TCJL today filed an amicus curiae brief in the Texas Supreme Court urging the Court to mandamus a Houston trial judge who ordered a remote jury trial over the objections of both the plaintiff and the defendant.
In re Owen J. Merrell and Jeanna East (No. 22-0556) arose from a personal injury lawsuit resulting from an auto accident. The trial court ordered the parties to a remote jury trial, to which both sides objected. The trial court denied their joint motion for an in-person trial. The parties sought a writ of mandamus from the Houston [1st] Court of Appeals, which denied the petition. They are now requesting mandamus relief from the SCOTX.
TCJL’s brief takes the same line of argument as our legislative intervention in 2021 and more recent comments to the Supreme Court Advisory Committee (SCAC), which is considering amendments to the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure regarding remote proceedings. Our views can be summarized as follows:
- Compelling litigants to conduct adversarial proceedings, including jury trials, implicates the constitutional rights to due process and trial by jury. When the Legislature rejected broad judicial authority to order remote proceedings, it did so in part because of these implications. While remote proceeds can enhance access and efficiency in uncontested matters, adversarial proceedings are a different matter altogether. Taxpayers and litigants pay for the courts and should have the absolute right to avail themselves of themselves of in-person proceedings when their life, liberty, and property are at stake.
- We are very appreciative of the deliberative approach being taken by the SCAC on the rule changes. We believe, however, that sweeping changes should require a broad consensus among the stakeholders, including the legislators who were involved in the legislation last session. In any event, trial courts should not be able to change the rules one case at a time.
- It is critical for SCOTX to weigh in and provide guidance to the courts and litigants as soon as possible. Otherwise more courts will go down this road on their own without at least reasonable standards and the opportunity for interlocutory review. Major policy changes should not be made this way.
The Texas Association of Defense Counsel, Texas Trial Lawyers, and Texas Chapters of The American Board of Trial Advocates have likewise filed briefs in this case. As you recall, TCJL joined with these organizations in submitting comments to the SCAC last spring. We don’t agree on everything, to be sure, but we are all of one mind on this.
