The Texas Supreme Court
Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Course
Date
The Texas Supreme Court
A Court is an example of an arm of government that administers justice to all citizens of a certain nation, state or a region. In the United State of America, the government consists of three parts; the executive which consists of the president and workers, the judicial having the courts and the legislature which consists of senators and house representatives (Vickrey, Denton, & Jefferson 2012). Below the federal government, there are institutional units that exercise the functions of the government at a lower level. They are referred to as states. The state of Texas is one of these states. Each state is independent in terms of administration of laws, but there are federal laws that govern all the states. The boundaries of the state bind the extent and validation of law of an individual state. In Texas, there is a designated way at which it works. Different levels of courts have been established to help in the administration of laws. According to Vickrey, Denton, & Jefferson (2012), the Supreme Court is the highest court level in the land. The Supreme Court is made up of different structures and works in various ways.
The Supreme Court was established in 1846. It was put in place as a replacement for the Court of the Republic of Texas which was established based on the 1836 constitution. During those times, the judges were elected by the Congress for four years (Foner 2012). The Court had unlimited power to review, amend decisions of the trial and lower courts. The supreme court of Texas has a legislative mandate and control over the State Bar of Texas. The court has been given the authority to give license to attorneys in the state. Also, the court appoints the Board of Law Examiners that administers Texas bar examination. The court dictates the Texas Rule of Civil Procedures, Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure and the Texas Rules of Evidence (Foner 2012). The Court reviews cases that entail attorney discipline upon appeal from the Board of Disciplinary Appeals.
The Supreme Court is the last resort or the ultimate court in matters concerning civil appeals (Hall 2014). The court is not concerned with criminal matters.in the state of Texas. There is another court responsible for ruling on criminal activities. According to (Hall 2014), “The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the one concerned with criminals.” The Supreme Court of Texas is also responsible for juvenile delinquency. Although there is a connection of juvenile offending to criminal matters, the uniqueness of the court considers the act to be civil. Juvenile offending involves participation in behaviors that are against the law at an age considered to be lower than the legal age of majority. Allocation of juvenile detention centers is a method used by the court to deal with such cases. This procedure of dealing with juvenile delinquents is human since the art of treating children carefully and tenderly is followed.
An appeal is a term used in the court system used to refer to the process of reviewing cases. If one is not satisfied by the decisions of the court of appeal, he or she can take the matter to the Supreme Court to be reviewed (Van Geel 2015). The purpose of appealing is to correct errors that might have occurred in the process of analyzing a court proceeding. Even though the decision of a court is ultimate and subjects the action of law on the person found guilty, the process of appealing provides a chance for deeper digging. Other than error correction, proper interpretation of the law is enhanced. Court decisions are made by humans who are subject to varying understanding. It might occur that incorrect interpretation of the law happened during a case; thus room for appealing can be a chance for proper interpretation. This role is the main work of the Supreme Court of Texas.
The uniqueness of the Supreme Court of Texas is found on its procedural aspects (Dorsaneo III 2013). It is the only state Supreme Court found the United States of America. How the court disapproves discretionary reviews can approve or disapprove the merits of the decision of the lower courts. This uniqueness in the process of seeking judicial review may affect the geographical extent of the precedential of that decision. Its distinctiveness has saved the State Supreme Court to hear minor cases. This aspect has helped in creating uniformity among state-wide precedents.
The location of the supreme of Texas is in Austin, Texa. The location is thus suitable since it is a common meeting place. Here, the judicial meetings are held, and appeals are heard. The criteria followed when choosing appeals to be heard is dependent on the caseload. The Court is mainly bound to determine the petitions for review (Jessee, & Malhotra, 2013). The cases in need of clarification and have the most significant Texas legal issues are the ones taken by the court. Questions arising from the federal appellate court are to be dealt with and answered by the Supreme Court.
The supreme court of Texas comprises of a chief justice and eight justices. The existence of Texas as a Republican state has brought about the choice of Republican Justices in addition to the Republican judges. Nathen L. Hecht is the current and the twenty-seventh chief justice of the state of Texas. The Governor appoints the chief justice. The chief justice is the head of the supreme court of Texas. The appointment of The Justice by the Governor is scheduled to scrutiny by the Senate.
