Financing the Judiciary in Texas
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LEGISLATIVELEGISLATIVE BBUDGETUDGET BBOARDOARD Financing the Judiciary in Texas Legislative Primer SUBMITTED TO THE 84TH TEXAS LEGISLATURE FOURTH EDITION LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD STAFF JULY 2014 Financing the Judiciary in Texas Legislative Primer SUBMITTED TO THE 84TH LEGISLATURE FOURTH EDITION LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD STAFF JULY 2014 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................1 Overview of Texas Court System Structure ........................................................................................................2 Judicial Selection in Texas..................................................................................................................................5 Signifi cant Actions of the Eighty-Third Legislature ............................................................................................6 STATE FUNDING FOR APPELLATE COURT OPERATIONS .........................................................................9 The Supreme Court .............................................................................................................................................9 The Court of Criminal Appeals ........................................................................................................................10 The Courts of Appeals .....................................................................................................................................11 STATE FUNDING FOR TRIAL COURTS ....................................................................................................17 District Courts ...................................................................................................................................................17 County-level Courts ..........................................................................................................................................18 Judicial Compensation for Trial Court Judges .................................................................................................20 State Funding for District Court Operations......................................................................................................20 District Court Performance ................................................................................................................................21 Visiting Judges .................................................................................................................................................21 Specialty Courts Funded Through the Offi ce of Court Administration .............................................................22 STATE FUNDING FOR PROSECUTOR SALARIES AND PAYMENTS ..........................................................25 Offi ce of the State Prosecuting Attorney ..........................................................................................................25 Professional Prosecutors ..................................................................................................................................26 District Attorneys ..............................................................................................................................................26 Felony Prosecutors ...........................................................................................................................................26 County Attorney Supplement ...........................................................................................................................26 Harris County District Attorney .........................................................................................................................27 Prosecutor Travel and Expenses of Office........................................................................................................28 Assistant Prosecutor Longevity Pay .................................................................................................................28 Special Prosecution Unit...................................................................................................................................28 Public Integrity Unit ..........................................................................................................................................30 STATE FUNDING FOR OTHER JUDICIARY PROGRAMS ..........................................................................31 The Offi ce of Court Administration ..................................................................................................................31 Texas Indigent Defense Commission ...............................................................................................................32 State Law Library .............................................................................................................................................35 State Commission on Judicial Conduct ............................................................................................................35 The Offi ce of Capital Writs ...............................................................................................................................37 Judicial Retirement Systems, (JRS) I and II .......................................................................................................37 Basic Civil Legal Services for the Indigent ........................................................................................................37 LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD STAFF – JULY 2014 FINANCING THE JUDICIARY IN TEXAS – ID: 1508 i CONTENTS Judicial Education ............................................................................................................................................39 Court Improvement Projects and Children’s Justice Grants to States................................................................40 Witness Expenses .............................................................................................................................................41 Death Penalty Representation ..........................................................................................................................41 Indigent Inmate Defense ..................................................................................................................................41 National Center for State Courts .......................................................................................................................42 Juror Pay ..........................................................................................................................................................42 Other Judiciary-Related Costs ..........................................................................................................................42 COURT-GENERATED STATE REVENUE SOURCES ....................................................................................43 Appellate Court-Generated Revenue ...............................................................................................................43 Court-Generated State Revenue .......................................................................................................................43 Overview of the Collection Improvement Program .........................................................................................49 Implementation of Mandatory Collection Improvement Programs ..................................................................50 APPENDIX A...........................................................................................................................................53 District Court Performance Measures, Clearance Rates, and Backlog Index .................................................... 53 APPENDIX B: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ...................................................................................61 APPENDIX C: GLOSSARY .......................................................................................................................63 APPENDIX D: COURT COSTS AND FEES ................................................................................................65 APPENDIX E: COURT COSTS AND FEE CASE EXAMPLES .......................................................................77 APPENDIX F: JUDICIAL SALARIES .........................................................................................................83 Judicial Compensation .....................................................................................................................................83 History of Judicial Compensation in Texas ......................................................................................................84 Judicial Compensation Commission ................................................................................................................86 Judicial Pay Raise, Eighty-Third Legislature ....................................................................................................87 Interstate Comparisons on Judicial Compensation ..........................................................................................87 ii FINANCING THE JUDICIARY IN TEXAS – ID: 1508 LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD STAFF – JULY 2014 INTRODUCTION Th is primer describes the state’s court system and reviews the Funds from the Office of the Attorney General for child diff erent state funding and revenue sources for each