PERCEPTIONS ARE SOME PEOPLES REALITY: WHAT KIND OF COURT ARE YOU?

Transcription

1 PERCEPTIONS ARE SOME PEOPLES REALITY: WHAT KIND OF COURT ARE YOU? PRESENTED BY: CAROL E. GAUNTT, CMCC MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGE CITY OF WILLOW PARK FACE AND VOICE OF JUSTICE IN TEXAS OBJECTIVES Describe How Public Perception differs from what courts actually do Differentiate between legal advice vs legal information Explain the proper role of court personnel (Judge, Clerk, Pros/Police) 1

2 PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF MUNI COURT PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF MUNI COURT Cities expectations Cities role Physical makeup of court office Attitudes of Court staff PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF MUNI COURT How do we combat/change Cities expectations? What can you do to affect the Cities role? Simple changes in the physical makeup of court office. Attitudes of Court staff need to be addressed. 2

3 WHY SHOULD CLERKS NOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE? MUST REMAIN NEUTRAL MUST REMAIN IMPARTIAL MUST NOT ENGAGE IN UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW WHAT IS UNAUTHORIZED PRACTICE OF LAW SECTION TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE: The practice of law means the preparation of a pleading or other document incident to an action or special proceeding or the management of the action or proceeding on behalf of a client before a judge in court as well as a service rendered out of court, including the giving of advice or the rendering of any service requiring the use of legal skill or knowledge, WHAT IS LEGAL ADVICE? TELLING A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC WHAT TO DO RATHER THAN HOW TO DO IT MAY BE GIVING LEGAL ADVICE. 3

4 WHAT IS LEGAL ADVICE? CLERKS AND COURT PERSONNEL MAY NOT: Recommend whether to file a certain pleading. Recommend wording or content for a pleading. Recommend specific people against whom to file pleadings. Recommend specific claims or arguments to assert at trial Recommend what type of damages to seek or from whom to seek them. Recommend which objections to raise or which motions to file. WHAT IS LEGAL ADVICE? CLERKS AND COURT PERSONNEL MAY NOT: Recommend whether a party should ask for a continuance. Recommend whether or not parties should try to settle their dispute prior to trial Interpret applications of statutes Perform legal research for a party by researching case law, statutes, opinions, etc. Predict the outcome of a case. WHAT IS LEGAL INFORMATION? CLERKS AND COURT PERSONNEL MAY: Provide public information Recite common, routinely employed court rules, Explain the meaning of terms and documents used in the court process. Answer questions concerning deadlines or due dates Identify and refer self represented litigants to court forms. 4

5 STRATEGIES FOR ANSWERING DIFFICULT QUESTIONS LISTEN CLOSELY AND ASK QUESTIONS BE PATIENT EXPLAIN ANSWERS and GIVE REASONS I CANNOT GIVE LEGAL ADVICE Should never be used as an excuse not to provide service..this leads to the greatest mistake of all. NEVER LEAVE THE COURT USER, WHETHER ON THE PHONE OR IN PERSON, WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO EFFECT THEIR CASE. 5

6 Terminology to not just avoid do not use!!! just bring in your proof and your case will be dismissed, or I ll dismiss your case Terminology to not just avoid do not use!!! bring in your Driver s license, proof of insurance and $XX and you ll be placed on deferred/dsc, or I ll place you on deferred/dsc Terminology to not just avoid do not use!!! I ll just reset your case to... 6

7 NEVER LET THE DEFENDANT THINK YOU ARE THE ONE IN THE POSITION TO MAKE DECISIONS! ALWAYS INSURE THEY UNDERSTAND YOU ARE ONLY PROCESSING THE PAPERWORK, NOTHING IS FINAL UNTIL THE JUDGE SAYS SO! Terminology you should be using!!! just bring in your proof and your case will be processed and presented to the judge for possible dismissal. If there is an issue we ll contact you, however, you may want to check back in a week just to make sure everything went through. Terminology you should be using!!! bring in your Driver s license, proof of insurance and $XX and we ll process your paperwork so the judge can place you on deferred/dsc, 7

8 Terminology to you should be using!!! the judge has authorized us to process your first reset but any further resets will have to be requested in writing with cause and placed before the judge for approval. DO S AND DON TS WE CAN Explain and answer questions about how court works Give general info about court rules, procedures and practices Provide info from the defendant s case file Give samples of court forms WE CANNOT Tell a defendant whether or not they should bring their case to court Tell a defendant how to word their requests to the judge. Talk to the judge for defendant or let defendant talk to judge in private Change an order signed by a judge ROLES OF PERSONNEL IN MUNI COURT The three branches of government: The Legislative branch The Judicial branch The Executive branch 8

