1. Name
The name of this organization is the Texas Association of District Judges. It shall be a not-for-profit association of professional judges cooperatively working in ad hoc support of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas.
2. Purpose
The purpose of this association is to improve the quality of justice administered by district courts in Texas. Its aims are to promote the professional interests of the membership, act as a clearing-house of information, and improve the laws of this state affecting these courts.
3. Members
The membership shall be composed of all current district judges of Texas and those persons elected or appointed to that office awaiting qualification in good standing with the association.
3.1 A person is in good standing if he or she has paid annual dues, has not been
disqualified from holding office, has not been declared not to be in good standing by the members, and has not been suspended from his or her judicial duties.
4. Annual Meeting
The membership of the association shall convene and conduct business at an annual meeting during the September meeting of the Judicial Section.
4.1 A quorum is necessary to conduct business at the annual meeting of at least twenty percent of the members in good standing.
4.2 The elections of all officers shall be conducted at the annual meeting by the outgoing President or, if none, a Temporary Chair.
5. Fiscal Year
The association’s fiscal year shall be October 1 through September 30.
6. Dues
An amount shall be charged each member as dues for each fiscal year. This amount shall be set by the membership at the association’s annual meeting in September for the coming year. The amount of dues owed shall not be pro-rated when paid based on the number of months remaining.
6.1 Dues for the first year of operation shall be determined by the Executive Committee.
7. Voting
A member must be in good standing to vote. All voting must be done in person and not by proxy except when the President shall call for a vote of the membership by mail. The requirements of majority, two-thirds, or three-fourths shall apply to those attending the meeting eligible to vote. Any issue still pending ballot by mail shall be superseded by vote of the members at the annual meeting.
8. Officers
The association shall have the following officers: President; President-Elect, who shall assume the office of President when vacant or at the end of the term; Treasurer; and Secretary.
8.1 A person must be in good standing when elected.
8.2 Except for the first year, the offices of President-Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary shall be filled by election by the members annually at the annual meeting; and, in like manner, so shall the office of President if there is then a vacancy of the office of President-Elect.
8.3 The terms of office shall be approximately one year from annual meeting to the next.
8.4 A vacancy of an officer’s position shall exist upon resignation received in writing by the Secretary, or if none, by the President. A vacancy may also be declared upon vote of two-thirds of the then-remaining total members of the Legislative Advisory Board and by an officer’s being declared not in good standing.
8.5 Until August 1, vacancies shall be filled by vote of the membership by mail upon notification to the membership in writing by the Secretary and upon election called by the President or, if none, the President-Elect. Nominations for the vacancy shall be made in writing to the Secretary who shall distribute ballots not later than thirty days after notification of the vacancy has been sent.
8.6 The duties of the President include:
8.6.1 Presiding as Chair of the annual meeting until replaced by a successor;
8.6.2 Presiding as Chair of the Executive Committee;
8.6.3 Presiding as Chair of the Legislative Advisory Board;
8.6.4 Canvas special elections or votes on resolutions by mail of the membership; and
8.6.5 Representing the association.
8.7 The duties of the President-Elect include:
8.7.1 Preparing to act as President in the coming year;
8.7.2 Acting as President in the event of vacancy in that office;
8.7.3 Presiding as Chair in absence of the President; and
8.7.4 Performing other duties as the President may assign.
8.8 The duties of Treasurer include:
8.8.1 Receiving and keeping safe the funds paid by the members for dues;
8.8.2 Recording and reporting the names of persons who otherwise would be members, but who are not in good standing;
8.8.3 Paying all expenses of the association that have been approved by the Executive Committee;
8.8.4 Presenting at the annual meeting a written report of money received and paid out and accompanying details;
8.9 The duties of the Secretary include:
8.9.1 Recording the minutes, activities, and resolutions passed by the Executive Committee, the Legislative Advisory Board, and the full association at its various meetings and maintaining a compendium of such to pass forward to a successor in office; and
8.9.2 Reporting to the membership a vacancy in office, notifying the membership of an election, and distributing and collecting ballots.
8.10 The first year of operation of the association shall be with a Vice President instead of a President-Elect.
8.11 The Vice President and the Secretary-Treasurer for the first year shall be appointed by the first President, all who shall serve until the first annual meeting of the association.
9. Executive Committee
Business of the association not otherwise covered by the express duties herein or by the membership at its annual meeting may be conducted by an Executive Committee consisting of the Officers and the Immediate Past President. There will be no Immediate Past President for the first year. The Executive Committee may meet and conduct business by telephone conference if such is determined necessary by the Chair.
10. Legislative Advisory Board
The association shall have a Legislative Advisory Board composed of the members of the Executive Committee and one representative member in good standing from each of the Administrative Judicial Regions and from the counties of Dallas and Harris.
10.1 The eleven regional and county representatives shall be elected at the annual convention of the Judicial Section at various caucuses among the members in good standing of
each region and of Dallas and Harris counties, or as soon thereafter as possible. The representatives from the First and Second Administrative Judicial Regions shall not be judges in Dallas or Harris counties. If no representative has been so elected by a region or county by the end of October, or if a vacancy occurs during the year for any representative’s position, the President shall appoint a member to serve within that region or county.
10.2 The Legislative Advisory Board shall meet at least annually and more often as called by the Chair, study legislation affecting the association and propose resolutions to the members at the annual meeting.
If in the opinion of at least eight members of the Legislative Advisory Board,
10.3 action needs to be taken to express the position of the association on a legislative matter which cannot wait until the annual meeting, then a vote of the majority of the Legislative Advisory Board shall speak for the entire association until the next annual meeting.
10.4 Meetings may be called by the Chair and held by telephone conference, if necessary. Eight members shall constitute a quorum. No vote shall be taken unless seventy-two hours notice of the meeting and its purpose has been given by the Chair or the Secretary-Treasurer.
10.5 Members are certainly free to take positions contrary to those taken by the vote of the association, the Executive Committee, or the Legislative Advisory Board; however, members are prohibited from representing to others that such contrary position is the position of the association. Upon a showing to the membership at the annual meeting that such violation has occurred by majority vote the member may be declared not in good standing for the coming year.
11. Formation and Adoption
These by-laws shall become effective upon two-thirds vote of the persons attending a convention for such purpose.
11.1 The convention shall consist of the Temporary Chair selected by the district judges attending the formation meeting and those other district judges as the Temporary Chair shall appoint.
11.2 The first President shall be elected by the convention; whereupon, the convention shall adjourn.
12. Amendment
These by-laws may be amended by two-thirds vote of the members at the annual meeting. Proposed amendments must be delivered to the Secretary not later than forty-eight hours before the meeting and posted by that officer in the place used by the Judicial Section for the same purpose not later than twenty-four hours before the meeting. These rules of posting may be superseded by the membership at its meeting by a three-fourth’s vote. No amendment may be made, however, unless the change is reduced to writing prior to the vote.
Amended by the membership at the Annual Meeting on September 7, 2022.
