DOCSLIB.ORG

The History of Texas Civil Procedure

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The History of Texas Civil Procedure THE HISTORY OF TEXAS CIVIL PROCEDURE William V. Dorsaneo, III* I. Introduction ................................ ..... 714 II. Procedural Developments Before the Adoption of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure ............................. 717 A. The Texas Pleading System ............... ..... 717 B. Forum Selection; Venue and Jurisdiction ....... ...... 721 C. Joinder of Claims and Parties .............. ..... 725 D. Discovery and Pretrial Practice ................... 728 E. The Trial Process ............................ 730 III. Rules of Practice Act ............................. 734 IV. New Rules of 1941 .......................... .... 737 A. Sources of Texas Rules of Civil Procedure ..... ..... 737 B. The Organization of the New Rules.......... ..... 737 C. The Pleading System .................... ..... 739 D. Joinder of Claims and Parties. ............... .... 740 E. Discovery and Pretrial Practice ............ ...... 744 F. The Jury Charge ............................. 745 G. Appellate Review; Preservation of Complaints................749 H. The "End" Product ...................... ..... 750 V. Amendments of 1941 Rules............................751 A. Pleadings ....................................... 755 B. Venue and Jurisdiction ............................ 761 * William V. Dorsaneo, III, Chief Justice John and Lena Hickman Distinguished Faculty Fellow and Professor of Law, Dedman School of Law, Southern Methodist University. I respectfully acknowledge the contributions made to this article and to the developments discussed and explained in it by the many past and present members of the Advisory Committee to the Supreme Court of Texas. I also want to thank my professional and academic colleagues who reviewed various drafts of the article during the many years of its preparation and particularly Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht and Chief Justice Thomas R. Phillips, Professors Elizabeth Thornburg, Anthony Colangelo and Jeffrey Kahn, Luther A. Soules, III, Des Dorsaneo, Robert B. Gilbreath, Josiah Daniel, Carl Hamilton, as well as many, many research assistants including Paula J. Miller, Margaret Jewell, Parker Graham and Charley Dorsaneo. Finally, I gratefully acknowledge funding provided for preparation of the article by the Law School Excellence Fund. 714 BAYLOR LAWREVIEW [Vol. 65:3 1. Adoption and Interpretation of Special Appearance Rule..................................761 2. Changes in Venue Practice.......... ... ....... 764 C. Joinder of Claims and Parties.....................768 D. Class Actions..........................769 E. Discovery Practice ..................... ...... 773 F. Summary Judgment ..................... ..... 781 G. The Jury Charge.............................785 H. Post-verdict Motion Practice............. ......... 789 VI. Adoption and Unification of Rules of Civil and Criminal Evidence .............................. ...... 792 VII. Adoption and Revision of the Rules of Appellate Procedure ..793 VIII. Proposed Revision of Civil Procedure Rules.... ..........797 A. The 1991 Task Forces ........................ 797 B. The Task Force Reports ..............................799 IX. Adoption of the 1999 Discovery Rules ................. 802 X. Development of Closer Collaboration Between the Court and the Texas Legislature ........................... 806 XI. Continuing Need for Revision of the Rules of Civil Procedure ................................... 818 XII. Conclusion....................................823 I. INTRODUCTION The promulgation of rules of court by the Texas Supreme Court has been the principal mechanism for the regulation of proceedings in Texas courts. This article provides a historical overview of the development of these rules, the rule-making process, the impact of procedural rule-making on the administration of justice in Texas courts, and the continuing need for revision and reorganization of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. This article also acknowledges the enormous debt that is owed to the Texas judges, lawyers, and professors who have participated in the rule-making process, mostly without plaudits or even public recognition. In a small way, this paper attempts to pay that debt. "The Constitution of the Republic of Texas and the Constitutions of the State of Texas for 1845, 1861, 1866, and 1869, make no provision for rules of court, other than to say that trials shall be conducted according to 'rules 2013] HISTORY OF TEXAS CIVIL PROCEDURE 715 and regulations prescribed by law."" But the Texas Constitution of 1876 explicitly empowered the Texas Supreme Court to "make rules and regulations for the government of said court, and the other courts of the State, to regulate proceedings and expedite the dispatch of business therein." 