Tarrant County is proposing to reorganize its court staff, impacting 63 positions
TARRANT COUNTY — Dozens of staff working in the criminal courts in Tarrant County may be reorganized to report to the county administrator, with the intent to have them be available to serve civil, family, probate and juvenile judges and courts in the county, not just criminal courts.
The plan, which will be considered and possibly voted on by county commissioners Tuesday, would also eliminate the position of the current criminal court administrator, Greg Shugart.
The Tarrant County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (TCCDLA) Board expressed concern for the move Friday, writing in a statement that the reorganization plan was made public just before a holiday weekend, and that planning took place "in secret with little to no input" from judges, staff or other justice system constituents.
The move would impact 63 positions, removing them from the current Criminal Courts Administration, and putting them in a new Department of Courts Administration.
Position titles would change. For example, a current auxiliary criminal court coordinator would now become a court support assistant.
Some duties, including attorney appointments and grand jury bailiffs, would likely have to continue to fall under the judicial organizational structure and report to criminal judges.
The background for the plan says it would also create performance metrics and milestones in the first 15 months, and that the department would be evaluated for efficiency leading up to the 2026 budget.
The statement from the TCCDLA suggested the plan could be seen as an overreach by county government.
"Moving control of the judicial branch to a singular department within the executive branch is not in keeping with the spirit of how our country and state were founded," says the statement written by the TCCDLA.