Among the reforms enacted as part
of the Texas Fair Defense Act is the establishment of a new Texas Task Force on
Indigent Defense (TFID). The TFID is charged with monitoring counties'
compliance with the indigent defense standards already contained in the Act and
developing additional standards to improve indigent defense practices in the
state. The TFID includes members who serve ex officio, and members
who are appointed by the Governor.
On January 23, 2002, the Governor
announced his appointments to the TFID. In January 2003 several ex oficio
positions on the TFID changed as a result of changes in legislative committee
chairs and changes in legislative members appointed to the serve on the judicial
council. The chart below lists the appointed and ex
officio positions on the TFID, as well as the individuals serving in each
position.
Composition of the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense (TFID)
Government Code, Subchapter D, Sec. 71.051 et seq.
|
Members of the
Judicial Council Who Are ex Officio Members of the Task Force
(Govt. Code
Sec. 71.052) |
|
(1) chief justice of the supreme court: |
Hon. Thomas Phillips
(Austin) |
|
(2) presiding judge of the court of criminal
appeals: |
Hon. Sharon Keller (Austin) |
|
(3) member of the senate appointed by the
lieutenant governor to serve on the Judicial Council: |
Sen. Robert Duncan (Lubbock) |
|
(4) member of the house appointed by the
speaker to serve on the Judicial Council: |
Rep. Todd
Smith (Bedford) |
|
(5) one of the courts of appeals justices
serving on the council who is designated by the governor to serve on the
Task Force on Indigent Defense: |
Justice
Ann McLure
Eighth
Court of Appeals
(El Paso)
|
|
(6) one of the county court or statutory county
court judges serving on the council who is designated by the governor to
serve on the Task Force on Indigent Defense or, if a county court or
statutory county court judge is not serving on the council, one of the
statutory probate court judges serving on the council who is designated by
the governor to serve on the task force: |
Judge Orlinda Naranjo Travis
County Court at Law No. 2 (Spicewood) |
|
(7) chair of the Senate Criminal Justice
Committee: |
Sen. John Whitmire (Houston) |
|
(8) chair of the House Criminal Jurisprudence
Committee: |
Rep. Terry
Keel (Austin) |
|
Task Force
Members Appointed by the Governor
(Govt. Code
Sec. 71.053) |
|
(9) one member who is an active district judge
serving as a presiding judge of one of the 9 administrative judicial
regions; |
Judge Olen Underwood 284th District Court
Montgomery Co. (Conroe)
|
|
(10) one member who is a judge of a
constitutional county court or who is a county commissioner; |
County Judge Jon Burrows Bell County (Temple)
|
|
(11) one member who is a practicing criminal
defense attorney; |
Knox Fitzpatrick (Dallas) |
|
(12) one member who is a public defender or who
is employed by a public defender; and |
Eduardo Arredondo (Marble Falls) |
|
(13) one member who is a judge of a
constitutional county court or who is a county commissioner of a county
with a population of 250,000 or more |
Benny Glen Whitley, Tarrant Co. Commissioner
(Hurst) |
