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| 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.
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