Texas Judicial Council

1998-1999 REPORT OF ACTIVITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

I. INTRODUCTION

The Texas Judicial Council (Council) was created in 1929 by the 41^st Legislature to study and make recommendations for improving the administration of the Texas judicial system. Since its inception, the Council has collected comprehensive statewide statistics on the operation of Texas' courts. The Office of Court Administration (OCA) helps the Council fulfill its duties by collecting and annually publishing information on the docket activities of each appellate, district, county, justice, and municipal court in the state.

In 1997, the 75^th Legislature passed House Bill 2297 which restructured the membership of the Council and placed it under the direct supervision of the Chief Justice. These changes, along with legislative appropriations for the hiring of two full-time staff persons, have substantially improved the Council's ability to address the most pressing issues facing Texas' judicial system.

This report discusses the activities, findings, and recommendations of the Texas Judicial Council since December 1, 1998. In addition, the Texas Judicial Council's 71^st Annual Report on the Texas Judicial System, which is published by the Office of Court Administration, will be available in January 2000.

II. DUTIES, MEMBERSHIP, AND MEETINGS

A. Duties. Chapter 71, Government Code, charges the Council with the following duties⁽¹⁾:

(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 transaction of judicial business, and correcting faults in 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;

(5) investigate and report on 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 the state.

B. Membership. The Council consists of 22 members. Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips serve ex officio as chair, and Presiding Judge Michael J. McCormick of the Court of Criminal Appeals serves ex officio as vice-chair. Chief Justice Phillips has appointed the following judges to serve on the Council:

Chief Justice Marilyn Aboussie (3^rd Court of Appeals);

Chief Justice John H. Cayce (2^nd Court of Appeals);

Judge Jim Parsons (3^rd Judicial District);

Judge David Peeples (224^th District Court);

Judge Martin Chiuminatto, Jr. (Kleberg County Court-at-Law);

Judge Mike Wood (Harris County Probate Court No. 2);

Judge David Patronella (Justice of the Peace Precinct 1, Harris County);

Judge Penny L. Pope (Justice of the Peace Precinct 2, Galveston County);

Judge Stella Ortiz-Kyle (Presiding Judge, City of San Antonio, Municipal Court); and

Judge Robin Smith (Presiding Judge, City of Midland, Municipal Court).

Lieutenant Governor Rick Perry appointed Senator Rodney Ellis of Houston (serving in his capacity as chair of the Senate Jurisprudence Committee) and Senator Robert Duncan of Lubbock to the Council. Speaker Pete Laney appointed Representative Senfronia Thompson of Houston (serving in her capacity as chair of the House Committee on Judicial Affairs) and Representative Pete Gallego of Alpine to represent the Texas House of Representatives on the Council.

Governor George W. Bush appointed the following members to the Council:

Mr. James Boswell (Plano);

Mr. James R. Brickman (Dallas);

Mr. Joseph A. Callier, Esq. (Houston);

Mr. Kathleen Cardone, Esq. (El Paso);

Mr. Diego Pena, Esq. (San Antonio); and

Ms. Sharon Warfield Wilkes (Bastrop).

C. Meetings. The Council has met three times since December 1, 1998⁽²⁾:

January 7, 1999 (Austin)

March 11, 1999 (Austin)

August 25, 1999 (Austin)

III. 1998-1999 COUNCIL ACTIVITIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

A. Submission of legislative recommendations to the 76^th Legislature. Most of the Council's activities this past year involved providing information and assistance to the 76^th Legislature about the Council's recommendations and other issues impacting the Texas Judicial System. Each Council recommendation was developed in a public forum, with input from citizens and interested parties. Below is a summary of the Council's recommendations that were filed as legislation during the 76^th Regular Session.

1. Juvenile laws for justice and municipal courts. In December 1998, the Council's Committee on Juvenile Justice Reform/Impact on the Courts submitted its final report and recommendations for improving the administration of juvenile justice in the municipal and justice courts to the Council.⁽³⁾ These recommendations, which were adopted by the Council at its January 1999 meeting, were filed as HB 688⁽⁴⁾. HB 688 was passed by Legislature , signed by the Governor, and became effective on September 1, 1999.

