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Judges, Constables, Deputies, and Court Staff,

We have new training opportunities, mental health awareness resources, and caselaw updates to share. Also, clerk exams are open!

We need your feedback!

Do you have a minute to answer a few questions? We need your help to make sure that a training for attorneys who appear in your courts actually helps prepare them!

Use this link to take the survey.

Court Personnel Exams Open!

The spring edition of the court personnel exams are now open! Take your open book exam online with TJCTC’s virtual proctoring program. The exams will be open until June 19th. Register by June 14th to take exams during this timeframe. To learn about the exam and register now, visit our court personnel certification page: https://www.tjctc.org/court-personnel/clerk-certification-program.html For questions, email Jessica at jessforeman@txstate.edu.

What is the clerk certification program?

The Justice Court Clerk Certification Program allows experienced justice court clerks to demonstrate their knowledge of statutes, procedures, and ethical guidelines applicable to Texas justice courts. Justice court clerks who pass an examination receive certification as a Certified Clerk or a Master Certified Clerk. The Texas Justice Court Training Center creates and administers all exams.

*New* Self-Paced Module

Just in time for Mental Health Awareness Month, we want to share a self-paced challenge for you!

5-Day Challenge to Improve Your Mental Health – 1.5 hrs.

Courts are stressful places to work. This module will help judges, court staff, and constables commit to their mental health with a five-day challenge.

You can access the module on the TJCTC Self-Paced Module Page.

More Mental Health Resources 

National Center for State Courts Behavioral Health Resource Hub

The Behavioral Health Resource Hub is intended to be a curated collection of resources courts and communities can turn to for the latest in best practices. The resources under the Criminal Justice section build on the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) which identifies appropriate responses at particular intercepts that can keep an individual from continuing to penetrate the criminal justice system. Additionally, effective court and community responses require interventions prior to engagement in the criminal justice system. Additionally, there are sections devoted to civil responses and other areas of community focus. The Resource Hub has been recently updated with new resources.

Lead by Example: Prioritize Your Self-Care

It’s easy to feel mentally exhausted these days, in a world that demands so much of our time, energy and focus. The National Council for Mental Wellbeing has resources to help.

Attorney General Opinion KP-0464

Summary: This opinion concludes that counties are generally responsible for paying filing fees for an application for court-ordered mental health services but need not pay at the time of filing. Further concluding that a county may require an entity that is a “person” to pay such filing fees at the time of filing when it first determines that the fees relate to services by a private mental hospital.

Share this with the judge in your county who handles civil commitments or your mental health board.

Caselaw Updates – Recent Texas Supreme Court Updates

Last week, two opinions of interest were issued by the Texas Supreme Court. You can read the summaries on the Court’s website.

Fleming v. Wilson, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2024 WL ___ (Tex. May 17, 2024) [22-0166]

While the specific facts in this case will likely not arise in justice courts, this case does include a discussion of judicial estoppel which is a theory that does arise in justice courts. The issue in this case is whether judicial estoppel bars a defendant from invoking defensive collateral estoppel because of inconsistent representations made in prior litigation.

The bottom line was that Fleming couldn’t make an argument in one court and turn around and make the opposite argument about the same claims later because it might benefit him now. The discussion of judicial estoppel starts on page 6 of the opinion.

Landlord Tenant Westwood Motorcars, LLC v. Virtuolotry, LLC, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2024 WL ___ (Tex. May 17, 2024) [22-0846]

The issue in this case is what effect, if any, an agreed judgment awarding possession to a landlord in an eviction suit has on a related suit in district court by a tenant for damages.

This case reinforces the idea that  eviction suits provide summary proceedings for which the sole issue adjudicated is immediate possession. Accordingly, agreeing to an eviction suit judgment does not concede an ultimate right to possession or abandon separate claims for damages, even if those claims also implicate the right to possession.

Do you follow TJCTC on social media?

Check out our LinkedIn & Facebook pages for updates and on occasion a fun photo or two from our programs! Don’t forget, you can also find more information at our blog, The Docket, including past e-blasts like this one.

If you think we should share something in an eblast like this one or on our social media, feel free to email Amber Myers at a_m1814@txstate.edu.

We hope you are all doing well, especially with the wild weather we have had recently! As always, looking forward to seeing you at a program soon.

– Thea and the TJCTC Team