Friday, March 30, 2012

Change is Good

I am on the verge of eligibility for retirement – holy cow - and after almost 27 years of working for the State, this prospect appeals to me. I am not leaving Austin and am not leaving the justice arena, so I will certainly see some of you professionally in the future.
It has been an enormous privilege working for Chief Justice Jefferson and the Court, working with the very talented men and women in the Office of Court Administration, and with friends I have made throughout a career in the justice system. I will miss this job and the people here a great deal, but am optimistic that the next chapter will be equally rewarding.

If you have a continuing interest in the Office of Court Administration, it looks like the next Director will be named quickly (certainly sometime in April) and in the meantime, General Counsel Mena Ramon will be the interim Director.

Take care,
Carl

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Annual Report

The Office of Court Administration and Texas Judicial Council have released the 2011 Annual Report for the Texas Judiciary, which provides synopses and highlights of court activity. Due to budget constraints, the report was not printed this year. Many people have contacted OCA to inquire about the apparent delay in this year’s publication of the Annual Report. Although the report was completed about three months later than what has been the usual in recent years, I am pleased to release the latest report. This year’s report includes new information collected from the district, statutory county, and constitutional county courts of the state and reflects years of work by OCA staff and the considerable efforts of district and county clerks and judges, case management vendors, and local information technology staff to implement changes necessitated by new Texas Judicial Council reporting requirements.