2 As a result, under the leadership of Chief Justice Oran M. Roberts3 the Texas Supreme Court promulgated a complete set of rules in 1877 for all Texas courts from the filing of suit in the trial court to the rendition of judgment in the Texas Supreme Court.4 In 1891, the provision was amended to allow rulemaking "not inconsistent with the laws of the State."5 With the passage of the Rules of Practice Act in 1939, the Texas Supreme Court was given the authority to promulgate procedural rules for use in Texas courts and, importantly, to repeal procedural statutes. With the aid of the original Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, the Texas Supreme Court promulgated the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure in 1940.7 These rules superseded procedural statutes and predecessor court 'W.M. HARRIS, RULES OF THE COURTS 7 (L. K. Smoot ed., 2d ed. 1921). 2Tex. Const. art. V, § 25 (amended 1891). Chief Justice Roberts was first elected to the Texas Supreme Court in 1856. Ford Dixon, Roberts, Oran Milo, Handbook of Texas Online, STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Aug. 28, 2013, 10:30 PM), https//www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/frol8. After leading the passage of the ordinance removing Texas from the Union in 1861 and a short military career, Roberts returned to Austin as chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 1864. Id He held that position until 1865, when he was removed along with other state incumbents. Id In 1874, Roberts was appointed and then elected to the Texas Supreme Court. Id. He served as chief justice for four years. Id. In 1878, he was elected Governor of Texas, serving two terms. Id. After his retirement, he was appointed professor of law at the University of Texas, which had opened in 1883. Id. He held that position for ten years. Id. He wrote THE ELEMENTS OF PLEADING as a text for law students in 1890. Id. 4As explained by Chief Justice Roberts, "The members of the [Constitutional] Convention, in giving the Supreme Court 'the power to make rules and regulations,' for the express purpose of regulating the proceedings and expediting the business in the courts, must have designed more than the making of a few short rules of court, such as have formerly been made and practiced under." Tex. Land Co. v. Williams, 48 Tex. 602, 603 (1878). 5Tex. Const. art. V, § 25 (repealed 1985); See also Roy W. McDonald, The Background of the Texas ProceduralRules, 19 TEX. L. REv. 229, 239 (1941) ("[W]ith the amendment of the Constitution of 1891 . the earlier [rule-making] spirit seems to have waned . ."). 6See Acts of May 15, 1939, 46th Leg., R.S., ch. 25, 1939 Tex. Gen. Laws 201, 201-03, repealed by Act of June 12, 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 480, § 26(1), 1985 Tex. Gen. Laws 1720, 2048 (current version at TEX. Gov'T CODE ANN. § 22.004 (West Supp. 2012)). Jack Pope & Steve McConnico, Texas Civil ProcedureRule Making, 30 BAYLOR L. REV. 5, 11-12 (1978). 716 BAYLOR LAWREVIEW [Vol. 65:3 rules, but designedly did not make nonessential changes in Texas procedure. During the next four decades, the Texas Supreme Court promulgated a number of additional civil procedural rules and amended many others. By 1980 and during the 1980s and 1990s, continuing dissatisfaction with the Texas rulebook caused the rule-making process to greatly accelerate. But by the end of the twentieth century, the process of revision of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure stalled before recodification of the rules could be completed. With the full recognition that rule-making is a never-ending process, this article explains what needs to be done to "finish" the job. My participation in the rule-making process began in the late 1970s, when I became a member of the State Bar of Texas Administration of Justice Committee. By 1982, I also became a member of the Advisory Committee to the Texas Supreme Court. I have served as a member of the Advisory Committee as a result of consecutive reappointments since my original appointment. Along the way, I served as one of the principal reporters