A total of nine-justice members make the Supreme Court. These members are elected to six-year terms in elections held by the whole state. Some of the requirements for the qualifications are; minimum age of justice should be thirty-five years old, should be a citizen of Texas, must have practiced law and should be licensed to practice law in Texas for a period of at least ten years (Malega, & Cohen 2013). Also, there are clerks of the Court whose responsibilities are to maintain records of the court and administer oaths. The justices make the appointment of the clerks. The clerks are bound to serve a four-year term where further re-appointment may occur.
Even though male domination is also in the judicial sector, policies were put in place to ensure the accommodation of women in the sittings. The a-third policy rule is also implemented and enforced in the Texas Supreme Court (Malega, & Cohen 2013). At least three women are required in the court. The occurrence of the first woman in the court was in 1910 when Hortense Sparks Ward passed the Texas Bar Exam. Fifteen years afterward she was appointed to be the chief justice in an all-female Texas Supreme Court (Malega, & Cohen 2013).
Concluding, the state of Texas has an advanced and special form of judicial government that ensures proper administration of justice to its citizens. From the basis of its formation, it has stuck to promote equal administration of power. The Supreme Court of Texas has used the powers allotted to it in a wise manner and without discrimination. Also, the choice of the chief justice by the Governor is important since there would be a mutual understanding within the arms of the Government of the state. Thereby there would be no drag, and proper administration would be carried out. The choice of justices passes through scrutiny from the Senate to reduce biases and promote effectiveness. This factor ensures that the proper order of qualifications are followed. After all is done, there is an oath of office to be made which binds the qualified judges to work for the people. Allocation of an office in the capital in the state is important since the capital is a common working ground for all people. Presence of nine members in the court provides a good ground in the admission of the a-third gender rule. It is easier to divide nine by three. The ability of the court to cater for juvenile delinquency has played a significant role in showing the uniqueness of the Court. It is quite evident that minors should not be treated as adults. Special treatment should be allocated for them. The Supreme Court of Texas has enforced this. Promotion of equality through the availability of women in the judicial council has been seen in the Court. All these have created a clear depiction of the unique working of the Supreme Court of Texas.
References
Dorsaneo III, W. V. (2013). The History of Texas Civil Procedure. Baylor L. Rev., 65, 713. Retrieved from: https://heinonline.org/holcgibin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/baylr65§ion= 23
Foner, E. (2012). The Supreme Court and History of Reconstruction-and Vice -Versa. Colum. L. Rev., 112, 1585. Retrieved from: https://heinonline.org/holcgibin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/clr112§ion=48
Hall, M. G. (2014). Attacking judges: How campaign advertising influences state Supreme Court elections. Stanford University Press. Retrieved from: https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=L3mWBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg= PR7&dq=How+the+supreme+court+of+texas+works+2012&ots=JT0Hy8 -2gb&sig=qk78_2xsYuonvp5aBrOKzOFK_z0
Jessee, S., & Malhotra, N. (2013). Public (mis) perceptions of Supreme Court ideology: A method for directly comparing citizens and justices. Public Opinion Quarterly, 77(2), 619-634. Retrieved from: https://academic.oup.com/poq/articleabstract/77/2/619/1872512
Malega, R., & Cohen, T. H. (2013). State Court Organization, 2011. NCJ, 242850. Retrieved from: http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/sco11.pdf
Van Geel, T. R. (2015). Understanding Supreme Court Opinions. Routledge. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=CMj4CgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP 1&dq=How+the+supreme+court+of+texas+works+2015&ots=SM4wE -upUj&sig=7q-RAheCTVSu–1XKYc886ITkFQ
Vickrey, W. C., Denton, D. G., & Jefferson, W. B. (2012). Opinions as to the voice of the court: How state supreme courts can communicate effectively and promote procedural fairness. Ct. Rev., 48, 74. Retrieved from: https://heinonline.org/holcgibin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/ctrev48§ion= 18