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Texas Judiciary and Criminal Justice System

In the U.S., the judicial authority of the court system is shared between the various levels

of the government. However, the constitution that is implemented in Texas day does not have

power to the people. Because of this deficiency, people do not trust any reform in the law.

Similarly, the government as well does not trust any constitutional reform. It is reasoned that any

change would just give the Texas government more powers. Because of the complexity of the

Texas system, it is plausible to discuss Texas Judicial and Criminal Justice system by evaluating

some of the advantages and disadvantages to possible reforms in the Texas Judicial System.

The Advantages and Disadvantages to Possible Reforms in the Texas Judicial System

Equal representation is one of the most significant possible reforms in the Texas Judicial System.

The current Texas Judicial System has an underrepresentation of women and the minority group.

Putting into consideration the number of African American and Hispanics groups that reside in

Texas it is important to be considered in the judicial system. It is believed that more than 47 % of

the Texas population is a combination of African Americans and Hispanics (Collier et al. 126). It

is also believed approximately half of the Texas population are women. Putting into

consideration that very few females and few Hispanics and African American are in the judicial

system, equal representation would be a way creating social justice. Underrepresentation reforms

would give the minority group political activeness in the Texas Judicial System. In addition to

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political activeness, reforms on equal representation will improve the integrity of the Texas of the

Texas system, which is often controversial.

However, the possible changes in the Texas Judicial System will reduce coherence in the

court structure. Currently, Texas court structures are faced with various problems such as

overlapping of districts, the inability of the legislature to develop and create new levels of courts,

and the inability of the system to make districts clear among others. The possible reforms will

only escalate some of these problems. For instance, the judicial selection based on the partisan

election will only be for big business interest and law firms. Big companies and most law firms

will step out to select the judges based on the benefits they are expecting from them. On the

other hand, other nationals will only find themselves being overwhelmed by long queues and

long ballots, as they do not have an interest or adequate knowledge of the candidates. In addition,

selection judges on the Partisan election will create political and philosophical battlegrounds in

the judiciary system. The possible reforms will create an environment whereby the election will

be based on campaign contributions. Candidates who will have gathered more money during

their term will most likely be elected to be judges during their upcoming term. Essentially, such a

reform will have adverse impacts on the integrity, independence and the impartiality of the

judges. For instance, Judges may be affected when making critical decisions regarding court

ruling as they may be forced to evaluate if the decision will please the voters, which is against

the law. Because the Judges need to run for reelection, they would rather compromise the law

that fails to please the voters.

Comparison of Texas to Other States regarding Selecting Judges, Campaign Contributions

to Judges, Court Structure, Pay, and Diversity of Judges

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Texas is one of the states that use the partisan elections when selecting their judges. In

this form of election, the Democratic and Republican candidates contend to represent their party

during the general elections. The judicial selections start with the partisan election, and a

substantial amount of money is contributed to winning the re-election or the election.

Additionally, Texas combines the partisan elections with the subsequent reelections of the trial

court, Supreme Court, and intermediate court judges (The Criminal Justice Process 430). On the

other hand, other states use nonpartisan elections, whereby judges are elected by citizens.

Mostly, the candidates’ names are listed on the ballot without disclosing their party affiliation.

In many states, the federal courts serve the U.S government by interpreting and applying

the federal law. The federal courts are mainly categorized into three levels, which include

appellate courts, district courts, and Supreme Court. On the contrary, the structure of the Texas

judicial system is considered as one of the most complex, which reflects the complexity of the

Texas society. In Texas, courts are categorized by origin, jurisdiction and geographic coverage.

The original jurisdiction is empowered to hear the original case and evidence. Moreover, the

appellate court is authorized to reexamine the cases tried in the lower courts, but no new

evidence is presented. Finally, the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Texas Supreme Court,

have the statewide authority. The only cases that are allowed to enter these courts are those that

are accepted by petitions for evaluation. The other two jurisdictions that are found in the Texas

Court system include concurrent jurisdiction and exclusive jurisdiction. The exclusive

jurisdiction is empowered to hear special cases while concurrent jurisdiction is mandated to

formulate the ill-defined system.

In America, state courts handle more than 90 percent of the cases, but these courts are

dominated by white male judges. In a recent report on gender and racial diversity indicates that

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58 percent of court judges are white men. Additionally, less than one –third of the judges are

women, less than 20 percent are non-Americans. Similarly, recent research indicates that men of

color make up twenty-nine percent of the entire population, but only fourteen percent make the

judges (Phaneuf). Additionally, women of color comprise twenty-eight percent of the

population, but only twelve percent make the judges.

Unlike other states in the United States, judicial salaries are set as a fraction of the salary

of a Texas Supreme Court justice. Notably, the district courts receive a payment that is equal to

$125,000, the funds collected from the county and state funds (Collier et al. 130). Essentially,

the Court of Appeal judges receives 91 percent of the salary of the Supreme Court justice.

Comparing Texas to other States regarding the Death Penalty, Prison Population, and

Sentencing

Death Penalty in Texas

In Texas, the death penalty is legal. Unlike other 19 states in the U.S., such as Alaska, Minnesota

,Vermont among others Texas is among the 31 states in the U.S. which has legalised Capital

punishment. The death penalty was first applied in 1964 after an execution to Charles Brooks Jr.

by lethal injection (The Criminal Justice 434). As one of the most populous state in the U.S,

Texas has executed more than 542 criminals since 1976. This number is believed to more than

one-third of the national total.

Prison Population in Texas

As compared to most states such as Massachusetts, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Vermont,

among others, Texas is considered to have one of the largest population of inmates in the U.S.

Over the last decades, Texas prison population has rocketed, especially as 1992. It is believed

that in 1980, Texas prison had a population of approximately 30,000 prisoners. Ten years later,

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the population of inmates had risen to nearly 49,000 prisoners. In 1997, about 130,000 were

recorded in the Texas prisons. By the year 2000, the number of detainees in Texas prisons has

jumped to nearly 150,000. By 2012, the number had slightly decreased from 150,000 to

137,095(The Criminal Justice Process 437). In spite of the drop, it is still evident that Texas has

had one of the largest populations of inmates in the history of America. Other states, which have

the highest number of detainees, include Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and

Arizona among others.

Sentencing in Texas

In Texas, if a defendant is not found guilty, he or she is set free. Nonetheless, if the accused is

found guilty, he or she is sentenced to prison, fined or placed on probation depending on the

level or degree of crime. The defendant also has a right to appeal his guilty in the high court if he

or she feels that the decision by the lower court was unfair (The Criminal Justice Process 428).

Conclusion

Texas Judicial system is an enormous and a complex system of a multifaceted set of processes

and institutions that are responsible for adjudicating laws. In spite of its complexity, evidence has

proved that the system needs to have some changes in some of its processes, especially regarding

the partisan election. Although it is important not to overlook the challenges that will

demonstrate by these reforms, the benefits are expected to outweigh the problems. Ultimately,

this will ensure that the integrity of the Texas Judicial system is restored.

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Works Cited

Collier, Ken, Steven Galatas, and Julie Harrelson-Stephens. Lone Star PoliticsTradition and

Transformation in Texas. USA: CQ Press, 2008. 54, 121-143.

Phaneuf, Taryn. Report gives Texas a 'D' in court diversity. 29 June 2016. Setexasrecord.

<http://setexasrecord.com/stories/510940507-report-gives-texas-a-d-in-court-diversity>.

Accessed 19 April 2017.

The Criminal Justice Process. n.d.

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