2. Storage and retention of appellate court records. In December 1998, the Committee on the Storage and Retention of Appellate Records recommended that the retention and storage periods for records in certain civil and criminal cases be reduced. These recommendations were adopted by the Council at its January 1999 meeting and were filed as SB 469.⁽⁵⁾ SB 469 was passed by the Legislature, signed by the Governor, and became effective on September 1, 1999.

3. Visiting judges' program. In November 1998, the Committee on Visiting and Retired Judges submitted several legislative proposals for improving the visiting judges' program to the Council. At its November meeting, the Council agreed to submit the committee's recommendations to the 76^th Legislature. Those recommendations, which were filed as SB 263, were passed by the Senate and died in House committee.⁽⁶⁾

4. Judicial Districts Board. In January 1999, the Council agreed to submit the Committee on Judicial Redistricting's recommendation that the Judicial Districts Board be abolished to the 76^th Legislature. That recommendation, which was filed as SB 412/SJR 20, was passed by the Senate and died in House committee.⁽⁷⁾

B. Submission of proposed rules to the Supreme Court of Texas. In January 1999, the Council submitted two proposed rule changes to the Supreme Court. These changes, which were developed by the Committee on Visiting and Retired Judges, were intended to assist the presiding judges of the nine judicial administrative regions in their oversight of the visiting judges' program. The first proposal would amend Rule 5, Rules of Judicial Administration, to expressly require that the presiding judge periodically monitor and evaluate the performance of visiting judges.⁽⁸⁾ The second proposal would establish a peer review system to evaluate the performance of visiting judges biennially.⁽⁹⁾

C. Directives from the 76^th Legislature.

1. Judicial Performance Measures. In January 1997, the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency recommended that Texas courts "establish, adopt, and regularly report uniform measures and standards of performance."⁽¹⁰⁾ As a result of that recommendation, the 75^th Legislature enacted several provisions to facilitate the collection of data relating to the performance of appellate and district courts.⁽¹¹⁾ Last session, the 76^th Legislature approved riders to HB 1 (The Appropriations Act) which require the Office of Court Administration and the Texas Judicial Council to develop performance measures for the appellate and district courts of Texas.⁽¹²⁾ At its August 1999 meeting, the Council created the Committee on Judicial Performance Measures and asked the Committee to work with the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas, the presiding judges of the nine judicial administrative regions, and the district and county clerks in developing proposed measures under the rider. The Committee held its first meeting on November 15, 1999.

 

2. Student Loan Repayment Program. The 76^th Legislature appropriated funds by rider to the Texas Judicial Council to establish a student loan repayment program for those who accept clerkships or temporary attorney positions in the courts.⁽¹³⁾ The rider, which follows the recommendations of the Texas Commission on Judicial Efficiency⁽¹⁴⁾, allocates $255,763 for each fiscal year of the biennium (for a total of $511,526.00) to the program. The Committee on Judicial Law Clerk Recruitment, with assistance from each of the state's law schools, the staff of the Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Judiciary, and members of the Bar, is developing procedures for the administration of the program and will submit its final recommendations to the Council on December 14, 1999.

3. Judicial Internship Program. In addition to funding a student loan repayment program, HB 1 (The Appropriations Act) also states that:

"It is the intent of the Legislature that the Judicial Branch cooperate with law schools to establish a judicial internship program for Texas appellate and trial courts. The Judicial Branch is encouraged to work with the Judicial Council in the development of the judicial internship program⁽¹⁵⁾."

In July 1999, the Committee on Judicial Law Clerk Recruitment, in cooperation with each of the state's law schools and members of the Judiciary, approved preliminary recommendations to assist the Judicial Branch in developing a program. The Committee will present its final recommendations to the Texas Judicial Council early next year.