time in jail to satisfy their fines and court costs. (NOTE: It costs $25 per day to incarcerate a defendant in jail in Brazoria County.); and

5) Increase in the collection rate of the Crime Victims Compensation Fund court cost. The 1995 collection rate for dollars collected for this court cost was 63.79%; the 1996 collection rate for dollars collected for this court cost was 87.93%. This is a 24.15% increase in the rate of dollars collected for this court cost.

During the pilot program, OCA developed computer software to process collections; provided training on collections procedures and on collections software; developed various management reports to monitor the program's effectiveness; and began developing a collections policies and procedures manual.

As a result of the success of the program, the Legislature provided funding to OCA in the 1998-99 biennnium to assist courts throughout the state in implementing the program.

County Bail Bond Reports

Section 5 of Article 2372p-3, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, creates a county bail bond board in counties with a population of more than 110,000 and gives other counties the option of creating a county bail bond board. The statute charges the county bail bond boards, "To file reports and furnish information on the operation of the bonding business in the county at the request of the Texas Judicial Council which shall report annually to the Governor and the Legislature on or before December 1 of each year on the operation of the bonding business in the state."

OCA has developed and implemented an annual bail bond board reporting system and has produced 14 annual reports to the governor and the legislature as required by law. During the period covered by this report, statistical reporting forms were sent to each of the 32 counties having a bail bond board, and 32 reports were returned to OCA. However, a valid summarization of the bonding business statewide could not be made because only two of the bail bond boards filed a complete report and OCA lacked any enforcement provisions to require submission of complete reports. OCA again recommended that enforcement provisions be enacted to ensure compliance with the reporting requests.

Meetings, Conferences, and Seminars Sponsored By The Office of Court Administration During Fiscal Year 1997

During the period September 1, 1996, through August 31, 1997, OCA provided administrative support, such as scheduling, legal research, and in some cases providing travel and expense funds, to the following meetings and training seminars.

Meetings and Conferences

Texas Judicial Council

Council of Chief Justices

 Council of Presiding Judges

Board of Regional Judges
for Title IV-D Account

Conference of Regional Judges

Appellate Court Clerks

Title IV-D Masters Seminar

National Center for State Courts Institute for Court Management and the Texas Association for Court Administration and the Texas Office of Court Administration: Teambuilding in the Courts

November 11-13, 1996 San Antonio

Case Management Training Seminar

All seminars were held in Austin unless otherwise noted.

Appellate Case Management

District and County

Trial Court Case Management

Justice of the Peace and Municipal

Case Management

Windows 95 and WordPerfect 7

Title IV-D Software