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TJCTC Updates 12.5.2024

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Is it December already??

As the year comes to an end, we have a few legal updates for you as well as some training opportunities.

There is recent caselaw out of the Fifth Circuit that will impact your county, and the Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC) requires JP responses soon, as JPs fill the coroner role in Texas.  Also, don’t miss a pretty cool new resource to share with self-represented litigants!

Caselaw Update

First Amendment Right to View Magistration Hearings

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that a closed magistration hearing violates the First Amendment.  The case is Texas Tribune v. Caldwell County. In Caldwell County at the time the lawsuit was filed, magistration occurred via videoconference.  The defendant was in the county jail.  No counsel, family, friends, or press were present at the magistration hearing.  The sheriff had a policy of prohibiting access to the jail to observe magistration. The federal district judge granted a preliminary injunction against the county, meaning that the federal judge found a substantial likelihood that the two news outlets and an advocacy organization would succeed at trial.

The court of appeals recently affirmed the trial court’s ruling. The three-judge panel stated, “There can be no question that public access to bail hearings plays a significant positive role in the functioning of bail hearings.”  While there may be exceptions, they found that there is a presumptive First Amendment right to access to magistration hearings.

It is unclear how counties are going to respond to this ruling.  Like Caldwell County has chosen to do, other counties may comply by streaming the proceedings via Zoom and YouTube. This seems to be the most accepted method, because magistration hearings often take place in a secure location in the jail where there could be safety and liability issues for the public to be physically present during the hearings. Because your county attorney would represent you in any litigation, it’s important that you seek their advice on this important issue. 

Read the case: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/24/24-50135-CV0.pdf

Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC)

IMPORTANT!!!!

RTI International, on behalf of BJS, is conducting the Census of Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC), and they are in our last 2 weeks of data collection efforts. 

All JPs in counties without a Medical Examiner’s Office should have gotten an email with log in credentials for the CMEC in early October.  If you have not yet completed the survey, please do so by December 13 so that you can be included in this important effort. 

It’s crucial for all offices, no matter the size, to participate in the CMEC to ensure the data accurately reflects all offices performing death investigations across the US.  Even if you are not tasked with death investigation efforts, please log in, and the survey will allow you indicate that you do not investigate deaths as part of your assigned responsibilities. 

As of now, Texas’ response rate is less than 10%.  If you did not receive log in credentials for the survey, or if you have any questions, please contact CMEC@RTI.org.  

Justice Court Section Webinar: Debt Claim Cases – Defaults in Justice Court – A View from the Bench 12/6/2024

Join the Justice Court Section of the State Bar of Texas as Hon. Ralph D. Swearingin, Jr. and Daisy Espinoza present Debt Claim Cases – Defaults in Justice Court – A View from the Bench.

Friday, December 6, 2024 at noon

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with a link to join the webinar.

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtceigpjgpHtIrJeddTuKVH2PIek4LZDiM#/registration

Webinar: Chat with a Forensic Pathologist 12/11/2024

Dr Michael Baden is a renowned, 90 year old forensic pathologist who has been chief medical examiner for the city of New York, chairman of the house select committee on assassinations, investigated the assassination of John F Kennedy, the OJ Simpson murders, and many other well known cases. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2024, at 4:00 pm.

Note: this event will be an in-person chat with the famous doctor, sponsored by AD Valor Technical Cleaning in Dublin OH. Click the button below to watch via Zoom. 

Register here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_ASz6mHutSvyyjQFBRFzGiA#/registration

TJCTC Webinar: Children in the Courts 12/17/2024

This webinar will explore juvenile diversions including potential issues related to language access, mental health concerns, and disabilities. This course satisfies the requirement of Government Code Sec. 22.1105.  

Tuesday, December 17, 2024, at 2:00 pm.

Note: An extension of this course will also be offered as a general session at the 20-hr Conferences during this academic year.

Register here: https://txstate.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BnXHlI0cRhaEuGveolXNBQ#/registration

Video Series from Austin Young Lawyers Association

Austin Young Lawyers Association has launched “How to Pick Jurors for Your Trial in Justice Courts and Municipal Courts” video series. AYLA received a Texas Bar Foundation grant to produce these educational series for pro se litigants. The video project made possible with the support and efforts of the Travis County District Clerk.

This is a great resource to share with self-represented litigants who have questions about the trial process, especially jury selection.

You may also notice a special appearance by your colleague, Judge Sylvia Holmes. 

