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
