Roots of the Texas Judiciary - Essay Example

Roots of the Texas Judiciary As early as 1822, Texas had justices elected for the posts of alcaldes (Womack, tshaonline.org). During the time, the alcaldes, especially the one elected for the colony of Austin applied Spanish law in criminal and civil cases, a system that the people of Texas highly disagreed with. According to Keith and Haag, in the year 1822 in the Austin region of Texas, the first courts were established (181). They add that “the judiciary was a point of contention between Anglo-settlers and Mexican government” (Keith and Haag 181). For this reason, in 1836, a predominantly Anglo-American judicial department was established in Texas and only the Supreme Court was given judicial power making it superior to all other courts (Womack, tshaonline.org). For the elections of the district judges and the Chief Justice, the two houses of Congress conducted a joint ballot. For lower court judges, their elections were conducted through a popular vote. County courts for each county were also established. This judicial structure was retained for the 1845 to 1869 constitutions (Womack, tshaonline.org). In 1845 however, Supreme Court district judges’ roles were discarded and consequently replaced by two associate justices (Womack, tshaonline.org). Another change was in 1850 when the positions of Supreme Court Justices and district judges were made elective; potential candidates for these positions were previously appointed by the governor with the authorization of the Senate (Womack, tshaonline.org). The appellate court of last resort-the court of appeals was formed after the constitution of 1876 (Womack, tshaonline.org). The court was given authorization of appeals in criminal, county court and probate cases. In addition, the Supreme Court neither had the ability nor the will to review the court of Appeals decisions. However, the full intention of the court of appeal was to decide the civil appeal from the district courts by abandoning the supreme courts, but unfortunately, the Court of Appeal did not succeed in its mission leading to the deterioration of the Supreme Court’s work. According to Womack, the second plan to relieve the supreme court was through the establishment of an intermediate level of appeals for cases that were civil in nature, which became possible when the Constitution was amended in 1891 (tshaonline.org). With time, the number of cases in need of attention by the courts increase and this led to an increased in the number of judges to nine by 1978 (Womack, tshaonline.org). Despite this, it was still difficult to handle the overwhelming number of cases. Changes in the system continue to this day. Structure of the judicial system in Texas The state of Texas has the most complicated judicial system in the United States. It has three levels of trial courts, which include the district, county and inferior courts. The level of authority in these courts is not at par; the Courts of Appeals and the two courts of last resort make up the two levels of the Appellate courts. The courts are as follows: The justice courts and the municipal courts: they are referred to as the inferior courts and are responsible for cases dealing with traffic offenses. They generate or rather get their revenue by collecting fines in criminal and traffic cases. Majority of the judges in municipal courts are selected by the ruling body of a particular city, and most cases in the municipal courts are passed on to the county courts excluding them from the courts of records. According to Womack, “municipal courts have exclusive jurisdiction of violation city ordinances, as well as jurisdiction of the lowest class of state misdemeanors, which are punishable by fine only” (tshaonline.org). The county level courts: they are the constitutional county courts and the statutory county courts. In addition to its jurisdiction over appeals from the inferior courts, the constitutional county court has its jurisdiction in which the amount of controversy is from 200 dollars to 5000 dollars (Womack, tshaonline.org). District courts: they are accountable for law and equity. This includes cases of felony and the less serious cases of crimes such as official misconduct, divorce and election contests, where the amount fined is almost 200 dollars (Womack, tshaonline.org). The Appellate level courts: these are the court of appeals, the Texas court of criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court. The appellate courts do not hear witnesses. Courts of appeals hear most of the appeals from the county and district trial courts, with the exception of death penalty cases that are rather dealt with by court of criminal appeals. 1. The strengths and weaknesses of the current Judicial system Strengths The main strength of the Texas judicial system comes from an agreement made among judges, court personnel and attorney on making sure that they are dedicated in their work, so that it can be of good quality (“The Courts,” state.tx.us). The other strength comes from their utilization of the basic system of laws. They all follow a basic system of laws made for the courts in resolving disputes (“The Courts,” state.tx.us). Weaknesses The Texas Judicial System has a huge backlog of cases (“The Courts,” state.tx.us). This together with issues that lead to a backlog of cases is the major weakness in the current system. The other weakness is the election of judges in a partisan manner (“The Courts,” state.tx.us). 2. Current reforms being considered in reforming the system of judicial selection in Texas Campaign Finance Reform On the day Governor Bush signed the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act (JCFA), the expense of judicial elections eased and the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act has made judicial elections appear “cleaner”, making a perception of justice being for sale linger (Becker and Reddick 7). Through the contribution limits of the JCFA, Texans were able to elect their judges and campaigns such as campaigns for people and common cause that steered the spirit of Campaign Finance Reform. Champagne argues that, “if it is possible to change the system of selection while the parties are competitive in the state where no party has an advantage and both parties are at a risk, it seems possible that change in the system of selection can occur as a way of reducing electoral uncertainty on the bench” (78). The Republican Party may empower those who aspire to keep the current system of judicial selection by sweeping all the 18 seats on the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hence the Republicans acquire monopoly. 3. My Preferred Plan I would preferably support the method where there is stiff competition during judicial elections. If the judicial elections are to face stiff competition which is consistent and prolonged for a longer duration and where there is no party exploitation, then change can be brought about in judicial selection through a political coalition. 4. Most effective branch of the Texas Government which will implement these changes Of the three main branches of the Government, the Texas legislature is considered to be the most powerful. The Texas legislature has high areas of jurisdiction and responsibility. The main responsibility of the legislature is considering and deliberating on bills and constitutional amendments. It has certain powers for instance, ratification of the gubernatorial appointment, for an appointment to be approved by the minimum approval rate if two thirds of the senators present. The legislature also plays a vital role in ensuring that a bill becomes a law. This is achieved when the bill passes all obstacles and reaches the Governor for approval. Works Cited Becker, Daniel and Malia Reddick. Judicial Selection Reform: Examples from Six States. 2003. PDF File. Champagne, Anthony. Judicial Reform in Texas: A Look Back after Two Decades. n.d. PDF File. Keith, Gary A. and Stefan D. Haag. Texas Politics and Government. Harlow: Longman Publishing Group, 2011. Print. “The Courts and the Legal Profession in Texas-The Insider’s Perspective: A Survey of Judges, Court Personnel, and Attorneys.” state.tx.us. n.d. Web. 8 May 2014. Womack, Paul. “Judiciary.” tshaonlie.org. 15 June 2010. Web. 8 May 2014. < http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jzj01>. Read More