TJCTC Updates 8.9.2024

Hello Everyone

We are cruising right into back-to-school season! Did you know that August is National Wellness Month? What a perfect way to start out our new education year and get back into the swing of things! This edition of TJCTC updates includes our Legal Question of the Month, and some online training opportunities, as well as a few very important announcements about updated online training.

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. Attached is a pdf guide showing you how to access your transcript.

Summer Clerk Testing

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

Wellness Month

Take some time this August to check-in with yourself, co-workers, family, and friends to make sure everyone is practicing good wellness habits. Here is an article from WebMD with some great tips: https://www.webmdhealthservices.com/blog/august-is-national-wellness-month-lets-make-well-being-a-priority-all-year-long/.

Illustrative Mental Wellness Tips Infographic

Legal Question of the Month

What the heck is going on with juvenile diversions? We have gotten many questions lately about preparing for the new juvenile diversion programs required by House Bill 3186. While we do not have a recommended plan, we do have many resources available to courts in drafting their plans.

Every Justice Court is required to have a diversion plan available for public inspection on January 1, 2025.Because the legislature gave the courts wide latitude over how a plan is going to be run (because each of the 254 counties is very different), TJCTC can’t really say one option is preferable to another for every single justice court. However, each court needs to go through a similar process to draft their plan.

Step 1. Gather Data

How many juvenile cases does your court handle on average?
What resources do you have available to your court?
What are other courts in your area doing? Could you collaborate?

Step 2. Draft Plan

Questions we think should be answered by your diversion plan:

Are you going to use your own plan, or are you going to team up with other courts in your municipality, county or region?
Who is going to act as your youth diversion coordinator?
When will diversion be offered: (1) prior to court involvement (i.e. “intermediate diversion,” in which case the charge will not be filed unless diversion is unsuccessful), (2) diversion by court (in which case the charge will be dismissed after the child signs the diversion agreement), or (3) both?
What nonexclusive list of services can be included in the plan?
How is the diversion plan going to be monitored?

Note, this list of questions is not exhaustive, but just covers the basics.

Look for more resources for drafting plans in our upcoming programs and here in these Updates in the next month or so!

Step 3. Evaluate Your Plan and Make Necessary Changes

The first draft is not a forever plan! You can always make any necessary changes as you implement the plan. We would recommend that you start with the basics and add on more options and resources as your court and local partners (probation departments, prosecutors, local service providers, etc.) get comfortable with the process.

You may even want to test some components of your plan prior to the January start date to work out any potential issues.

Step 4. Implement Your Plan

Remember, the plan must be in place on January 1, 2025!

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Courses

November 4 – 7, 2024, in-person course, Reno, NV; “The Traffic Case: A Course for Nonlawyer Judges ”

December 4, 2024, online webinar: “Impaired Driving 2024: What’s New?”

Visit the NJC website at http://www.judges.org for registration information and for a full list of the NJC’s courses.

Constable Corner

Are you looking for online training updates? Lexipol offers a great number of free webinars and other resources for law enforcement. These resources are a great compliment to your civil process training from TJCTC, as they cover other topics that we do not teach and that may not always be available in-person for your offices.

Check out The Briefing from Lexipol for updates on new training.

Supporting Rural Law Enforcement

All law enforcement agencies often encounter citizens with mental health issues. Find support and training on that intersection on the Council of State Governments Justice Center website, including some resources created especially for rural agencies.

Law Enforcement

https://jmhcp.org/issue-areas/law-enforcement/

Bexar County’s Mental Health Response Initiative

Shout out to our impressive friends in Bexar County who have received national attention for their mental health response initiative. You can check out their program on the Council of State Governments Justice Center website.

From Crisis to Care: An Overview of Bexar County, TX’s Mental Health Response Initiative

Updated Online Education

There are some new Recordings for Credit and Self-Paced Modules on the TJCTC website. Make sure you check out the following if you still need hours or the topic sounds interesting!

Recordings for Credit

Cannabis Legalization the Impacts on Impaired Driving – 1 hr credit

2024 Family Violence Update – 2 hrs credit (This recording includes information about the required, updated protective order forms from OCA.)

