In order to meet the annual CLE requirements for juvenile ad litem appointments, may I suggest you look at the following link for upcoming opportunities:

http://www.juvenilelaw.org/CLE.htm -- includes "Nuts and Bolts of Juvenile Law" and "Special Education and the Juvenile Justice System in Texas."

A single plan exists under "SB 7" for indigent defense in the 33rd Judicial District, the constitutional county courts, and the Burnet County Court at Law.  This 'book' will document aspects of that plan with links to the full plan that is accessible on the internet.

Defense bar and prosecution -- need your help on the 12.45'd cases. Especially if the 12.45'd case is in another of the counties in the 33rd, that case is not getting dismissed at the time the judgment is signed for entry in the main case. More than once this very month we've almost bench-warranted a defendant for a case in "county two" when it was 12.45'd in "county one" already.

The visiting judge crisis (lack thereof) has again loomed large for us. The master schedule is being revised and you should see the major revisions be the end of the day on 12/17/04. The purpose of this note in the online forum is to (a) advise you of the changes that we believe need to be made to try to cope, and (b) to get your reactions and alternative suggestions. As always, I am open to ideas from the practicing bar.

Felony Drug Court

Purpose of this "book"

This "Book" will document the policies, procedures and processes of the Drug Court program for the 33rd Judicial District.  It will grow in "chapters" as the program is developed and implemented. All publicly available documents will be available on this website and the procedures discussed in this area.

This forum will be a place to discuss the drug court. What it is and is not, who is eligible, why a defendant might want to enter this process, what happens, what's the benefit to the public and the offenders. Your comments and suggestions are invited. (remember: to comment in this forum requires that you be a registered user on this site)

Documentation

Full documentation of the drug court program will appear in a "book" section when and as fully developed.

I want to review the fee schedule for CPS appointments. If you are interested in this topic, please weigh in here and if you are willing to participate in making a comprehensive review of the subject, please indicate.

I want to review the fee schedule for juvenile appointments. If you are interested in this topic, please weigh in here and if you are willing to participate in making a comprehensive review of the subject, please indicate.

I want to review the fee schedule for criminal appointments. If you are interested in this topic, please weigh in here and if you are willing to participate in making a comprehensive review of the subject, please indicate.

Criminal Defense Bar: if you are court-appointed you should submit your fee voucher at the time of the plea, if that's the disposition of the case. Certainly, with a bench or jury trial this would be difficult but at the time of a plea you should know the fee (usually just the flat fee) and even if you have expenses to submit or are requesting something above the flat rate, you should be able to have your voucher ready.

Their are ethical and practical problems with a judge being drawn into a mediator role. However, sometimes a 'touch' of that is unavoidable. Take the case of a motion to render judgment on a settlement agreement and the parties are very unclear as to their real issues. For the Court to understand what the hearing is really all about, it has to probe the 'settlement' minds and postures of the parties -- throught their attorneys, of course.