TO: Sheryl Sculley, City Manager
FROM: John Bull, Presiding Judge, Municipal Court
COPIES TO: Governance Committee; Robert F. Greenblum, City Attorney
Edward Benavides, Chief of Staff, Office of the City Manager
SUBJECT: Municipal Court Judicial Applicants
DATE: March 28, 2014
SUMMARY
Deliberations regarding Municipal Court Judicial Applicants.
BACKGROUND
Municipal Court Judges are appointed by City Council for two-year terms. Municipal Court Judges must: (1) be a U.S. Citizen; (2) a Texas resident; (3) a licensed attorney in good standing; (4) have practiced law in Texas for a minimum of two years; and (5) a resident of the City of San Antonio for at least three years immediately preceding appointment.
There are currently nine full-time Municipal Court Judges and two vacancies. The current terms expire April 30, 2014. Notices of the vacancies were advertised in the Express-News and with the San Antonio and Mexican American Bar Associations, and 32 applications were received.
The qualifications of applicants meeting the minimum requirements were reviewed by the Governance Committee on March 27, 2014. The following applicants were selected to interview before the Governance Committee on March 31, 2014: Lisa M. Gonzales, Mary Catherine Hayes, Branden Ray Lopez; Margarita S. Pol, Veronica Rodriguez, and Savita Rai. After the interviews, a pool of candidates will be forwarded to City Council for appointment on April 10, 2014.
ISSUE
Terms of office for Municipal Court Judges will expire on April 30, 2014. Consideration and recommendation for appointment from the pool of qualified judicial applicants is needed.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the Governance Committee interview the qualified applicants and forward a pool of candidates to City Council for appointment on April 10, 2014.