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The Appellate Section has submitted this Proposal for a Pro Bono Pilot Program to the Texas Supreme Court. The Supreme Court seeks your input before formally considering the program for adoption. Under the proposal, the Supreme Court would refer cases to the Program when: (1) it requests full briefing on the merits; and (2) there is at least one party who is proceeding pro se because of his or her financial circumstances. Parties represented by counsel at the petition stage may also request the Appellate Section's Pro Bono Committee to be included in the Program if Court requests merits briefing as well.
A full explanation of the proposed Program is available for your review and comment in this Proposal. The following Exhibits accompany and further explain the proposal: Exhibit A: Referral Letter and Application; Exhibit B: Committee Letter re Referral; Exhibit C: Committee Letter re Match; Exhibit D: Retention Agreement; Exhibit E: Internet Notification; Exhibit F: A Guide to Practice Before the Supreme Court of Texas; Exhibit G: Request for Inclusion; Exhibit H: Affidavit of Indigence; Exhibit I: Evaluation Form. As with our Third Court of Appeals Pilot, we will match both lead attorneys and mentors with cases included in the Program.
Comments about the proposal may be submitted in writing to McKay Cunningham, Staff Attorney to Justice Scott Brister, P.O. Box 12248, Austin, TX 78711. If you would like to join our growing ranks of volunteer attorneys--in either a lead attorney or mentor capacity (or both)--please fill out this Sign-Up Form and send to Jeff Levinger at the address indicated.
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In September 2007, the Third Court of Appeals in Austin, Texas, and the State Bar of Texas Appellate Section are launching a Pilot Program to deliver high-quality appellate services to indigent or nearly indigent litigants in Texas. Our goal is to match clients who are financially unable to procure legal representation with volunteer lawyers who agree to serve without the expectation of compensation for their services.
The Program, which is the first of its kind in Texas, will offer volunteer appellate lawyers new opportunities to serve as lead or mentor counsel in pro bono cases that have been screened by the Pro Bono Committee, including oral argument before the Austin Court of Appeals.
To find out more about the Program, please see Part XIII of the Pro Bono Pilot Program
Pamphlet.
The attached Pamphlet also provides information regarding the appellate process in the Third Court of Appeals, as well as form documents, such as a notice of appeal, Clerk's record requests, Reporter's record requests, affidavits of indigence, motions for extension of time to file briefs, and other documents necessary to proceed with an appeal (see filing cover letter and docketing statement).
If you are interested in joining our top-drawer list of volunteer appellate lawyers, please fill out the Pro Bono Sign-Up Form here and send in to Jeff Levinger at the address indicated.
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At the 2007 Advanced Civil Appellate Seminar, Game Host Scott Rothenberg challenged the audience and a panel of four distinguished appellate practitioners with cutting edge ethics questions; a meal at a fancy Austin restaurant was on the line for the panelists. The panelists, who represented the far corners of our great State of Texas:
Representing the North was Leane Medford.
Representing the East was Ruthie Piller.
Representing the West was Kurt Kuhn.
Representing the South was Tom Crofts.
Ruthie Piller won the $200 gift certificate to a POSH (Etiology: Port Out, Starboard Home) Austin area eatery. See how you fare on these ethics questions by checking out this link.
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At the 2007 Advanced Civil Appellate Seminar, the Appellate Section announced the following winners of the Appellate Song Lyrics Contest: Neil C. McCabe (The O'Quinn Law Firm) for "If I Only Had a Case (or Lament for Lack of Precedent)" (to the tune of "If I Only Had a Brain," by Harold Arlen); Kurt H. Kuhn (Brown McCarroll L.L.P.) for "Makin' New Law" (to tune of "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees); and Jody Hughes (Rules Attorney, Texas Supreme Court) and Amy Schumacher with help from a few other Supreme Court Staff Attorneys for 50 Ways To Waive Your Error (derived from "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" by Paul Simon). For the contact information on these winners, and the full text of the winning entries, go to the Contests" page.
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On August 28, 2007, the Texas Supreme Court signed on order that increases certain filing fees for the courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. The general effect of the Order is to raise fees applicable to the initial filing in an appellate court by $50. For example, the fee for filing a petition for review in the Texas Supreme Court will increase from $75 to $125 and the fee for filing an appeal in the court of appeals will increase from $125 to $175). The Order is effective September 1, 2007. A copy of the Order is posted on the Supreme Court's website here.
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D. Todd Smith of Austin is the new Editor of the Appellate Section newsletter, The Appellate Advocate. Articles and other submissions for The Appellate Advocate should be directed to Todd at mailto:todd@appealsplus.com or (512) 329-2025.
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The Friends of the State Law Library has established the Greenhill-Pope Law Book Fund to honor two former Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Texas, Justice Joe R. Greenhill (Chief Justice 1972-1984; Associate Justice 1957-1972) and Justice Jack Pope (Chief Justice 1982-1985; Associate Justice 1964-1982). For further details, click here
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The State Law Library has posted Braden's comparative analysis of the Texas Constitution as well as the 1879-1925 Texas Statutes on its website.
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Our links page lists a wide variety of judicial, administrative, and legislative resources that can help you in your practice. Don't forget to check it for new items.
For example, we recently added the following:
- a link to a compilation of summaries of recent opinions by Texas Appellate Courts concerning the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure and Appellate Procedure. To view, go to "Issues Pending/Recent Dispositions" portion of the Links page.
- a series of summaries of Internal Operating Procedures for the various Courts of Appeals in Texas. To view, go to the "Local Rules and Docketing Statements" section, find the specific court in which you have an interest and click on "Internal Operating Procedures".
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Click here for a comprehensive survey of the internal operating procedures of each Texas appellate court.
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