Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 (Agenda)
Item 5
Item number 5, consider and take appropriate action to approve a resolution to recognize and commend the Travis County juvenile public defender for 40 years of outstanding service and receive briefing from juvenile public defender.
>> hi, roger jeffries, county executive for public safety.
very excited and honored and pleased to reintroduce to the Commissioners court the juvenile public defender office and cameron johnson, juvenile public defender.
his office was started in 1971 and this commends them on their 40th anniversary.
cameron, you are looking good for being there for 40 years.
>> [laughter] just kidding.
cameron has been there ten years and I'm going to ask him to give you a quick overview and ask you to read a proclamation honoring their anniversary.
>> good morning, judge Biscoe and Commissioners.
I am really honored to be here.
as roger was saying, it really has only been since 1967 that the supreme court actually required that there be appointed counsel in juvenile cases.
shortly thereafter in 1971 when this office was established, we were the first juvenile public defender established in the country.
now, we've grown a lot since then and I'm really -- I mean to the point now with the support and the commitment that the Commissioners court has served, you know, members of Travis County has allowed us to be forward in what we're doing.
we currently serve about 2500 clients every single year.
we have the largest collection of juvenile specialists in the state.
we have the most experienced juvenile lawyers.
we've got a staff that's really committed so what we're doing and it's allowed us to lead instead of follow in what we're doing.
and I know it's been difficult.
we've seen at love offices close, we've seen a lot of attacks on indigent defense, but we've been able to continue to go forward and we hope that we will continue to have the support and the work and the commitment on these dedicated people that I have surrounding me that have been there for all the years and it's made it easy for me as heading the office because it's been enjoyable and we've been able to really, really make a difference.
I'm really excited and honored that we are able to celebrate these 40 years.
>> judge, would you read the proclamation.
>> the juvenile defenders office was established in 1971 for the purpose of representing indigent children in juvenile proceedings in Travis County and has operated continuously 40 years.
whereas the office has represented the children of Travis County in proceedings before juvenile court by providing legal representation in all areas.
whereas the office of the juvenile public defender has provided legal representation to children in Travis County by maintaining a high level of legal excellence while exhibiting the utmost level of ethical and professional standards.
and whereas Travis County is committed to ensuring that the children of Travis County continue to receive a level of legal representation commensurate with its commitment to the area of juvenile justice.
now therefore be it resolved that we the Travis County Commissioners court represent and commend the juvenile public defender for 40 years of service to the people of Travis County and I move approval.
>> second.
>> I also indicate that the juvenile public defenders office is so far in the preliminary budget for next year.
>> [laughter]
>> thank you.
with that, we have an open house tomorrow at our office at 2:00.
we would love for each of you to come and visit and come out and just spend some time with us.
so we hope you all will be able to make it.
>> should we mention the university of Texas law school?
>> absolutely.
it's been a big part of what we've been doing, university of Texas law school.
that's how I got my start was 20 years ago when I was a student there and became a part of the juvenile public defender family.
so it's been a very beneficial and great opportunity for us and so it's been really valuable and we're going to continue to keep that relationship going.
>> they still provide student interns each semester.
>> oh, absolutely, yes.
>> any other comments and then we'll go to court.
any other comments from anybody else?
anybody else bold enough to make a brief statement?
>> judge, terry escovil, office manager and I've been here the longest of all of the employees.
I've just completed my 25th year.
and I'll tell you, I've seen it grow from one attorney -- or two attorneys when I first started.
bill king was our public defender at that time and myself, and we've grown to a staff of 13 so I thank you for that.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
that's a lot more years than I have.
anybody else?
Commissioner Eckhardt.
>> I just wanted to say as far as u.t.
goes, my very first trial was at the juvenile public defenders office when I was a 2 l and hadn't even taken an evidence class yet.
and mike coffee sat behind me whispering the evidence rules and terry was there.
teacher terry.
and then -- and tammy, my gosh, I started at the county attorney's office and tammy taught me how to be a baby lawyer at the county attorney's office.
this organization, this juvenile public defenders office has trained up so many lawyers who have gone on and created a really deal well of legal experience in this community not just in juvenile.
you are the conduit into a legal culture in Travis County that is the envy of the state.
and I just can't say enough good things about the juvenile public defenders office.
>> thank you.
>> thank you.
>> there will be cookies and punch tomorrow afternoon?
>> definitely.
>> all in favor?
that passes by unanimous vote.
>> thank you all.
>> thank you all very much.
>> cameron, we have a beautiful proclamation for you here.
after 40 years, you deserve a whole lot more.
the best we could do.
congratulations to you.
we'll try to get by tomorrow.
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