A very huge stupendous THANK YOU to

LEE BEAN
and
MICHELLE SPODNIK

for all their hard work in organizing this year's Collin County Bench Bar Conference. Next year's chairs will be Kristi Piazza and Lee Bean. Please contact them if you have any suggestions for next year's conference.


The new address for the
Collin County Bench Bar Foundation is
 P.O. Box 3324
McKinney, Texas 75070

Charity Borserine is the Chair this year.

Kids in the Crossfire Video

 

Alternatives to Litigation. Litigation is an adversarial approach. It is very expensive, increases conflict and many times proves devastating to the children involved. The bad feelings from courtroom litigation can affect you and your children the rest of your lives. On the other hand, mediation or collaborative law can result in a settlement that is less expensive, less traumatic and more creative. The choices you make now can have an enormous immediate and long term effect on you and your children. Choose wisely. Click here for more information.

 

Recent Decisions
- 5th Court of Appeals
at Dallas
and Supreme Court of Texas
(from Collin County District Courts)
Courtesy of
www.courtstuff.com

August 19, 2010
05-10-00806-CV Motion or Writ Granted
In Re: Wixom, Ann Elizabeth
Case Type: HABCOR Trial Court:
366TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

August 18, 2010
05-09-00620-CV Affirmed
TCAP Corporation f/k/a TransAmerica capital Corporation v. Gervin, George Case Type: OTH CIV Trial Court:
219TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

August 11, 2010
05-08-01655-CR Affirmed
Villegas, Hernan
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: ROBBERY Trial Court:
199TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

August 3, 2010
05-08-01171-CV Affirmed
Staley, Pamela S.
v. Staley, Thomas, Staley & Associates, Inc., and James G. Herblin Individually and as Trustee of Heritable Trust, Assignee Of Charis Interests Case Type: SUM JDMT Trial Court:
219TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 28, 2010
05-09-01036-CR Affirmed
Luttrell II, Josiah Nelson
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: SX ASULT Trial Court:
429TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 27, 2010
05-09-00413-CR Affirmed
Read, Robert Bruce
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: SX ASULT Trial Court:
366TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 21, 2010
05-09-00554-CR Affirmed
Gillespie, Timothy Earl
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: OTH FEL Trial Court:
416TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 8, 2010
05-08-01224-CR Affirmed
Hill, LeRoy Jr.
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: ODG POSS Trial Court:
401ST DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 6, 2010
05-08-00630-CR Affirmed
Cabrera, Jose Ramiro
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: OTH FEL Trial Court:
401ST DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 6, 2010
05-09-01204-CV Reversed and Remanded
Smith, Wendell and Yolinda
v. Allen Ray Shipp, McCraw Cargo Express, And McCraw Cargo Express, L.L.C.
Case Type: OTH CIV Trial Court:
401ST DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

July 2, 2010
05-09-01093-CR Affirmed
Valadez, Edward
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: COK POSS Trial Court:
416TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

June 30, 2010
05-08-01270-CR Affirmed
Harrison, Nathaniel Thomas
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: MAR SALE Trial Court:
199TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

June 29, 2010
05-09-00615-CR Affirmed
Seelye, William Lester
v. The State of Texas
Case Type: THEFT Trial Court:
219TH DISTRICT COURT County: COLLIN
Opinion

 

 

 

Pro Bono News and Opportunities
Legal Aid of Northwest Texas

The following attorneys have recently volunteered and accepted cases through Legal Aid of Northwest Texas. Thank you!

Brett Thornock
Michael Sloan
Emily DeJong
Angela Owens
Duncan Webb
Jean Power
Lene DeRudder
Mary Butler
Andrew Jones
Barbara Jouette
Jacqueline Williams
Tom Daley

The following attorneys were recognized and celebrated at the Collin County Bench Bar Conference for their outstanding volunteer efforts this past year:

Pro Bono Attorney of the Year
Steve Watson

Pro Bono Attorney of Year Runner Ups
Laura Richardson-Harris
Jennifer McNamee

Please drop them a note or email and express your thanks and gratitude for their work. They represent one of the finest traditions of our profession.

 

 

  Tax Charts.   Download the new 2010 Tax Charts for child support calculation.

  For Kids Sake Brochures.   Download the new 2010 brochures for the 'For Kids Sake seminars. Para clases en Español llame al 469.752.2277

   New Case Management System. The new civil case management system for the District Courts is up and running for civil and family cases.  You can (sometimes) access civil and family dockets, electronic docket sheets and some rulings.  You will have to access civil and criminal information through separate databases. And yes, we have asked for changes to the new user interface; it is not as easy to use as the old one, and in some instances impossible to use.

●Civil Calendar
●Civil Case Lookup
●Criminal Case Lookup
●Criminal Calendar

     Here are two tips that you can use that may help you circumvent the current deficiencies in the case lookup module.

       1. If you know an approximate date that a case is or was set, use the calendar module instead of the case lookup module, search by judicial officer, then sort the results by date and time, and you will get a calendar list of the cases. Find the case, click, and you will access the electronic file. I know it is a long way around what should be a simple process, but until they fix it, there may be no other way.

       2. When using case numbers, do not use any hyphens or dashes; also try using '2008' if you don't find the case using '08'.

For information on accessing court rulings from 219th Judicial District Court, click here.

Email.   Attorneys, please make sure the District Clerk has your email address on file in the case management system.

Inmate Pleas and Appearances.  All inmate pleas and non-evidentiary appearances will be done via video conferencing. Judges, defense counsel, prosecutors, supervision officers, clerks and bailiffs report that the process is working well.

Smoking. Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside or on the grounds of the new courthouse on Bloomdale Road, except for in one’s personal vehicle. This new smoking policy applies to all employees as well as visitors to the courthouse, and is effective immediately.

Technology Tips. Click here to check out some tips on using the courtroom technology in the district courts.

Secured Access Policy in New Courthouse. New security procedures and access are in place at the new courthouse. Access to the private offices in the new courthouse will be secured with biometric scanning of your palms.  Entrants to the secured area will have to fill out an application and be approved by both Collin County Homeland Security and the Board of District Judges.  You can obtain your applications online or at the security desk. Judge John Roach will be representing the Board of Judges in assisting Homeland Security’s implementation of this process. Attorneys coming to the courthouse for the first time will have the opportunity to receive temporary access by 1) completing an application, and 2) temporarily surrendering their driver's license to the security desk for a temporary access badge. They will exchange the badge for their driver's license when leaving the courthouse.