to the Combined Committee that drafted the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure, which were promulgated by the Texas Supreme Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals in 1984.9 In 1991, I was appointed by the Texas Supreme Court as the Chair of the Task Force on Revision of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, which developed a Recodification Draft of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and submitted the draft to the Advisory Committee in 1993.10 Thereafter, the Advisory Committee met every other month until it substantially completed a new Recodification Draft in late See Pope, supra note 7, at 10-11. Many rules, procedural statutes, and court decisions interpreting them have historical roots traceable to the Republic of Texas, Mexico and Spain. Joseph McKnight, The Spanish Influence on the Texas Law of Civil Procedure, 38 TEX.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Texas Library Association OUTSTANDING SERVICES to LIBRARIES AWARD NOMINATION WORK FORM
    Texas Library Association OUTSTANDING SERVICES TO LIBRARIES AWARD NOMINATION WORK FORM Date:____December 18, 2013_______ NOMINEE: Judge Jack English Hightower (posthumous nomination; died August 3, 2013 in Austin, Texas)______________ Name of the nominee Served on the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (5 years); Founding president of the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society; Actively involved as a volunteer with the Baylor University Libraries; Supported Libraries at the state, local, and national levels through his service in the Texas State Senate, the United States House of Representatives, the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and on the Texas Supreme Court Title/Library Affiliation of Nominee Daughter: Amy Hightower Brees 3009 Chatelaine Drive Austin, TX 78746______________________________ Widow: Colleen Ward Hightower Summit at Westlake Hills, Apt. 227 1034 Liberty Park Drive Austin, TX 78746-6852_ Nominee's Address Amy: (512) 347-7137 e-mail: [email protected] Colleen: (512) 452-7327 (no e-mail)________________ Nominee's Phone Number/Fax/Email NOMINATED BY: Kathy R. Hillman_____________________________________________________________________ Nominator's Name Director of Baptist Collections, Library Advancement, and the Keston Center for Religion, Politics, and Society at Baylor University Nominator's Title/Affiliation 8505 Oakdale Drive Waco, TX 76712 (Work: One Bear Place #97148 Waco, TX 76798-7148)__________________ Nominator's Address Cell: 254-749-5347 Office: 254-710-6684 FAX: 254-710-3116 E-mail: [email protected]_____________ Nominator's Phone Number/Fax/Email Please read the criteria for the award as outlined in Standing Rule 9, Section C "Awards" and send detailed information using these subheads: I. Specific reason for nomination II.
    [Show full text]
  • Message from the President Executive Director's Page Fellows Column
    Winner of the American Association for State and Local History’s Excellence in History Award Columns Leads Features Message from the President The Civil Law Collection of State Bar of Texas Digital Archives By Dylan O. Drummond the Texas Supreme Court The Texas Supreme Portal is Launched By Michael Widener Court Historical Society By Caitlin Bumford This is an account of will celebrate its The Bar’s Archives an unused collection thirtieth anniversary Department has spent of law books, one that early next year two years developing a did little to shape the on January 13th. tool to provide public Dylan O. minds of its intended Read more... access to selected Drummond users, an “un-library,” as Gold spine stamp digitized archival a Spanish colleague of on many volumes from the Texas materials. Read more... Executive Director’s Page mine put it. Supreme Court’s library By Sharon Sandle Read more... Supreme Court of Texas This issue of the Journal focuses on research and From the Western Frontier Archive Update the wealth of archival By Tiffany Gilman information available to the Digital Frontier: Many of the Court’s to those researching records are judicial work Texas legal history. A History of the State Law Library product, and therefore Read more... Sharon Sandle By Amy Small confidential. However, The paucity of Republic- the Court also maintains era law libraries may a wide array of records The Republic-era have been as much “Sam Houston” Fellows Column open to the public. Bible in the By David J. Beck due to the difficulty of Read more..
