From the Austin American-Statesman (Texas), February 24, 2005
Chief justice urges legislators to increase pay, retain judges
by: Stephen Scheibal, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
For those who follow such things, Wednesday's State of the Judiciary speech was something of a landmark.
Not only was the speaker someone other than Tom Phillips, the former chief justice who stepped down last year after nearly 17 years presiding over the Texas Supreme Court, but the speech to the Legislature didn't even touch on one of Phillips' longest-held political gripes: the way Texas elects judges.
Instead, new Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson pressed budgeteers for a pay raise for Texas judges.
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Jefferson also noted the judiciary's efforts to make courts more technologically nimble through electronic filings and Internet broadcasts of hearings.
He generally avoided comments about the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which has come under national scrutiny amid questions about whether people whose convictions the court upheld received fair trials.
He did credit judges on that bench for encouraging both the investigation of innocence claims and better representation for poor defendants.
He ignored altogether his predecessor's long-standing call to de-politicize judicial elections; candidates must keep voters -- and contributors -- in mind if they want to keep their jobs.