Judicial Council Monthly Court Activity Reports Sandra Mabbett Judicial Information Analyst Office...
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Transcript of Judicial Council Monthly Court Activity Reports Sandra Mabbett Judicial Information Analyst Office...
Judicial Council Monthly Court Activity Reports
Sandra Mabbett
Judicial Information Analyst
Office of Court Administration
Texas Judicial Council Texas Judicial Council: policymaking body for the
judicial branch, consists of 22 judicial, legislative, and citizen members
Since 1929, one its primary duties has been to gather judicial statistics from judges and other court officials (Government Code section 71.035(a))
Judicial Council, assisted by OCA, is the only entity that collects comprehensive statistics on the operation of the Texas courts
Legal Requirements Texas Government Code, Chapter 71,
Section 71.035(b): Judge/Clerk must submit monthly report as duty of office
Texas Administrative Code, Sections 171.1 & 171.2: Report is due no later than the 20th of each month (e.g., report for July is due August 20)
Publications Court Activity Reporting and Directory System
http://card.txcourts.gov
Texas Judicial System Annual Report http://www.courts.state.tx.us/pubs/annual-reports.asp
Published Texas Judicial System Directory http://www.courts.state.tx.us/pubs/JudDir.asp
Searchable Texas Judicial System Directory http://card.txcourts.gov/DirectorySearch.aspx
Resources
OCA Website http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/ocahome.asp
Required Reporting Websitehttp://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/required.asp Forms Instructions Frequently Asked Questions XML Specifications and XML Tester Spreadsheet with DPS codes classified by OCA
case category
http://www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/required.asp
Judicial Directoryhttp://card.txcourts.gov/DirectorySearch.aspx
Statistical Reports http://www.txcourts.gov/pubs/annual-reports.asp
Clerk Manuals and Handbookshttp://www.courts.state.tx.us/pubs/pubs-home.asp#FilingFees
Report Submission
Monthly Court Activity Report Report must be submitted online, unless you have a
waiver from OCA. Contact OCA’s Service Desk:
(512) 463-1642
Or
[email protected] obtain a User ID and password or for password resets
On-Line Submission of the Monthly Report is Required
The reporting rules in the Administrative Code only allow for a waiver of ONLINE reporting.
The waiver provision applies only to courts who wish to continue mailing or faxing their reports to our office.
Everyone is still required to submit a report.
Requesting a Waiver from reporting on-line
Will be for valid through the end of the current state fiscal year (August 31st)
Must be submitted in writing by fax, email or mail
CARD – Court Activity and Reporting Directory System
http://card.txcourts.gov
CARD – Court Activity and Reporting Directory System
Anyone (no login required) can access reports containing the most up to date data and also search the directory
Courts login and submit the monthly reports Electronically via XML report, or Data Entry
Run Reports without a login ID Reports are separated by revision date Formatted reports or ad hoc searches
available A Login ID is not needed to access public information.
Public Court Activity Data:New Data (District/County Courts for 9/1/10 and
later &Justice/Municipal Courts for 9/1/11 and later):
Old Data (District/County Courts Prior to 9/1/10 &Justice/Municipal Courts Prior to 9/1/11):
Run Reports Ad Hoc Search
Directory Search http://card.txcourts.gov/DirectorySearch.aspx
Click on Public Judicial Directory
CARD – Court Activity and Reporting Directory System
For additional information on running reports or searching the directory, refer to the separate handouts provided
Report Submission Reminders A report must be submitted for EACH month,
even if court had no activity If a section of a report was submitted for one
month, it must be submitted for every month, even if there is no activity to report
Report Submission RemindersDocument DOCUMENT DOCUMENT!!!!Use the Notes Section at the bottom of each section to account for unusual or inconsistent reporting figures such as
Large docket adjustments after validation of pending case numbers
Large number of dismissals when prosecutor clears old cases from docket
Higher or lower number of cases reported in a category due to unusual circumstance
Report Submission Reminders Accuracy of report should be verified - don’t
assume your software gets it right! We recommend that you review and compare
the submitted report to a printed copy of the report from your software both when originally submitting a report or when submitting corrected reports
Instances where the two reports do not match have surfaced with no known cause as of yet
Report Submission Reminders Reports that are out of balance should be
corrected before submitting any subsequent months
Report Submission Reminders Keep copies of any reports run from
your system for a minimum of 2 years
Reviewing the Monthly Report for the Most Common Errors
Look for filings, docket adjustments, dispositions, or pending case numbers that are too low, too high, or that do not make any sense. A typo may have been entered, or a set of figures may have been entered into the wrong line. Errors are especially common in the Revenue line.
Reviewing the Monthly Report for the Most Common Errors
Docket Adjustments – is an explanation needed?
Uncontested Dispositions vs. Trials Compliance Dismissals – missing or
obviously too low or too high All Other Dispositions – only used for
judgments not clearly identified in another category
Reviewing the Monthly Report for the Most Common Errors
Ratio of filings to dispositions If judge does magistrate warnings or arrest
warrants, are they present? Community Service and Jail Credit – are you
reporting only when case is satisfied in full?
Reviewing the Monthly Report for the Most Common Errors
Refer to the report instructions at www.courts.state.tx.us/oca/required.asp
Contact your software vendor if obvious programming issues are found
Contact OCA if you have questions or need our assistance
Making Corrections to Reports After Your Review
Corrections may be made to any report beginning with the month of September 2011
Corrections must be made to individual months – one correction to a month to add, subtract or correct data may not be made
Making Corrections to Reports After Your Review
Corrections must be made sequentially, starting with the oldest month first
Corrections may be made by uploading a new XML file or by manually changing the number(s) regardless of how the report was initially submitted
OCA can delete reports or sections
Upcoming Changes to
the Civil Section
Changes to Civil Section House Bill 79 abolishes the small claims court
effective August 31, 2013 House Bill 79 does not abolish small claims
cases The current small claims case docket and all
other justice court case docket will be consolidated into one civil justice court docket
Changes to Civil Section Cases in the categories of Small Claims Suits
and Other civil Suits filed prior to September 1, 2013 will all be placed in the Small Claims Suits category on the new form and must be disposed of in that category
Cases filed after September 1, 2013 must be separated by the new categories
Changes to Civil Section New form effective September 1, 2013 Form, Instructions and Civil Case Information
Sheet found on the Required Reporting Website
Changes to Civil Section Current
New effective 9/1/2013
Civil Case Information Sheet New and effective with the revision to the
report on 9/1/2013 Assists the court in identifying the proper
case category in which to place cases Is required to be completed by the plaintiff or
the plaintiff’s attorney at the time of filing of a petition
Questions
Sandra Mabbett, Judicial Information [email protected]
(512)463-1640 phone(512) 936-2423 fax
Angela Garcia, Judicial Information [email protected]
(512) 936-1358 phone
QuestionsSandra Mabbett, Judicial Information Analyst
[email protected] (512)463-1640 phone(512) 936-2423 fax
Katherine Martinez, Judicial Information [email protected]
(512)463-3789Angela Garcia, Judicial Information Manager
[email protected] (512) 936-1358 phone