TJCTC Updates 1.6.2025

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Happy New Year!

Welcome back to the office (hopefully you all had at least a little well-needed time off this holiday season)!

We wanted to kick this year off right with some resources and updates. 

Countdown to the New Year: 10 Ways to Ring in Your Mental Health

As we start a new year, judges, court staff, and law enforcement are often faced with hard cases and burnout, making some of those resolutions to take care of your health even harder!

Take a look at this article from Mental Health First Aid about how to look after your mental health and that of your friends, family, and co-workers this season.

Clerk Testing Goes Live Tomorrow!

It’s time! Exam registration opens tomorrow at 8 am.

To register for the exam just head to our exam website and click on “1. Register to take the exam online” then click the link for the appropriate exam.

This will take you to log into your TJCTC account and then you register like you would for one of our conferences.

To take the Master exam you must already be level one certified (you only need to have passed one of the level one exams).

Registration closes on January 16. The exams will open on January 17th and close on February 14th. For questions contact Darby Swoboda at d_s520@txstate.edu

Continued Guidance on Magistration in Open Court

TJCTC has continued to receive questions on the ruling in Texas Tribune v. Caldwell County case from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. 

There have been concerns about not having enough time to implement procedures to make magistration hearings open. Unfortunately, this is just the nature of how court rulings can impact local procedures. Going forward, magistration proceedings must be open.  

Please continue to work with your local partners – county/district attorneys, sheriff, and jail staff to ensure that your magistration proceedings are open. You can read more about the case in an earlier post on The Docket.  

Read more from other groups here: Texas Commission on Jail Standards and Texas District and County Attorney’s Association.

NCSC Self-Represented Litigants:

The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has compiled a page of resources for courts to use when assisting self-represented litigants (SRLs), including some very helpful videos that you can share on your website or in the courtroom!

Access the Resources Page: https://www.ncsc.org/consulting-and-research/areas-of-expertise/access-to-justice/self-represented-litigants

Access the Videos: https://www.ncsc.org/consulting-and-research/areas-of-expertise/access-to-justice/a2j-videos

Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month

In January, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will be kicking off the first national Substance Use Disorder Treatment Month – a time to raise awareness of the benefits and availability of evidence-based treatments for people with a substance use disorder.

So, check out our their Treatment Month Toolkit, and keep your eyes on all of SAMHSA’s social media platforms. There you’ll find our tips, resources and even webinars to help people learn more about what substance use disorder is and how it can be effectively treated.

Poverty Awareness Month

Every January is National Poverty Awareness Month. 

This is a great time to think about access to justice issues in your courts and communities, because they are often related to poverty.

Some resources to review are:

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TJCTC Updates 7.24.2024

TJCTC Updates HeaderHello Everyone!

This week’s update includes a virtual training opportunity, information about clerk testing, and reminders and help for judges to track their hours.

Webinar: Family Violence Update

*Tomorrow* July 25th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.

Family violence directly affects approximately one-third of all Texans, and indirectly affects countless others. Justice courts are in a position to help stem the tide of domestic violence, and utilize various principles to prevent further violence against survivors, their families, and the community. Law and procedures are continually evolving, and the area of family violence is no different. In this session, the speaker will discuss family violence dynamics; the roles of both bond conditions and magistrate’s orders for emergency protection; legislative changes, including implementation of new uniform forms; and protective order reporting.

Registration: https://txstate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_B9t_0sGRRXeITXeMLc2gDQ#/registration

Summer Clerk Testing

Registration opens July 24th (TODAY!) for the Summer round of clerk testing. TJCTC will accept registrations from July 24th to August 14th. If you register during that period, you can take the exam between August 1st and August 30th. Visit our clerk certification page for more information: https://www.tjctc.org/court-personnel/clerk-certification-program.html

Judicial Education Hours Due August 31st

JP judicial education hours are due August 31st. Visit our Justice of the Peace overview page for requirements: https://www.tjctc.org/justices-of-the-peace.html

To find out how many hours you have completed, log-in to your student account and view your transcript. After you have logged in, select “My Enrollment History” and “Print Transcript” to view.

Looking forward to seeing you soon!

-Thea & the TJCTC Team

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