    [Show full text]
  • April 2017 Newsletter Page 1 of 3 Judge Jack Pope 1913-2017
    Abilene Christian University Department of Political Science & Criminal Justice April 2017 Newsletter Page 1 of 3 Judge Jack Pope 1913-2017 The passing of ACU icon Chief Justice Jack Pope is of course the lead story for this April’s newsletter. Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Pope was one of the most well-respected jurists in Texas history, and his death made national news—we have included the obituary from the Austin American-Statesman below. Our department will always be grateful for his tremendous example of legal scholarship and leadership for our alum who go on to legal careers. We are also so appreciative of his starting the Jack Pope Fellows Program here at ACU, which trains and awards scholarships to outstanding ACU students who intend to pursue careers in public service. Memorials can be made in Justice Pope’s memory and honor to the Pope Fellows Program. Jack Pope, an indefatigable legal legend who spent 38 years as a Texas judge — including a politics-defying two-year stint as the Texas Supreme Court’s Chief Justice — died February 25 at age 103 in Austin. Pope served on the state’s highest civil court from 1964-85, making a lasting impression on the law by pushing for an enforceable code of ethics for judges, simplifying and streamlining trials, and requiring formal judicial education for state judges “Chief Justice Jack Pope was a judicial icon, His hard work, scholarship, common sense, humor and integrity are legendary,” said the court’s current chief justice, Nathan Hecht. “He was my mentor, role model, counselor and, most especially, my friend.
    [Show full text]
  • ““““““““9/9/07 Draft
    HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TEXAS SURFACE WATER LAW: BACKGROUND OF THE APPROPRIATION AND PERMITTING SYSTEM Glenn Jarvis, Esq. McAllen, Texas; April 2008 I. INTRODUCTION and OVERVIEW Understanding the Past leads to understanding of the Present, and better decisions in the Future. Substantial modifications in Texas surface water laws have occurred from time to time to a much greater extent than in other aspects of property law. For this reason, one can best understand the Texas law of surface water rights today by reviewing its historical evolution. The evolution of surface water law in Texas is unique due substantially to the State’s governmental and legal history, and the politics at a point in time motivated by social and historical events, and economic considerations, which are all often driven by nature. Droughts and water shortage, as well as floods, often have been followed by changes in water law. This paper traces that history and its effect on surface water law, culminating in the establishment of the prior appropriation and permitting system in effect today. Texas was initially governed by Spanish law, then by Mexican law from 1821 until Texas achieved its independence from Mexico in 1836. Texas was a Republic and sovereign nation from 1836 until it became a State in 1845. The Republic of Texas utilized the general laws of Mexico until 1840. The Fourth Congress of the Republic of Texas introduced the common law of England as of March 16, 1840. It preserved Spanish and Mexican mining law, but notably did not reserve the water law of New Spain. Law of January 20, 1840, §§ 1-2, Tex.Gen.Laws 3, 2 H.
    [Show full text]
  • Former Chief Justice Jack Pope, 100 Years Old, Signed Copies of His Book Common Law Judge: Selected Writings Fof Chief Justice Jack Pope of Texas
    Journal of the TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Winter 2013 Vol. 3, No. 2 General Editor Lynne Liberato Executive Editor David Furlow Columns A Brief History of the Society Takes Over Maintenance of the Journal of the Texas Supreme Court Supreme Court’s Alumni Directory President’s Page The Society has offered to assume By Douglas W. Alexander Historical Society maintenance of the Court’s directory I celebrate those who By Lynne Liberato in order to alleviate the administrative helped make former When I became the burden its upkeep imposes on Court staff. Chief Justice Jack Pope’s Society’s president, I Read more... knew that producing a new book a reality. Douglas W. Read more... Alexander newsletter was critical to our development as an organization. Supreme Court History Book Ends Its Fellows Column Read more... Lynne Liberato First Year with a Holiday Sales Push By David J. Beck The Society is running a The Fellows are excited series of ads to reach the to be working on their Journal Indexes larger audience of Texas second reenactment of a These indexes of past Journal issues, attorneys who might not historic case. arranged by issue and by author, are a know about the book or Read more... David J. Beck great resource for finding articles. the Society. Read more... Read more... James Haley’s book Features Significant Dates in the Society’s TSHA Joint Session Goes to the 170 Years of Texas Contract Law—Part 2 History of the Supreme Court Dark Side of Court History By Richard R. Orsinger of the Republic of Texas The theme of the upcoming Society- Texas took its pleading sponsored session at the TSHA Annual December was an important month Meeting is guaranteed to generate more practices from Spanish in the history of the Republic of Texas law, where the emphasis than passing interest in the Supreme Supreme Court.
