- Click here for it.
I'm highlighting the State of the Judiciary address presented by the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court to the Texas Legislature during the 84th Session.
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He spent a good part of the address recommending legislative changes to juvenile justice, legal service for the poor, and for veterans. He also requested more funding so the courts can do their assigned work.
Here's a taste:
The Judiciary has assisted the Legislature in passing school ticketing reform. Disruptive conduct thwarts education, and teachers and administrators must have effective means to stop it. But for years, courthouse hallways were lined with youngsters who belonged in school, not in the criminal justice system. Working to balance the interests of children, schools, and the courts, the 83rd Legislature enacted reforms with sweeping results: fiscal year 2014 saw an 83% drop in criminal filings under the Education Code — that’s 90,000 fewer tickets written. Other states have followed Texas’ lead. As a result, more kids are in classrooms and out of courts. The reforms last Session did not extend to truancy and attendance laws, which, while intended to keep kids in school, often operate to keep them out.
The theory is that the threat of punishment will incentivize attendance. But when almost 100,000 criminal truancy charges are brought each year against Texas schoolchildren, one has to think, this approach may not be working. Playing hooky is bad, but is it criminal? A better, more effective solution may be for schools and courts alike to provide prevention and intervention services for at-risk children to actually achieve the goal: getting them back in school. This has led the Texas Judicial Council, a policy-making body for the Judiciary, to call for decriminalizing the failure to attend school. The stakes are high. Our children are our most precious treasures and our future. Education is the key to their success.
Some 40,000 children are in state conservatorship, and courts play a critical role in determining their future. The Supreme Court’s Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth, and Families has recommended legislative changes to improve handling of cases involving Child Protective Services. Indigent parents are entitled to a court-appointed attorney, but when there is no conflict of interest between them and no history of family violence, the Commission recommends that judges be permitted to appoint one attorney for both parents, not an attorney for each, thereby reducing costs and improving efficiency. The Commission also recommends the creation of county or regional programs to help provide attorneys for indigent parents. And the Commission recommends improved procedures for transferring a case from one county to another so that placement of children in a stable environment is not delayed. The Texas Judicial Council has endorsed all these recommendations, and I urge you to consider them.
