Inadmissible

In a June 17 news release from his office, Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson announced a major step in the effort to promote the value of electronic filing in his county. Jackson says in an interview that if the Texas Supreme Court gives its approval, local rules adopted recently by Harris County civil district judges authorize construction of a free, open portal that people can use to file suits electronically through the clerk’s office. Under the current system, Jackson says, an e-filed document goes first to an electronic filing service provider, which files it through the state-operated Texas Online, which then files the document with the district clerk’s office. Each entity charges a fee, he says. Recently, because of exhibits attached to a pleading, a lawyer had to make 229 separate filings and pay $8 for each one, Jackson says. “We all saw there was a bit of a problem with the cost model,” he says. Jackson says the free portal, if it encourages more e-filing, is projected to save Harris County taxpayers about $800,000 a year on the costs for paper, storage, imaging and rubber stamps. People still would be able to file through Texas Online if the free portal is built, but they would have the choice to go the free route, Jackson says. On June 15, the Harris County civil district judges sent the proposed rule to Second Administrative Judicial Regional Presiding Judge Olen Underwood for forwarding to the state Supreme Court. If the high court approves the rules, it will take six to eight months to build the portal, Jackson says.

D.C. Days

Former First Lady Laura Bush did it. Political strategist Karl Rove did it. Former President George W. Bush is doing it. And now, so is former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales . Having spent the past year teaching at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Gonzales says he plans to publish a memoir about his years in Washington, D.C. He says he has a draft “60 percent completed” and he “intends to devote this summer to writing.” He says he “will open up” in the book adding, “I’m going to get into controversial issues.” He will devote a chapter or two to his Texas career, during which he served as secretary of state and as a justice on the Texas Supreme Court. But he will devote the balance of the book to discussions about his D.C. days. Gonzales says he hasn’t lined up an agent or publisher yet. Gonzales says he also has penned an article that will appear in an upcoming Texas Tech Law Review titled “Waging War With the Constitution.” The article discusses application of the Geneva Conventions and major terrorism cases recently before the U.S. Supreme Court. Gonzales says he and Texas Tech are negotiating the terms of his teaching agreement for the 2010-2011 academic year, but they are not finalized. He says he plans to teach undergraduates during the first semester and graduate students in the second semester, including a course on how the federal government works with state and local governments to combat terrorism. Chris Cook, a spokesman for the university, says Texas Tech expects Gonzales to teach next year.

Danger on the Bench