Notes on the new required forms for Emergency Protective Orders (EPOs)/Magistrate’s Orders for Emergency Protection (MOEPs):

Remember that the forms and instructions can be found here: https://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/standardized-protective-order-forms/

“Mandated Forms”

Please note that out of these forms, only the Magistrate Order for Emergency Protection (MOEP) is required for JPs at this time. No changes may be made to this form except the following:

If the extra lines for protected persons at the top of p. 2 are not needed, they can be deleted.
Section XI. Admonition on Ineligibility to Possess Firearm or Ammunition on p. 6-7 will only apply if you’ve prohibited possession of a firearm on p. 2. The form should be updated at some point to add a check box for whether this admonition applies. In the meantime, if possession of a firearm has not been prohibited, Section XI will need to be crossed out or deleted.

The Instructions for Completing the Orders – currently under the Temporary Ex Parte Order form – apply to all orders, including the MOEP.

“Other Forms (Discretionary)”:

The following are relevant for JPs and may be modified as desired:

Motion to Modify MOEP
Order on Motion to Modify MOEP
Request for MOEP

The TCIC Protective Order Data Entry Form is also on this list but should not be modified.

Self-Paced ModulesUnidentified Bodies – 2 civil hrs credit

*Updated* Deferred Disposition and DSC Dismissals – 1.5 hrs credit

We hope this information was helpful, and like always, see you at the next program! If you have any suggestions, questions, or comments about these updates, please email Amber Myers at a_m1814@txstate.edu

-Thea & the TJCTC Team

July 24, 2024August 15, 2024

TJCTC Updates 7.24.2024

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

Judicial Education Hours Due August 31^st

JP judicial education hours are due August 31^st. 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

June 17, 2024June 17, 2024

TJCTC Updates 6.17.2024

TJCTC Updates Header Good Afternoon Judges, Constables, & Court Staff,

We hope that you are enjoying your summer so far. We decided to keep this update short, with only our Legal Question of the Month and information about the new protective order forms.

Legal Question of the Month

Our court has received a public information act request stating as follows:

1. The number of death investigations performed in your precinct by either a Texas Justice of the Peace or a death investigator employed or contracted by your county.

2. The number of all death investigations performed by a Texas Justice of the Peace, or a death investigator employed or contracted by your county referred to a medical examiner or a medical doctor for an autopsy.

3. Records of all death investigations conducted by a Texas Justice of the Peace or a death investigator employed or contracted by your county where an amending certificate – also known as a “medical amendment” – was filed with the appropriate Local Registrar or State Registrar to complete or correct a death certificate.

The information requested regarding the amending certificate includes but is not limited to the name of the Texas Justice of the Peace or death investigator employed or contracted by your county, the initial and final dates and outcome of the death investigation, records of the death investigation, autopsy report if available, records of the medical amendment filed, and if applicable any court records from lawsuits.

If required, I accept the redaction of exempt information in accordance with the TPIA. As this is a matter of public interest, I request a waiver of fees associated with this request. Additionally, if any of the requested information requires an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General, I request notification prior to sending to OAG in order to possibly amend this request to prevent a delay in receiving responsive information. Thank you.

The requestor is not providing specific decedent’s names. What is the court to do with this request?

Answer:

TJCTC is aware of a public records request that has been sent to many justices of the peace across the state requesting detailed inquest records. The request cites the Public Information Act, which does not apply to records held by the judiciary, but it still qualifies as a request for court case records under Texas law.

Requests for court case records are governed by common law, and these records are generally open to the public and must be made available. The process for turning these records over, redacting information, or claiming an exception to releasing the records is described in the Recordkeeping and Reporting Deskbook on P. 26-35, as well as the OCA Records Requests Flowchart for Court Case Records, available on P. 36 of that Deskbook and our Charts and Checklists page (https://www.tjctc.org/tjctc-resources/charts-and-checklists.html).

We suggest that you also notify your county attorney of this request if you would like assistance with determining if you should redact information or claim an exception to releasing the records.

As far as not naming the specific decedent, there is no requirement that a records request include that information. You should handle this request as you would any other.

Office of Court Administration Protective Order Forms Released

The 88th Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 48 which required the Office of Court Administration (OCA) to create standardized forms for the application and issuance of protective orders. This includes Magistrate’s Orders of Emergency Protection, often entered by justices of the peace during magistration.

You can access the forms at the Texas Courts website: https://www.txcourts.gov/rules-forms/standardized-protective-order-forms/

Note, the forms on the TJCTC website will be updated to include these forms by the end of this week.

As always, we look forward to seeing you at the next education event you attend!

-Thea & the TJCTC Team