Texas Appellate Lawyer & Attorney : D. Todd Smith Law Firm : Appeals, Sanctions, Summary Judgment : Austin, Texas

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The following comes from Jerry Bullard of Adams, Lynch & Loftin, P.C. in Bedford, who co-chairs the State Bar Appellate Section's Bench-Bar Liaison Committee:

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

As many of you know, the final days of a legislative session are often characterized by political posturing and gamesmanship that ultimately lead to the demise of key pieces of legislation.  We saw it in 2005 when a parliamentary maneuver killed the judicial pay raise bill in the waning hours of the regular session (of course, the bill ultimately passed in a subsequent special session).  Well, this session appears to be no exception as a House member raised a point of order that effectively killed SB 1204.  Also, critical deadlines passed this week without the House or Senate acting on many of the other bills that I have been tracking, thereby virtually ending any chance of passage this session.  The following is a status of [certain] bills that have appeared on my updates this session:

SB 1204 - Court Reorganization/Complex Courts

• Bill Analysis:  Senate Research Center
• Status:  On May 21, 2007, a point of order was raised on the House floor and was sustained.
• Summary:  Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D- Houston), a solo practitioner, stopped the House's debate of CSSB 1204 with a point of order.  Thompson complained that the analysis of S.B. 1204 did not conform to the changes that the House Judiciary Committee had made in the bill.

SB 1167 - Appeals Under Federal Arbitration Act

• Bill Analysis:  Senate Research Center
• Status:  On May 21, 2007, SB 1167 was placed on the Houses General State Calendar.
• Summary:  SB 1167 appears to have died as the House deadline to consider Senate bills has passed.  SB 1167 would have authorized an interlocutory appeal of a court order denying a motion to compel arbitration under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA).  The law currently requires a party to file a petition for writ of mandamus to seek review of orders denying motions to compel under the FAA while similar orders under the Texas General Arbitration Act are subject to interlocutory appeal.  This bill attempted to eliminate confusion relating to the appeal of such orders.

HB 3095 - Disposition of Appeals

• Status:  Pending in the House Judiciary Committee as of May 7, 2007.
• Summary:  HB 3095 has died in committee.  The bill's author, Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale (R-Houston), told the House Judiciary Committee that HB 3095 was filed because certain appellate courts were dragging their feet on certain rulings, and he wanted to start a conversation about speeding up the disposition of appeals.  Van Arsdale expressed a desire to see the issue studied between sessions.

HJR 89 - Board Certification for Appellate Justices and District Judges/Increases in Age and Experience Requirements for District Judges

• Status:  Pending in the House Judiciary Committee as of April 16, 2007.
• Summary:  HJR 89 has died in committee.  It is my understanding that the bill was filed in order to increase the qualifications of Texas judges.  Supporters of the bill believed it would be easier to pass than a merit selection bill.

SB 806 - Judicial Appointment/Retention& SJR 32 - Constitutional Amendment for Judicial Appointment/Retention

• Status:  Referred to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee on March 7, 2007.
• Summary:  SB 806 and SJR 32, which were authored by Sen. Duncan, never got off the ground and died in committee without a hearing.  This legislation related to the appointment of certain judicial offices and a nonpartisan election for the retention or rejection of a person appointed to those offices.