    [Show full text]
  • Senate May Lock Regent Ippointments
    Battalion/P|! January 19 The Serving the University community en 76 No. 79 USPS 045360 16 Pages College Station, Texas Thursday, January 20, 1983 • id by a live. <»ii Hawaii, Senate may inners were Alj ,oup; Kara ‘ vocalist; Rod Jl Kr°up; I xual Healinj lock regent ; and Arethil P To It," LPa in the lOi ippointments Music Aw V the pubk! lots sent toadifrom staff and wire reports been locked in a bitter behind-the- of recori itfeSenate Democrats say they have scenes battle over the appointments votes to hand Gov. Mark White for nearly two weeks. .first victory of his new administra- Clements urged the members to WL the right to review 104 of the uphold his appointments saying it was iLne-duck appointments made his duty to make the appointments. firmer Gov. Bill Clements, includ- White let it be known he wanted some iA ; appointments to the Texas A&M or all of them back for review. ard of Regents. Sen. Chet Brooks, D-Pasadena, Ihite met with 17 Democratic said the Senate will vote on each of H Clements’ appointments and he pre­ fetors Wednesday morning and Bendy pursuaded them to let dicted that all but a few of the 104 Beview all of Clements’ post- nominees would be returned for White’s review. ncn appointments, with the ex- Hn of Texas Supreme Court The appointments in dispute were made by Clements after he lost the ief Justice Jack Pope. November general election and in­ He’s going to ask for all of them cluded former Gov.
    [Show full text]
  • TSCHS Winter 2019 Correct.Pdf
    Columns Leads Embarking on a Journey of Research By Hon. Jason Boatright Message from the President America’s Forgotten Freedom: Why were there By Marcy Hogan Greer The Development, Meaning, and different versions of the In November, we preamble to the Texas held the Great War Significance of the Petition Clause Constitution? Which Commemoration in the By Chad Baruch version was correct? Historic Supreme Court Nestled quietly Were there different Research resulted Courtroom in honor of versions of other parts in an exhibition at at the end of the the Bob Bullock the 100th anniversary First Amendment, of the Constitution? Texas State of the Armistice that Marcy Hogan the Petition Clause Read more... History Museum Greer ended World War I. appears to the modern Read more... eye “almost like an Stephen F. Austin, imprisoned for Justice Phil Johnson Has Been a afterthought. .” conveying a Executive Director’s Page Read more... petition Guiding Light for Public Service By Hon. Jeff Brown By Sharon Sandle Justice Phil Johnson Each year, the Society And Still He Rose: William A. Price, retired from the Texas sponsors a session Supreme Court on at the Texas State Texas’s First Black Judge and December 31, 2018 Historical Association the Path to a Civil Rights Milestone after 13 years of Annual Meeting. By John G. Browning and distinguished service. Read more... Sharon Sandle Hon. Carolyn Wright Justice Phil Read more... Johnson The history of Texas’s Fellows Column earliest African American lawyers has been, until By David J. Beck recent years, among the We are pleased to most neglected chapters report that our Taming in Texas legal history.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evidence Playbook
    The Evidence Playbook By Rachel Hooper evidence, n. Implies both that the tribunal accepts the material as worthy of consideration and that the party offering the material intends to use it as a means of proof.1 n his opening statement during his nomination hearings before the Senate IJudiciary Committee, Chief Justice John Roberts said that his job is akin to that of an umpire and his role in the courtroom is “to call balls and strikes and not to pitch or bat.”2 In evidence disputes, umpires and, sometimes, replay officials are necessary. A clear playbook is essential because it allows the litigants the opportunity to become familiar with the rules. For Texas lawyers, that playbook is the Texas Rules of Evidence. Evidence is instinctual. The study of evidence is akin to the study of a foreign language. All evidentiary analysis involves the relationship between the factum probans and the factum probandum.3 Evidence may be classified as direct or circumstantial. 