Texas Judicial Council
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P. O. Box 12066 Austin, Texas 78711-2066

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM/IMPACT ON THE COURTS

REVISED 12/20/98

The Committee on Juvenile Justice Reform/Impact on the Courts, ("Committee") has been charged by the Texas Judicial Council "to report on the impact of recent juvenile justice legislation on the courts, with particular emphasis on justice and municipal courts." In meeting its charge, the Committee has focused on the following issues:

1. What changes are needed to enable justice and municipal courts to enforce their orders involving juvenile defendants?

2. What steps can be taken to improve access to referral resources for justice and municipal courts?

This report outlines the recommendations that were adopted by the Committee after obtaining input from members of the bench, the bar, and the general public in a series of 10 open meetings throughout the state.

Recommendations:

1.     Amend Article 45.55 (a) (1), Code of Criminal Procedure (Dismissal of misdemeanor charge on completion of Teen Court Program), which provides:

"A justice or municipal court may defer proceedings against a defendant who is under the age of 18 or enrolled full time in an accredited secondary school in a program leading toward a high school diploma for 90 days if the defendant: (1) is charged with a misdemeanor punishable by a fine only or a violation of a penal ordinance of a political subdivision, including a traffic offense punishable by fine only... ."

Currently, this statute does not clearly provide that justice and municipal courts have jurisdiction to defer all Class C misdemeanors for completion of teen court, including Class C offenses that carry an additional sanction as well as a fine. (Example: If a minor possesses alcohol, can the court require the minor to attend an alcohol awareness program approved by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse under Art. 106.115, Alc. Bev. Code?).

1b.     Amend Article 45.55, Code of Criminal Procedure to allow a court to transfer a child to teen court in other jurisdictions.

Under current law, a court may only transfer a case that is part of the teen court program to a contiguous county. After receiving public testimony from the state coordinator of the Texas Teen Court Association, the Committee voted to recommend that the statute be amended to increase the judicial discretion to transfer cases under the appropriate circumstances (e.g., for children who move to other counties with their families). The Committee also believed that a court in a different county who participates in a teen court program should have the option to accept a teen whose family has moved from the original jurisdiction.

Comment: Recommendations 1a and 1b have been adopted by the Texas Judicial Council.

2. Amend Article 45.55(f), Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides:

"A court may transfer a case in which proceedings have been deferred under this section to a court in a contiguous county if the court to which the case is transferred consents. A case may not be transferred unless it is within the jurisdiction of the court to which it is transferred."

In many areas, teen court is operated by the municipality or the county and access to the program by juvenile defendants is limited to the court servicing the government entity that sponsors the program. Steps should be taken to increase access to teen courts by all eligible juvenile defendants and, in cooperation with the Texas Teen Court Association, to develop general standards or guidelines for use of teen courts throughout the state.

Comment: Recommendation 2 has been adopted by the Texas Judicial Council.

3.     Amend or clarify Article 106.071 (e), Alc. Bev. Code, which pertains to punishment for juveniles convicted of alcohol related offenses that are punishable as Class C misdemeanors. Article 106.071 (e) currently provides that "[c]ommunity service ordered under this section must be related to education about or prevention of misuse of alcohol."

A similar provision was included in Senate Bill 55 (which was enacted in an effort to reduce juvenile access to tobacco products and use). The problem with restricted community service is that many justice and municipal courts do not have the resources available to institute this type of community service. More discretion must be given to the courts to implement creative measures that will substantially comply with the intent of the Legislature.

Comment: Recommendation 3 has been adopted by the Texas Judicial Council.

4.     Amend Article 106.115, Alcohol Beverage Code, to provide increased enforcement procedures for minors who fail to comply with court ordered community service. Article 106.115 provides:

"If the defendant does not present the required evidence (satisfactory completion of the alcohol awareness program or perform the required hours of community service) within the prescribed period, the court will order the Department of Public Safety to suspend the defendant's driver's license or permit for a period not to exceed six months, or, if the defendant does not have a license or permit, to deny the issuance of a license or permit to the defendant for that period."

Often, juveniles who come before a justice or municipal court are ineligible for a driver's license and do not anticipate getting a driver's license for some time. Consequently, this enforcement measure has no impact on the juvenile. The Committee believes that the language of Article 106.115 should be strengthened to insure that children complete court-ordered community service and to increase the culpability of parents whose children fail to comply with court orders.

Comment: Recommendation 4 has been adopted by the Committee and will be taken up by the Council at its next meeting.

