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Appendix A to the El Paso Council of Judges confidentiality policy: the Rule of Judicial Administration, Code of Judicial Conduct canons, Government Code and other provisions that govern disclosure of confidential court information.
Texas > Sixth Administrative Judicial Region > El Paso County > courts served by the Council of Judges.
[Letterhead: seal of El Paso County, Texas; Council of Judges Administration, 500 E. San Antonio, Suite 101 • El Paso, TX 79901 • (915) 546-2143] El Paso Council of Judges Confidentiality Policy Appendix A Laws Governing Disclosure of Confidential Court Information Texas Rules of Judicial Administration Rule 7.1. All Courts. (a) Court Confidentiality Policy Required. A court, including an appellate court, district court, statutory county court, statutory probate court, constitutional county court, justice court, and municipal court, must adopt a policy governing court confidentiality. (b) Policy Contents. The policy must: (1) define who the policy applies to; (2) define confidential information; (3) impose a duty of confidentiality on all court staff that continues after employment at the court ends; (4) address when, if ever, the disclosure of confidential information is authorized; (5) provide the language of relevant laws, including section 21.013 of the Texas Government Code and section 39.06 of the Texas Penal Code; (6) address negligent or accidental disclosure of confidential information; (7) warn of potential penalties for the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information, including: (A) referral to relevant law enforcement agencies for investigation and prosecution; (B) termination of employment; (C) for attorneys, referral to the State Bar of Texas for discipline; (D) for law students, referral to the Texas Board of Law Examiners for consideration in determining eligibility to practice law in Texas; and (8) require all court staff to acknowledge receipt of the policy in writing. (c) Distribution and Training Required. The court must: (1) for all new court staff members, provide the policy and train on it before the new staff member begins any substantive work for the court; (2) provide the policy to all existing court staff at least biannually. Texas Government Code Sec. 21.013. - CONFIDENTIALITY OF JUDICIAL WORK PRODUCT; CRIMINAL OFFENSE (a) In this section: (1) "Judicial work product" means written, electronic, or oral material prepared or communications made in the course of an adjudicatory proceeding before a court determining legal rights, powers, duties, or privileges. The term includes all drafts of opinions or orders and memoranda of law. (2) "Non-public judicial work product" means: (A) any written or electronic judicial work product other than documents filed with the clerk of a court for release to the public; or (B) any oral statement relating to judicial work product made in a closed session of a court or in judicial chambers. (b) This section applies to: (1) a court established under Section 1, Article V, Texas Constitution, other than a commissioners court; and (2) a court subject to this subtitle. (c) A justice or judge of a court shall comply with supreme court rules governing the confidentiality of non-public judicial work product. (d) A person, other than a justice or judge, who is involved in crafting an opinion or decision for an adjudicatory proceeding, including a court staff attorney, court clerk, or law clerk, shall maintain the confidentiality of all non-public judicial work product in accordance with supreme court rules. (e) A person, other than a justice or judge, with access to non-public judicial work product commits an offense if the person knowingly discloses, wholly or partly, the contents of any non-public judicial work product to a person who is not a justice, judge, court staff attorney, court clerk, law clerk, employee of an agency established under Chapter 71 or 72, or other court staff routinely involved in crafting an opinion or decision for an adjudicatory proceeding. (f) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor. (g) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that the disclosure of the non-public judicial work product is authorized: (1) in writing by the justice or judge for whom the work product is prepared; or (2) under supreme court rules. Texas Penal Code Section 39.06 - MISUSE OF OFFICIAL INFORMATION. (a) A public servant commits an offense if, in reliance on information to which the public servant has access by virtue of the person's office or employment and that has not been made public, the person: (1) acquires or aids another to acquire a pecuniary interest in any property, transaction, or enterprise that may be affected by the information; (2) speculates or aids another to speculate on the basis of the information; or (3) as a public servant, including as a school administrator, coerces another into suppressing or failing to report that information to a law enforcement agency. (b) A public servant commits an offense if with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, he discloses or uses information for a nongovernmental purpose that: (1) he has access to by means of his office or employment; and (2) has not been made public. (c) A