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Tuesday, February 25, 1997

Highlights Monday from Austin

AUSTIN (AP) - High-dollar, partisan races for Texas judgeships are lowering Texans' confidence in their courts and damaging the state's reputation, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips says.

Delivering his State of the Judiciary Address to lawmakers Monday, Phillips said the Legislature needs to consider comprehensive reforms in the judicial selection system.

"Although serious reforms have been mounted for more than 100 years, the need for change has become more urgent with the increased size of the judiciary and the advent of two-party politics," Phillips said.

Speaking to the three House and Senate committees that deal with judicial affairs, the chief justice said the nation's second-largest state has outgrown its old system of direct, partisan election of judges.

"Our current system may have been acceptable in 1876. At that time, there were six appellate and 26 trial judges in the entire state," he said.

But in 1994, he noted, Harris County voters alone had to make 45 judicial decisions in primary elections, eight in runoffs and 59 in the general elections.

"It could have been worse, 16 more judicial races were unopposed," he said. "Sadly, the results of these races are determined far more by party strength than by individual merit."

Lawmakers and others have been debating for several years whether to change Texas' judicial election system. Some proposals have called for various forms of gubernatorial appointment; retention elections in which voters say "yes" or "no" to incumbent judges; and elections from single-member judicial districts.

Elsewhere:

HE'S BACK

Sen. Drew Nixon, R-Carthage, returned to work for the first time since his arrest on sex and firearms charges. He said he was embarrassed but ready move on.

BLOCK THAT VIEW

The Senate gave a 31-0 boost to the University of Texas' hopes for expanding its football stadium - a project that would block a now-legally protected view of the Capitol.

HOME IMPROVEMENT

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is introducing a home-improvement loan program that will combine private and public money to provide $13.3 million for low-income families in towns with less than 50,000 residents.

AND...

Tobacco companies would have to tell the state exactly what's in their products and the state would make the information public under a bill sent to a House subcommittee for study.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"It was four years ago, at the State of the Judiciary Address, that I found out I needed bifocals."

- Chief Justice Tom Phillips. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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