4 Evidence is further labeled as primary or secondary; positive or negative; conclusive, corroborative, cumulative, or prima facie; documentary, object, or testimonial; and admissible, credible, or relevant.5 Sometimes we receive unexpected glimpses into the lives of Texas Supreme Court justices as a result of a newly discovered object. I recently had the privilege of viewing Peter Gray’s book identifying the laws passed by the First Legislature of Texas. Sam Houston appointed Gray to serve as Harris County District Attorney in 1841.6 Gray later represented Harris County in the First Legislature and, at twenty-seven years old, he wrote the Texas Practice Act, the first rules of civil procedure in Texas.7 These procedural rules, promulgated in 1846, contained an evidence 1 Bryan A.
    [Show full text]
  • Access Justice
    ACCESSto JUSTICE in Texas All Texans deserve fair and equitable access to our jusce system. Civil legal aid assures fairness for all in the court system, regardless of income. Approximately 5.6 million Texans qualify for legal aid, the second-highest number in the nation. Legal aid provides access to legal help for people to protect their livelihoods, their health and their families. Many need help with critical civil legal issues impacting their very existence, including: Spouses and children Elderly Texans wrongly Veterans denied critical Families who have lost their of domestic abuse denied life-sustaining medical care, disability and homes prescriptions other benefits Legal aid organizations help more than 104,000 Texas families each year. Due to a lack of resources, only about 20 percent of the civil legal needs of eligible Texans are being met. Others continue to suffer or unsuccessfully attempt to represent themselves in our complicated court system. A funding crisis for Texas legal aid connues. Since 2007, the Texas Access to Justice Foundation, which is the primary state-based funder of legal aid in Texas, has experienced a loss of $99 million due to declines in funding from the state’s Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (IOLTA) program. Texas ranks 50th in access to legal aid lawyers. There is approximately only one legal aid lawyer for every 11,000 Texans who qualify. Due to declines in funding, Texas legal aid providers have been forced to lay off staff and cut services, resulting in thousands of Texans being denied critical, life-changing legal representation. “A society that denies access to the courts for the least among us denigrates the law for us all.” -- Chief Justice Nathan L.
    [Show full text]
  • Former Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson an Evening of Fine Dining at the Lt
    Journal of the TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Summer 2014 Vol. 3, No. 4 General Editor Lynne Liberato Executive Editor David Furlow Columns News & Announcements The Lone Star Republic’s Supreme Court President’s Page Wove the Fabric of Texas Law from the 19th John Hemphill Dinner Will Feature By Douglas W. Alexander A battalion of people have Threads of Three Competing Legal Keynote by Ambassador Ron Kirk, contributed to a great Traditions, Part 2 Memorial to Justice Jack Hightower, year, but I would like By David A. Furlow to single out a few who Pope Awards The lives of fifteen white have made particularly The Hemphill Dinner and Hispanic captives, extraordinary is the Society’s main and the hope of a lasting fundraising event and is contributions. Douglas W. Read more... Alexander peace between the not to be missed. Comanches and Texans, The Council Read more... Ambassador Kirk depended on Judge House Hemphill’s skill as a Executive Director’s Page make-peace in his new Council House “Murder and Mayhem” Program By Pat Nester courtroom. Read more... The recent Texas State Earns High Marks at the Texas State Historial Association Historical Association’s 2014 Annual meeting spanned the An Interview with Texas Supreme Court humorous to the sublime Meeting in grand fashion. Chief Justice Nathan Hecht The Society’s session was Read more... Pat Nester By Jacqueline M. Furlow one of the most widely- Chief Justice Hecht’s attended of the forty-two capacity for clear and programs at the TSHA’s Fellows Column impactful communication, 118th Annual Meeting in informed by extensive study early March.
