Texas Supreme Court Justice Advocates for Legal Aid for Veterans

Texas courthouse
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice
Nathan Hecht hopes to bring more
financial aid for veterans to Texas courts.
Image:  Shutterstock
Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht addressed state lawmakers today, asking for their continued support of legal aid for the poor and for military veterans, as well as looking at truancy law and how justices are chosen.

"Too often, servicemen and women return from duty to find benefits delayed, families struggling, jobs scarce, homes in foreclosure, and debt collectors at the door,” said Hecht, who is pushing a $4 million request to provide more legal aid to veterans.

"Our military cannot return from risking their lives in defense of our freedoms and values only to find that the justice system they fought for has left them behind," Hecht added.

A Republican who has served for 26 years, Hecht was joined by several other lawmakers, including Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, former US Supreme Court nominee and Dallas attorney Harriet Miers, and House representatives such as Sarah Davis, R-West University Place and Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston.  Davis and Thompson in particular spoke in favor of House Bill 1079, a piece of bipartisan legislation that would help with the budget shortfall for legal aid programs.

In terms of where the financial assistance would come from, Hecht noted that funding for the judiciary is only about one-third of 1% of the state budget currently.  The $4 million to be discussed would be added to $1.5 million from the Texas Veterans Commission.

Hecht also brought some attention to other legal concerns, including truancy laws (there are about 100,000 criminal charges filed against Texas students each year for skipping school) and potential issues with future guardianship cases as the Texas population gets older. 

Post a Comment

أحدث أقدم