Texas Judicial Council

Charges

Charge 1: Study ways to improve court and personal security for judges and court staff and recommend any necessary reforms.

Charge 2: Study ways to improve court efficiency and recommend any necessary reforms. (Joint Charge with the Civil Justice Committee)

Charge 3: Continue to evaluate and monitor Texas’ pretrial bail system for improvement and recommend any needed statutory and non-statutory changes.

Charge 4: Monitor the Judiciary’s role and work with Operation Lone Star.

Charge 5: Monitor the legislatively mandated study being conducted by the Office of Court Administration of the court personnel workload of the district and statutory county courts and make recommendations regarding any increased need for additional court staff.  (Joint Charge with Civil Justice and Public Trust and Confidence Committees)

Charge 6: Study whether extending judicial terms from 4 to 6 years for trial courts and from 6 to 8 years for appellate courts would materially improve the courts’ ability to discharge their judicial function, would provide greater stability in the judiciary, and would allow greater participation by voters because of the decrease in the number of judicial positions up for election at any given time. (Joint Charge with the Civil Justice and Public Trust and Confidence Committees)

Charge 7: Study the effective use of Associate Judges in Texas Courts.

Members

Hon. Missy Medary, Chair
Mr. Kevin Bryant
Hon. Bill Gravell
Hon. Sharon Keller
Hon. Kathleen Person
Hon. Maggie Sawyer
Representative Reggie Smith
Hon. Ed Spillane
Hon. Ken Wise

Meetings

April 3, 2024