    [Show full text]
  • Summer / Annual Dinner Issue 2012 Vol
    Journal of the TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Summer / Annual Dinner Issue 2012 Vol. 1, No. 4 Executive Editor David Furlow Methods for Common Law Judges President’s Page: Taking Stock Board Elects Officers for 2012-13 By Jack Pope By Lynne Liberato In late February, the Society’s Board of Explore what a common When I was State Bar Trustees unanimously elected officers for law judge may and may not President, I learned how the one-year term beginning June 1, 2012. do, as noted in this lecture easy it is to get caught in Read more... to the Texas Railroad the trap that threatens Lawyers Association in to ensnare the president Four New Members Elected to the 1964. Read more... of every volunteer Lynne Liberato Hon. Jack Pope organization. Read more... Board of Trustees The Best People in Texas Are Dying At the annual meeting of the general Executive Director’s Page: membership, the Society members elected to Get In: Justices in the Texas State four members to fill vacancies. An Uncommon Judge Read more... Cemetery, Part 1 By Bill Pugsley By Will Erwin One of the pleasures The Texas State Cemetery I enjoy as Executive History of Texas Supreme Court has been the burial Director is to see the Now in Press ground for distinguished homes of justices who The Society-sponsored history of the politicians and soldiers served on the court. Court is now in full production at the since the mid-1850’s. Hon. Jack Pope’s I’m buried there. Read more... library University of Texas Press.
    [Show full text]
  • Taming Texas
    JAMES L. HALEY & MARILYN P. DUNCAN ★ TAMING TEXAS HOW LAW AND ORDER CAME TO THE LONE STAR STATE ★ TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Taming Texas Pages3.indd 132 11/20/15 5:15 PM ★ TAMING TEXAS Taming Texas Pages3.indd 1 11/20/15 5:13 PM ★ TAMING TEXAS HOW LAW AND ORDER CAME TO THE LONE STAR STATE ★ Taming Texas Pages3.indd 2 11/20/15 5:13 PM ★ TAMING TEXAS HOW LAW AND ORDER CAME TO THE LONE STAR STATE ★ BY JAMES L. HALEY & MARILYN P. DUNCAN TEXAS SUPREME COURT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Taming Texas Pages3.indd 3 11/20/15 5:13 PM Copyright © 2016 by the Texas Supreme Court Historical Society All rights reserved. Printed in Canada First edition Requests to reproduce material from this book should be sent to: Texas Supreme Court Historical Society P.O. Box 12673 Austin, TX 78711 [email protected] Library of Congress Control Number: 2015953198 ISBN: 978-0-9897925-1-6 ISBN (e-book): 978-0-9897925-2-3 Cover and book design by Derek George The Texas Supreme Court Historical Society is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to the collection and preserva- tion of papers, photographs, and significant artifacts relating to the Supreme Court of Texas, the appellate courts, and Texas judicial history. The Society also sponsors a variety of programs and publications designed to increase public awareness and appreciation of the state’s judicial heritage. www.texascourthistory.org Taming Texas Pages3.indd 4 11/23/15 7:09 PM Contents FOREWORD by Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht vii PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix INTRODUCTION.
    [Show full text]