CPS Appointment Reform is Starting!

My efforts to reform the crooked system of CPS appointments in Harris County is paying off. Two family law courts and one juvenile court have adopted new policies that require random selection of ad litems and forbid billing for other attorneys except in unusual circumstances. Click here to see the policies of the 315th Juvenile Court (Judge Schneider) and click here for the policies of the 312th Family District Court (Judge Farr). Judge Hellums adopted basically the same policies as Judge Farr. Now, attorneys are required to sign this verification of their hours when they ask for fees in CPS cases in the courts of Judge Farr and Judge Hellums:

Cause No. :____

Attorney Name: ________

In submitting this voucher I swear that I have billed only for time incurred by me personally, unless I have received prior court authorization to have an associate or support staff perform the task for which the billing is submitted.

In addition, I swear that this case is a companion to the following cause numbers (if none, state none): _______

and I am not asking for these same hours to be paid under any of the other companion cases.

Signature of Attorney: ____

Date of Submission:__

The new rules from good judges who care about the integrity of our judicial system are further proof that it is simply not proper for a CPS ad litem to submit bills for other attorneys without informing the court and getting permission.

All of the family courts are considering adopting rules along these same lines that will apply to all courts. I can’t wait to hear how Judge Franklin votes on these new billing procedures and what position her mentor, Judge Millard, takes.

The two juvenile courts with the worst problems with CPS appointments (Judges Devlin and Phillips) are still “studying the situation” while their favorites continue to rake in fees.