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YOLLICK LAW FIRM, P.C. Post Office Box 7571 ‘The Woodlands, Texas 77387-7571 281.363.3591 ERIC YOLLICK'** Writer's Emait ericyollick@swbell net January 8, 2016 Honorable David Slayton Administrative Director Texas Office of Court Administration Post Office Box 12066 Austin, Texas 78711-2066 Via Email dslayton@excourts.gov Re: Petition for Review Pursuant to Rule 12.9(a), Texas Rules of Judicial Administration Dear Mr. Slayton and the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Texas Office of Court Administration: Please accept this letter as a Petition for Review Pursuant to Rule 12.9(a) of the Texas Rules of Judicial Administration. I request an expedited review pursuant to Rule 12.9(b)(3), because the documents are necessary to determine the appropriate course of action to alleviate massive expenses to Montgomery County taxpayers from overcrowding in the Montgomery County Jail. The purpose of the request to the Office of Court Administration, Montgomery County, was to obtain disposition rate data of each of the seven district courts in Montgomery County. Our County Judge, the Honorable Craig Doyal, pled for help from the judges to relieve overcrowding in the Jail in early October, 2015. The judges responded that they were not responsible for slow disposition rates and that there is nothing the judges can do. The Jail overcrowding problem is costing Montgomery County taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars per day. ‘Therefore, | submitted a request, pursuant to Rule 12, for two categories of information from the Montgomery County Office of Court Administration: 1. Certain data regarding case dispositions from 2012 to 2015; and Board Certified in Consumer and Commercial Law - Texas Board of Legal Specialization * Practice in Business Litigation, Deceptive Trade Laws (Plaintifs and Defendants), Commercial Law * Licensed in Texas, Colorado, and the District of Columbia, 2, Metadata from the stenographic machines which the Official Court Reporters use in each of Montgomery County’s seven (7) district courts A copy of my request is annexed hereto as Exhibit “A,” On January 5, 2016, in the form of an email, the Honorable Nathan Jensen, Director of the Office of Court Administration sent a denial of my request in its entirety. A copy of the denial is annexed hereto as Exhibit “B.” ‘The supporting facts for the appeal follow Item A: Court Statistical Data Regarding Case Disposition The Office of Court Administration (“OCA”) under the direction of the Board of Judges denied my request for statistical data and claimed that the data is “exempt.” OCA failed to identify any specific exemptions under Rule 12.5 of the Rules of Judicial Administration. ‘The general rule is that “judicial records...are open to the general public for inspection and copying during regular business hours.” Rule 12.4(a). Since the denial of my request, a source inside the Montgomery County Courthouse provided me with some of the documents that Jam seeking. A true and correct copy of those documents is annexed hereto as Exhibit “C.” ‘Those documents reveal the tertible disposition rates of several of the district courts with respect to criminal cases. Those documents reveal that Judge Doyal’s concems are quite valid and that, the taxpayers of this County very badly need the help of our District Judges to focus on moving, their criminal dockets far more efficiently and steadily. ‘There is no exemption that covers the requested statistical data. Rather, Mr. Jensen's denial is stonewalling plain and simple. Item B: Metadata from Stenographic Recording Machines It is my understanding that seven of the eight stenographic machines in use in the seven district courts are actually owned by Montgomery County. That data would easily and clearly reveal the number of hours that the machines are in use and, hence, the number of hours that each district court was in session. Rule 12 requires disclosure of “judicial records.” A “judicial record” means a record mace or maintained by or for a court or judicial agency in its regular course of business...” Rule 12.2(d). The metadata of a court's stenographic machine constitutes a record made or maintained by or for a court in its regular course of business (or at least what should be its regular course of business). Mr. Jensen failed to assert any exemption for the metadata. Therefore, the Montgomery County Office of Court Administration should produce the stenographic metadata to me forthwith, Prayer For the foregoing reasons, Eric Yollick respectfully prays that the Texas Office of Court Administration overrule the denial of access to the judicial records which I requested in Exhibit “A,” grant expedited review of this appeal, and grant such other and further relief to which I may show myself to be justly entitled. Respectfull s Enie Yollick State Bar Number 22160100 Post Office Box 7571 ‘The Woodlands, Texas 77387-7571 Office Telephone 281.363.3591 Mobile Telephone 832.496.4898 Email ericyollick@swhell.nct ec: Honorable Nathan Jensen Via Email n jensen@met.org Honorable Craig Doyal, County Judge Via Email craig. doval@mctx.org Honorable J.D. Lambright, County Attorney Via Email jd.lambright@metx.org Eric Yollick 307 N to December 22, 2015 Honorable Nathan Jensen Director, Office of Court Administration Montgomery County Courthouse 300 North Main Street, Room 304 Conroe, Texas 77301 Dear Mr. Jensen: Pursuant to Rule 12 of the Rules of Judicial Administration and article |, section 13, of the Constitution of the State of Texas (“All courts shall be open...”), | request that you make available to me for inspection and in the form of delivery of copies the following “Judicial Records”: ‘A. The monthly and annual statistical analyses, calculations, and presentations for each of the seven district courts in Montgomery County for the following information: cases pending, cases filed, motions to revoke, cases reactivated, all other cases added, total incoming, total cases pending, cases disposed, cases placed on inactive, total outgoing, cases pending end month, clearance rate percentage, time to disposition, average days to disposition for all criminal, juvenile, family, and civil cases in each court for each month and year of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015; and B. The certified stenographic recorder data showing time each certified stenographic recorder machine is in actual use by day for each month and year of 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015. It is my understanding that this data should remain on the hard drive of each certified stenographic recorder and, by law, should not be the subject of a deletion. Rule 12.6(b) requires making the records available to me no later than 14 days after your actual receipt of this request. | shall, of course, reimburse your Office for reasonable expenses related to the copying and making available to me of the requested materials. Respectf(lty submitted, Er k cc:¥~ Honorable Craig Doyal, County Judge Honorable J.D. Lambright, County Attorney Mr. Andy Dubois, Executive Editor, The Courier Honorable Kelly Case, Judge, 9" Judicial District Honorable Lisa Michalk, Judge, 221" Judicial District EXHIBIT A Honorable Cara Wood, Judge, 284" Judiciat District Honorable Kathleen Hamilton, Judge, 359" Judicial District Honorable K. Michael Mayes, Judge, 410" Judicial District Honorable Tracy Gilbert, Judge, 418" Judicial District Honorable Michael Seiler, Judge, 435" Judicial District Pant 115118, 9:26 PM Subject: ule 12 Request From: Jensen, N. (N.Jensen@metx.org) To: ericyollick@ swbell. net; Date: Tuesday, January 5, 2016 5:38 PM Hard copy to follow: January 5, 2016 Mr. Eric Yollick 307 North San Jacinto Street Conroe, Texas 7301 Dear Mr. Yollick: This office has received your Rule 12 Open Records Request of December 22, 2015, in which you request that this office “make available to [youl] for inspection and in the form of delivery of copies the following “Tudicial Records’.” Your request, as I read it, is for A. copies of “monthly & annual statistical analyses, calculations and presentations” for various caseload statistics of the seven District Courts in Montgomery County and B. various certified stenographic recorder data. As to request (A), the records you are requesting are exempt and not subject to disclosure under Rule 12, though some of the data you request may be available through the Montgomery County District Clerk’s Office. 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