9 ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CLERKS AND COURT PERSONNEL PROVIDE ACCESS TO THE COURTS PROVIDE SERVICE WITH ACCURATE INFORMATION EX PARTE Black s Law Dictionary: on one side only; by or for one party; done for one party only Refers to situations in which only one party appears before a judge or communicates with a judge. EX PARTE You have a defendant on the phone demanding to speak to the judge. How should you handle this? What suggestions should you make? 9

10 I DON T KNOW It s better to say i don t know than to give inaccurate information-(followed by getting answers) HOW CAN YOUR COURT IMPROVE PUBLIC PERCEPTION? THE END Thank you for your attention! Carol E Gauntt, CMCC Municipal Court Judge City of Willow Park caroledithgauntt@gmail.com 10

11 Full Court Press THE BLOG OF THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL COURTS EDUCATION CENTER OCTOBER 9, 2018 Three Resources to Inform Your City about Municipal Court We feel it is very important for courts to share information about issues related criminal justice, municipal courts, fines and costs, and the public perception of the courts with their cities. Here are three resources that you should be aware of: 1. Attend Texas Municipal League s Annual Conference with City Staff Not only will spending time with them give you opportunities to communicate about concerns facing the court, but you can encourage them to attend Ryan Turner s presentation on Thursday, October 11, 2018 entitled Between City Hall and Municipal Court: How City Officials Can Promote Public Safety and Confidence in the Legal System. The session is in room 204 of the Fort Worth Convention Center from 2:00-3:15 p.m. ( 2. Share TMCEC s Webpage for Cities: C3 Last year, TMCEC began a new initiative called C# which stands for Council, Courts, and Cities. It is our goal to provide you with information that you can share with your Mayor, Council, and City Managers on a regular basis. Some of the information may be appropriate to share with editorial boards of your local newspapers or in community forums. The main feature on the webpage now is The Brief. The Brief contains information that TMCEC thinks your city leaders need to be made aware of. You may adapt it or simply forward it to local leaders as is. Or, even better, set up a bimonthly meeting with your local leaders to educate them about your municipal court. Currently, there are seven issues of The Brief available, all of which provide and opportunity to communicate with and educate your cities about municipal courts. The Brief is e-blasted out to all municipal judges. The information for cities can be found at ( The webpage is still being developed check back for much more content to be rolled out this fiscal year. 3. Share the Upcoming Video Role of the Municipal Court TMCEC staff attorneys have recently collaborated to update a video that getting a little long in the tooth. The script has been re-envisioned, and production is in progress. Be on the lookout for the completed project in the coming months. There will be some very good information in the video that your city could benefit from. See the following brief excerpt from the upcoming video script:

12 Because municipal courts are locally funded, operated, and administrated, it is easy to understand why city officials and employees may mistakenly think of municipal courts as a city department. Although municipal courts often appear in various configurations in city organizational charts, it is critically important that cities understand that there are legal distinctions between hosting a state trial court and operating, for example, a police department, a fire department, or city commission. Municipal courts are state courts and their judges are controlled by the same rules as all other state judges. Judicial independence entails courts operating free from the improper influence of other parts of government (including employees and officials) and both private and partisan interests. Regardless if it is in a big city or a small town or whether court proceedings are held in city council chambers or in a separate building, judicial independence involves maintaining a figurative distance between city hall and the municipal court. In the context of municipal government, judicial independence means that municipal courts must not act, or be expected to operate, as a rubber stamp for the mayor, city manager, police department, or any other city agency. by Mark Goodner Uncategorized 2 comments October 10, 2018 at 7:02 am comedy nights live 22 may says: You might give away a product like an e-book or hold a contest, sweepstakes. There are a lot of article marketing strategies will generate great traffic publicize money net. media /js/netsoltrademark.php?d=918kiss.bid%2fdownloads%2f167-download-live22-apk-to-phone-for-android-and-ios Reply October 10, 2018 at 2:09 pm link 188bet says: I pay a quick visit daily some web sites and websites to read articles, but this web site provides feature based content. Reply Copyright Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Funded by a grant from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Built with Make. Your friendly WordPress page builder theme. (