person commits an offense if, with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, he solicits or receives from a public servant information that: (1) the public servant has access to by means of his office or employment; and (2) has not been made public. (d) In this section, "information that has not been made public" means any information to which the public does not generally have access, and that is prohibited from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code. (e) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an offense under this section is a felony of the third degree. (f) An offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a Class C misdemeanor. Code of Judicial Conduct Canon 3B - Adjudicative Responsibilities. (1) A judge shall hear and decide matters assigned to the judge except those in which disqualification is required or recusal is appropriate. (2) A judge should be faithful to the law and shall maintain professional competence in it. A judge shall not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism. (3) A judge shall require order and decorum in proceedings before the judge. (4) A judge shall be patient, dignified and courteous to litigants, jurors, witnesses, lawyers, and others with whom the judge deals in an official capacity, and should require similar conduct of lawyers, and of staff, court officials and others subject to the judge's direction and control. (5) A judge shall perform judicial duties without bias or prejudice. (6) A judge shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct manifest bias or prejudice, including but not limited to bias or prejudice based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status, and shall not knowingly permit staff, court officials and others subject to the judge's direction and control to do so. (7) A judge shall require lawyers in proceedings before the court to refrain from manifesting, by words or conduct, bias or prejudice based on race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status against parties, witnesses, counsel, or others. This requirement does not preclude legitimate advocacy when any of these factors is an issue in the proceeding. (8) A judge shall accord to every person who has a legal interest in a proceeding, or that person's lawyer, the right to be heard according to law. A judge shall not initiate, permit, or consider ex parte communications or other communications made to the judge outside the presence of the parties between the judge and a party, an attorney, a guardian or attorney ad litem, an alternative dispute resolution neutral, or any other court appointee concerning the merits of a pending or impending judicial proceeding. A judge shall require compliance with this subsection by court personnel subject to the judge's direction and control. This subsection does not prohibit: (a) communications concerning uncontested administrative or uncontested procedural matters; (b) conferring separately with the parties and/or their lawyers in an effort to mediate or settle matters, provided, however, that the judge shall first give notice to all parties and not thereafter hear any contested matters between the parties except with the consent of all parties; (c) obtaining the advice of a disinterested expert on the law applicable to a proceeding before the judge if the judge gives notice to the parties of the person consulted and the substance of the advice, and affords the parties reasonable opportunity to respond; (d) consulting with other judges or with court personnel; (e) considering an ex parte communication expressly authorized by law. (9) A judge should dispose of all judicial matters promptly, efficiently, and fairly. (10) A judge shall abstain from public comment about a pending or impending proceeding which may come before the judge's court in a manner which suggests to a reasonable person the judge's probable decision on any particular case. The judge shall require similar abstention on the part of court personnel subject to the judge's direction and control. This section does not prohibit judges from making public statements in the course of their official duties or from explaining for public information the procedures of the court. This section does not apply to proceedings in which the judge is a litigant in a personal capacity. (11) A judge shall not disclose or use, for any purpose unrelated to judicial duties, nonpublic information acquired in a judicial capacity. The discussions, votes, positions taken, and writings of appellate judges and court personnel about causes are confidences of the court and shall be revealed only through a court's judgment, a written opinion or in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines for a court approved history project.
[Letterhead: seal of El Paso County, Texas; Council of Judges Administration, 500 E. San Antonio, Suite 101 • El Paso, TX 79901 • (915) 546-2143] El Paso Council of Judges Confidentiality Policy Appendix A Laws Governing Disclosure of Confidential Court Information Texas Rules of Judicial Administration Rule 7.1. All Courts. (a) Court Confidentiality Policy Required. A court, including an appellat
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9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.