Texas Justice Court Training Center
Ensuring Justice and Fairness Through Education
Announcements
Confidentiality Policy Requirement Goes Into Effect May 1; TJCTC Creates Sample Policy
In February, as required by the Texas Legislature during the 2023 session, the Texas Supreme Court modified Rule of Judicial Administration 7.1 to require all courts, including justice courts, to implement a confidentiality policy. The policy must be provided to existing employees at least biannually, and all new employees must be trained on the policy before performing any substantive work.
Courts must implement this policy no later than May 1, 2024. Download TJCTC's sample policy.
Read the Rules of Judicial Administration.
Injunction Blocking SB 4 Continues; Updated Magistration Deskbook Posted
In the 4th Special Session of the 88th Texas Legislature, the Legislature passed SB 4, a bill which created several new immigration-related criminal offenses, as well as a procedure for magistrates and courts in certain situations to issue orders for defendants to return to a foreign country. The law was originally scheduled to go into effect March 5, 2024. The United States filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction and was joined by several other plaintiffs, including El Paso County. A district judge issued an injunction preventing the law from going into effect, which was originally upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court and a stay is currently in place from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The 5th Circuit heard oral arguments March 20, 2024. Please monitor further email updates, as well as this space, for updates and guidance as more information becomes available.
The 2024 Magistration Deskbook, including information about SB 4, is now available on the Deskbooks page.
Registration
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Post-Judgment Interest Rate
Remember to check the OCCC site every month for the current post-judgment interest rates! Click here to see the current rates and click on "Future Rate" at that link after the 15th of the month to see the next month's rate.