5.     Amend Article 54.022 (a), Family Code, which provides:

"On a finding by a justice or municipal court that a child committed a misdemeanor offense punishable by fine only other than traffic offense or public intoxication or committed a violation of a penal ordinance of a political subdivision other than a traffic offense, the court has jurisdiction to enter an order: . . . (2) requiring that the child attend a special program that the court determines to be in the best interest of the child and that is approved by the county commissioners court... ."

Section 54.022(b) also requires special programs to be approved by the county commissioners court.

The Committee also recommends that the statute be amended to clarify that the misdemeanor offenses subject to Section 54.022 include those that also carry additional sanctions (i.e., minor in possession offenses) and that it not be a requirement that the county commissioners approve the program that may be beneficial for the child.

Comment: Recommendation 5 has been adopted by the Committee and will be taken up by the Council at its next meeting.

6.     Amend Sections 52.027(h), Family Code, which provides:

"A municipal court or justice court may not hold a child in contempt for intentionally refusing to obey a lawful order of disposition after an adjudication of guilt of a traffic offense or other offense punishable by fine only. The municipal court or justice court shall instead refer the child to the appropriate juvenile court for delinquent conduct for contempt of the municipal court or justice court order."

This section, along with Section 52.027(i), should be amended to clarify that all Class C offenses, including those with additional sanctions, are subject to the statute.

After hearing testimony from judges at its April 9^th meeting in Dallas, Texas, the Committee also recommends that Section 52.027(h) be amended to give justice and municipal courts the option of referring a child juvenile court or exercising a contempt power.

Comment: Recommendation 6 has been adopted by the Council.

7.     The Committee expects to work with the Senate Committee on Gangs and Juvenile Justice to find ways to improve access to services for youth at risk. The preliminary recommendation is that a clearinghouse is needed for courts to receive information about available resources in the community. The Committee suggested that one approach for getting the information to the courts is to require service providers to inform the courts of available programs and services as a condition of receiving state funding.

Comment: Recommendation 7 has been adopted by the Council.

8.     Encourage the Office of Court Administration ("OCA") to collect data on the number of juvenile cases that are handled by justice and municipal courts.

Currently OCA's reporting requirements for justice and municipal courts focus on measuring the number of juvenile warnings given. At its February 12^th meeting, the Committee suggested that these requirements be modified to reflect the number of cases that justice and municipal courts actually handle. At its March 12^th meeting, the Committee appointed Judge Ortiz-Kyle to serve as an advisory member to an OCA working group of justice and municipal court judges that will make recommendations for amending the reporting requirements for justice and municipal courts.

Comment: Recommendation 8 has been completed.

9.     Amend Section 54.021(d), Family Code, and Section 7.111(a), Education Code, to authorize justice and municipal courts to order a child to be tested for high school equivalency (GED) exams without being required to maintain continuing jurisdiction over the child.

While current law allows a justice or municipal court to order a child who has engaged in truant conduct to attend a preparatory class for a "GED" exam, no statutory language allows the court to enter as part of its order language requiring the child to take the examination. (See Section 54.021(d), Family Code). Section 7.111(a), Education Code requires the school board to provide for the administration of "GED" exams under certain circumstances. However, Section 7.111(a) does not authorize the board to administer an exam to a child if the child : (1) is younger than 17 years of age; (2) has been ordered to take the exam by a justice or municipal court under Section 54.021(d), Family Code; and (3) is not under the continuing jurisdiction of the justice or municipal court.

Comment: Recommendation 9 has been adopted by the Council.

10.     Amend Section 52.027(i), Family Code, to make the age provisions for taking a child into custody consistent.

Current law provides that a child who commits criminal conduct before 17 years of age cannot be arrested until the child is 18 years of age. However, a child who engages in criminal conduct at 17 years of age can be arrested at any time. The Committee believes that the statute should be amended so that a child can be treated as an adult at the age of 17, regardless of the age at which they engaged in criminal conduct.

Comment: Recommendation 10 has been adopted by the Council.

11.     Work with the Judicial Committee on Information Technology (JCIT) and OCA to develop a pilot program for a centralized reporting system for juvenile cases in justice and municipal courts. Judge Smith has volunteered to represent the Committee on this project.

Comment: Recommendation 11 is an ongoing project.

12.     Amend the Family Code to create a provision similar to Section 54.041 that would allow justice and municipal courts to attribute more of the responsibility for compliance with court orders to the parents of juveniles.

Comment: Recommendation 12 has been adopted by the Council.

13.     Amend current law to allow a county juvenile board to include a justice and a municipal court judges as members. Adding justice and municipal court judges to the boards will enable all courts with jurisdiction over juveniles to regularly review the availability of resources for addressing juvenile crime.

Comment: A legislative draft of Recommendation 13 has been drafted by the Texas Legislative Council and will be taken up by the Judicial Council at its next meeting.