Here is the link to the series: https://lnkd.in/eEpgdFdu

Do you have questions about this email or have something we should share? Please email Amber Myers at a_m1814@txstate.edu with any questions or content to share.

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TJCTC Updates 12.13.2023

Good Afternoon Judges, Constables, & Court Staff,

It has been a minute since we last shared information with you, so make sure you read all the way to the bottom of this email (especially if you are confused or have questions about our new “database” or registration system and student profiles).

 

TJCTC Holiday Hours & Legal Calls

The TJCTC Office will have limited staff available or be closed for two weeks over the holiday break, from December 18-January 2.

We will not be taking legal calls during the period from December 18 – January 2. We apologize for any inconvenience! In order to continue providing assistance to our clientele during this period, we will still be answering board questions during this time frame. Please allow up to 5 days for answers to be posted.

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OCA Court Security Incident Reporting

The Office of Court Administration is transitioning over to a new platform for reporting and recording Court Security Incidents. Beginning December 6th, OCA will be using a new form to record all security incidents related to the court, judges, judicial staff, and clerks.

Please use the following link to continue reporting Court Security Incidents:

Court Security Incident Report

As of 5:00 PM CST on 12/6/2023, the old reporting form will no longer be active.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Hector Gomez or Nicholas Barsetti at Courtsecurity@txcourts.gov. Or visit the Court Security Website.

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Did you know that December is Learn a Foreign Language Month?

Take a look at the language access and foreign language resources that TJCTC has pulled together by clicking below!

Learn a Foreign Language Month

 

Updated Resources

You may have already noticed, but most of the updated Deskbooks are posted. Please be patient while we finish the last few updates and work diligently to update the forms, charts, checklists, and other resources.

*New* Juvenile Criminal Diversions Webinar/Recording for Credit

This webinar was posted as a recording for credit. You can also find the handouts and the questions asked and answered from the webinar to download on the TJCTC Recordings for Credit Page. Note, we will be releasing more juvenile criminal diversion resources including forms and a new deskbook chapter soon.

*Updated* Family Violence and Other Criminal History Reporting for Justice Courts

This module now includes legislative updates and updated procedures for CJIS reporting. Remember, even if you have previously taken this course in a prior academic year, you may receive credit again for the FY24 year.

*New* Interpreters & Spanish Terminology Self-Paced Module

This module covers legal issues related to interpreters, including help for appointing interpreters, a Spanish/English legal glossary, and more! Judges and court staff can get 3 hours of credit for completing the module. Constables and their staff may also find this module to be a good resource when dealing with persons with limited English proficiency or language skills.

Both modules can be found on the TJCTC Self-Paced Modules Page.

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National Center for State Courts Webinar on Mental Health Diversion

This popular webinar was posted as a recording for credit. You can watch it at the NCSC website.

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Database and Website Help

Are you confused? Don’t worry, some of us at TJCTC are too! Here are a few FAQs and a video to hopefully help you out.

FAQs:

  1. Did TJCTC get a new website? No. The website is still www.tjctc.org.
  2. Did the Deskbooks and forms move? No. You can still find them under the Legal Resources tab at www.tjctc.org.
  3. How do I get to the legal board? You can access the legal board by logging into your new database account (with your email address, just like when you registered for a seminar this year). You can also use the old links on the legal board page (under the Legal Resources tab) that have been redirected to the new location.

Click the links below to watch videos about our website resources and new database.

TJCTC Website Resources

Using the new TJCTC Database

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Happy Holidays!

Thea & the TJCTC Team

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Family Violence Reporting

Many of you probably remember hearing about the new (to justice court) requirement to report class c assault family violence cases to DPS at TJCTC’s Legislative Updates last summer.

For any offense committed on or after September 1, 2019, the court must report information regarding a person’s citation or arrest for class c assault family violence to DPS within 30 days of the disposition of the case. Code of Criminal Procedure 66.252.

This information will be reported to DPS either by completing the CR-43 form initiated by law enforcement or reporting directly online to the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). DPS has regional representatives who can provide training and get your court set up to report online.

Because we do not have access to the CJIS system at TJCTC, we are unable to answer technical questions about the system or how the reporting works. However, we are in the process of working with DPS to create a webinar for justice courts related to the reporting process.

You can find more information about reporting and the necessary forms on the DPS website, here.

If you would like contact information for your regional representative, please email Amber Myers at A_M1814@tjctc.org.

Another good resource for practical information on reporting these cases is your county or district clerk as they report the same information on case dispositions in their respective courts.