New Clerks Seminar
Virtual Court Clerk Education Seminar
TMCEC Court Clerk Program | December 7-11, 2020
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Course Materials
Monday, Day 1: December 7, 2020
1:00 – 1:15 p.m. Welcome to Virtual New Clerks
1:15 – 1:50 p.m. TMCEC Clerk Education & Court Clerk Certification
Lily Pebworth, Program Coordinator, TMCEC
2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Introduction to Legal Language
Robby Chapman, Deputy Counsel & Program Attorney, TMCEC
3:10 – 4:00 p.m. Authorities and Duties: Role of the Clerk (Recorded Dec. 2, 2020)
Ashley McSwain, Attorney, Pace and McSwain, PLLC
4:10 – 5:00 p.m. Authorities and Duties: Role of the JCM
Dr. Carlin Caliman, Juvenile Case and Program Manager, City of Arlington
Tuesday, Day 2: December 8, 2020
8:00 – 8:15 a.m. Day 2 Overview
Robby Chapman, Deputy Counsel, TMCEC
8:30 – 9:30 a.m. Fourth Amendment in Practice (Recorded Nov. 17, 2020)
Peter DeLeef, Associate Judge, City of El Lago
9:45 – 10:45 a.m. OCA Reporting (Recorded Oct. 8, 2015)
Sandra Mabbett, Judicial Education Analyst, Office of Court Administration
11:00 – 12:00 p.m. Court Security Requirements+ (Recorded Sept. 21, 2017)
Allen Gilbert, Alternate Judge, City of San Angelo
1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Misdemeanors Matter: Texas Fine-Only Crimes*
Ned Minevitz, TxDOT Grant Administrator and Program Attorney, TMCEC
1:40 – 2:50 p.m. Charging Criminal Offenses: Citations and Complaints
Brian Holman, Judge, City of Lewisville
3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Driving Safety Courses and Deferred Disposition*
Ryan Kellus Turner, Executive Director, TMCEC
Wednesday, Day 3: December 9, 2020
8:00 – 9:15 a.m. Introduction to the Codes
Bianca Bentzin, Chief Prosecutor, City of Austin
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Court Costs and Fines: Where Does the Money Go?
Carol Gauntt, Judge, City of Willow Park
10:45 – 12:00 p.m. Records Management
Hilda Cuthbertson, Judge City of Snook
1:00 – 2:10 p.m. Processing Domestic Violence Cases
Kim Piechowiak, Domestic Violence Resource Attorney, Office of Court Administration
2:25 – 3:35 p.m. Community Outreach for Clerks*
Elizabeth De La Garza, TxDOT Grant Administrator, TMCEC
Ned Minevitz, TxDOT Grant Administrator and Program Attorney, TMCEC
3:50 – 5:00 p.m. Introduction to Trial Process and Procedure
Michael Acuna, Judge, City of Dallas
5:15 – 6:45 p.m. Alcohol and the Courts: Alcohol Abuse-related movie screening* (Optional Evening Video & Discussion, ADDITIONAL 1.5 HOURS CREDIT)
Thursday, Day 4: December 10, 2020
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Legal Ethics
Jackie Habersham, Executive Director, Commission on Judicial Conduct
9:15 – 10:15 a.m. Dismissals
Jan Blacklock Matthews, Judge, City of Wilson
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Legal Research
Regan Metteauer, Deputy Director, TMCEC
11:45 – 12:00 a.m. Day 4 Recordings Overview
Robby Chapman, Deputy Counsel, TMCEC
1:00 – 2:05 p.m. Post-Judgment: Appeals, Motions for New Trial, and More (Recorded Oct. 27, 2020)^
Fred Garcia, Clerk of the Court, City of San Antonio
2:20 – 3:20 p.m. Conviction Reporting and DRP Repeal* (Recorded Oct. 17, 2019)^*
Bertha Escamilla, Sharon Morris, and Diana Evans, Program Supervisors
at the Texas Department of Public Safety
3:35 – 5:00 p.m. Processing Juvenile Cases
Mark Goodner, General Counsel & Director of Education, TMCEC
5:15 – 6:45 p.m. Drug and the Courts: Drug Abuse -related movie screening* (Optional
Evening Video & Discussion, ADDITIONAL 1.5 HOURS OF CREDIT)
Friday, Day 5: December 11, 2020
8:00 – 8:50 a.m. Judgments, Indigence, and Enforcement
Robby Chapman, Deputy Counsel, TMCEC
9:05 – 10:00 a.m. Legal Info v Legal Advice
Rebecca Stark, Former Court Administrator, City of Austin
10:15 – 11:15 a.m. Handling Records
Robby Chapman, Deputy Counsel, TMCEC
11:30 – 12:00 p.m. Endnote: Takeaways and Your Questions!
12:00 p.m. Adjourn
*Indicates TxDOT Traffic Safety Grant Related Curriculum
+ Indicates curriculum with a focus on court security
Program Notes
^This virtual seminar is presented as a “hybrid” format. This means that there is a mix of both live virtual presentations as well as previously recorded content. The recorded content is both newly recorded and selected from previous TMCEC events, including the 2020 Regional Clerks & Judges seminar and previous webinar events. Instructors in the recorded content are not appearing live virtually at this seminar. Recordings were selected for the quality and educational value that they add for new court clerks when included alongside virtual live content.
*Indicates TxDOT Traffic Safety Grant Related Curriculum
+Indicates curriculum with a focus on court security
Funded by a grant from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
*Funding partially provided by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation