Councilmember Viegeran.

Here.

Councilmember Anderete Gavito.

Councilmember White?

Here.

Chair McKee Rodriguez.

Present.

Chair, we have a court.

Wonderful.

The first item we have for consideration is the minutes from the municipal court meeting on December 1st, 2025.

I understand a motion for approval.

I make a motion to approve.

Wonderful.

We have a motion and a second.

All in favor?

Aye.

Aye.

Motion passes.

We have two items today.

One is going to be a municipal court briefing on the court and judicial performance and current and upcoming court engagements, some of the events that they do throughout the throughout the year.

Then we have a second item, which is going to be overview of the municipal court and judge appointment process, which we currently have the job posted and will be preparing fairly soon for our interviews.

Overly lenient.

And so what I what I asked and what I wanted is any data that either affirms that claim or refutes it.

And so we have a lot of data here today, and we're gonna have a great dialogue and back and forth.

But I know several of you have expressed some of that concern, and so I wanted to make sure we had that conversation here.

So take it away.

Thank you, Chair.

Uh Fred Garcia with the municipal court.

First off, uh I'd like to say that uh had some confusions with the actual PowerPoint.

So this is an updated from the uh previous one that we submitted for the first uh uh meeting.

Okay, so the data uh shows that judicial activity uh for the time period of uh May 1st, 2024 through December 31st, 2025.

We thought it'd be appropriate uh to give you the data during the current judicial term uh when uh the the full-time judges are are performing uh their judicial duties.

Uh we cut it off at December 31st just to help with uh data collection.

Um it's at a macro level, uh holistic high level look at the the uh the data.

Uh not everything is captured on on the on the presentation.

For example, I know we just had a a uh presentation on juvenile uh court uh matters.

So some of the things like juvenile court um a number of uh trial settings, free trial hearing sets, those data is not there, and I understand that the uh committee wants to at future council uh committee meetings to actually address individual uh courtroom performance, and I I suspect that those will happen then uh because each courtroom uh it'll take a whole presentation just to kind of like dig through all the actual work they do uh in each court.

So it's this is high level.

Um this first slide uh we thought it'd be a good idea to capture uh overall work volume that we deal with during that term.

Uh you notice uh we break things up to criminal cases and civil cases, that's our jurisdiction.

Uh the the line share of cases are traffic violations, 199,249 during that time period and a non-traffic uh violations.

We highlighted some of the uh non-traffic types on the right.

Uh those seems to be the types of um cases that uh the committee is interested in.

So we we pulled those three out to kind of look at um and on the civil side you'll see um civil code violations 14,397 and civil parking violations 11,503.

So a total of 369,694.

Um you'll notice on the right hand side too that the animal cases are high, and as you recall, uh with the work that uh ACS uh animal care services has been doing this last fiscal year, um, an amount of cases that they actually filed that has jumped tremendously from prior years and prior years.

It was mainly heavy on the civil violations as opposed to criminal violations, and so that switched uh last fiscal year, where they're focusing on issuing um criminal violations.

Um this next slide here is uh criminal case outcomes of resolution.

Again, we kind of at a high level look at what's actually happening during that term.

Uh you'll see uh these are judicial orders and decision making outcomes by the by the judges during that time period.

Uh largest number is 91,979.

That's convictions uh with a payment of some sort.

Um that's that's really it could have been a payment plan, it could have been what we call straight pay where they're just uh assess a dollar amount and they pay it, or it could be some other matter uh that ends up in a a payment uh maybe after uh uh a conviction for approbation or or failure to do a defensive driving requirement.

That's the highest number.

Um next, you'll see the convictions also for non-cash that is high 52,654.

Keep in mind that those convictions are uh either a case that got time served, the individual got a credit for time served, uh the individual may have gotten a community service order uh that equates to these dollars amounts or cases being processed as as community service non-cash.

Um also um waiver.

So if the judge finds an undue hardship on the individual that they're unable to perform either uh extended overpayment plan to to assess uh the violation to hold them responsible, uh the judge can order community service, but there's times where the statute allows uh judges a lot of options uh to either give community service, uh maybe they'll send them to a mentoring class, uh, if they continue their education, that could be considered community service.

There's a number of things that the judge does.

If those things aren't available or can't work, then the judge can decide undue hardship and waive the fine and court cause, and that happens.

So that that number there, the 52,000 reflects that effort.

The other ones are dismissals, and and the next slide kind of drills down on dismissals.

Uh highest number of dismissals is going to be the deferred disposition uh dismissals of 53,000, and then um also the uh there's prosecutor recommends dismissals, which we'll talk about, driver safety dismissals, and compliance dismissals.

Can you real quick um uh back to the previous slide?

Can you say the numbers associated with each with each of those categories?

One more time just because the color got you table is challenging.

All right.

Uh maybe uh councilman, the next slide may help you there.

Okay, the first two are obviously the 92 91,979.

That's conviction with payments.

The 52,565 six 654 is conviction non-cash.

If we jump over to the following slide, this is the actual same numbers uh that's reflected on that pie chart, but these are the dismissal ones.

So if that helps.

It's fine, I can figure out the rest.

Okay, so this one here uh the again the line shares deferred disposition.

Um the in municipal court, article 45a.302 allows uh the judge, it's a judge's discretion to grant uh uh on a plea of guilty or no contest to not to find the individual guilty but to suspend that finding of guilt for a period of up to 180 days.

If it does, if they do that, uh the judge can set conditions of that probation, and you'll see that many times the judges will set conditions, and we'll talk about some of those conditions, but uh basically what they're trying to determine is a change of behavior that individual.

Uh they may have intended some type of class.

Um maybe uh regards to animal cases like a pet ownership class.

As long as they satisfy these conditions, the judge can dismiss those cases.

The driver safety dismissals, 4445A 352.

Again, that's uh not only allowed by law, but it's also required.

Uh and on moving violations, if the individual requests uh defensive driving, the judge shall order that, assuming the individual has uh current evidence of financial responsibility, insurance, and uh a current Texas driver's license.

So the individual will have some time to uh take that defensive driving class and get that case dismissed.

The prosecutor recommends dismissals, uh, 29,000.

Uh there are many reasons.

Uh I know the prosecutor's office is here.

I can give you some more reasons why, but there's many reasons why that may happen.

For instance, there may be missing witnesses, it may be a plea bargain dismissals where a person has a number of citations, and if they pay in full on these other citations, they agree to dismiss the current citation.

Uh trial settings, sometimes the officer does not show up.

Sometimes the officer shows up, does not remember the case, and then the state will file a motion to dismiss.

In the interest of justice, sometimes the officer retires.

And then this past year, and I think we'll expect this for the next coming years.

There are a whole number of stale cases that we have in our in our on our data bank of filed cases that are 15, 20 years old.

There's no activity.

And so that number was high of this fiscal year 25.

Compliance dismissal is again a thing that the law allows multiple different statutes that address this, but in essence, it's to uh with regards to certain motor vehicle equipment violations or driver's license restriction violations.

If you if the individual corrects those defects before their appearance day, the law allows the judge to dismiss that citation with the dismissal fee uh paid on that.

And of course, what we want is vehicles that will be operating correctly with you know proper headlights, lights, uh license plates, registration current, uh, and maybe a uh driver's license restriction where they fail to change their address, we get the current addresses fixed.

So those those are good things.

Uh all in all, this this slide here shows dismissals.

Uh and I know that the committee was interested of what breaks down, what causes those dismissals, but I think we can all agree that that these are these are a good thing.

Uh these change behavior, uh, these are uh the first two are kick these things off a person's driving record, which will help them.

And again, there's many reasons why there's a prosecutor recommends dismissals and compliance.

We definitely want uh good operating vehicles on the roadway or individuals to have uh good driver's license when they operate their their motor vehicle.

All right, drilling down a little bit further down to the animal docket.

Uh we have here is the top three violations that we had during that time period.

It's no surprise, a free restraint is the highest, uh failure to vaccinate your animal, and then the uh animal nuisance bite cases.

Um the bottom left shows outcomes, uh convictions, deferred disposition.

Uh, what's unique about this court with regards to probation uh requirements, that judge requires individuals who she places under uh probation to change behavior, right?

And um may order them to attend a pet ownership class or maintain the proper wellness for their animal, like getting their shots, getting their heart order medication as as a condition to keep the immoral probation, and kind of tied to the prosecutor dismissals there.

Um she also requires if they have multiple cases, because many of these cases on animal court, uh they're cited with multiple violations for one individual, one occurrence.

And so the prosecutor looks at those cases and says, okay, if you do these good things, then we'll agree to dismiss these cases.

But if you don't, then all these cases are convictions and and you had to come back to court.

Uh the last item there is warrants, uh 3967.

It's a high number in relationship to the total count.

Uh, in a sense, I think that just shows people are just will ignore it.

Uh we do certain things to try to get compliance if you have people show up, but just this is a status of where those cases are right there.

And then on financial obligations, those uh uh cases are being paid, um, and that's the dollar amount that was collected on on that during that time period.

We see that bump up for like the bike cases and and dogs wanting to lose.

The bike cases, generally speaking, if you drill into the data, and we could do that at another meeting, uh, typically are the higher fines that are assessed by the judge.

Um and then finally, some of the additional stuff that dismissals here, uh it may be again the defendant no longer owns the dog.

Um if they'll dismiss it, if they pay in full for other violations, or maybe there was some type of compliance requirement, they achieved that, so the prosecutor agreed to dismiss it.

We do have situations where the dog is deceased or been euthanized, and so those cases are dismissed on a motion by the state.

So that's that's a regular thing, and that's as you know, that's becoming more and more uh prevalent and is being addressed by the animal care services and the court and the state prosecutor's office in prosecuting these cases.

Uh for that same time period that we're talking about.

The judge heard over 123 hearings, and again, in those hearings, there's multiple witnesses.

It's very time uh intensive for the judge, the prosecutor, of course, ACS staff.

In fact, last night, yesterday afternoon they started a hearing at one o'clock.

They didn't finish till seven o'clock last night.

Okay, so that's all the animal care services, uh, prosecutor's office and the judge and staff staying there to seven o'clock at night to to uh to hear these uh types of hearings.

So very significant uh time wise, but but the court is getting those things done.

Uh city code violations.

Um again, these are the top um violations for that time period.

Um that you see there, they're they're not as numerous as say maybe some of these other uh types of cases.

Um the probation case again, the judge is seeking compliance or change of behavior, uh compliance with the city city code laws.

So the judge will set conditions to try to get those type of things.

Again, the prosecutor may dismiss based on seeing compliance and fixing those uh uh uh viol those city code violations and um as a reason for dismissal, or if they'll take those in consideration to pay full in another type of case, or sometimes officers no longer with the department, and it's it's hard to uh prosecute those cases when you don't have a witness.

Uh the family family violence document.

I know we may have spoke about that in the past.

Um again, the court has jurisdictions for uh family violence cases, uh by offensive contact and assault by threats.

Uh these cases are unique in the sense that they must have an appearance by individual.

You cannot pay these online, you cannot pay these by mail.

You must make it a personal appearance.

Uh the the court also, the law also requires fingerprints on these individuals, and that that's reported to the Department of Public Safety, the outcome of that case uh leading up to a conviction or dismissal.

But as as you well know, it has some significant consequences.

So these are very time consuming cases.

The judge spends a lot of time with these individuals.

The state's attorney spends a lot of times with these individuals uh talking, especially as a pro se individuals, talking to them, explaining their options, uh, and and also the the consequences, right?

Uh, because you it may you may affect you be able to possess or own a firearm.

Uh it could affect uh you owing alimony on a divorce case.

Certain employment opportunities are not available if you have a conviction, uh including like law enforcement or the or the military.

Uh it could be used, a class C could be used to enhance future domestic violence case.

Uh, and also it could affect immigration status.

Um the the judge and the prosecutors are intent here is to stop the cycle of violence and uh and and and uh give them classes that will help educate those uh as the underlying cause of the violence and then change behavior.

So that is a time intensive commitment by the individual, and those are very difficult to complete successfully, and I think that's maybe one of the reasons why the convictions are as high as they are and those type of violations.

Again, the uh the judge that uh handles that court can can also talk more freely about uh what she sees in her court with regards to that docket.

All right, so I'm gonna jump over to civil violations.

Uh these aren't handled uh by the municipal court judges that you appoint.

Uh these aren't handled uh by the municipal court judges that you appoint, and these are handled by administrative hearing officers, um, and they're civil in nature, and there and the reason they were civil in nature for the most part is that they're uh the same city code violations apply whether it's criminal or civil in these instances that that we're given power for, uh, and that's for the public safety um uh issues, health and safety, welfare of the citizens.

Um it's usually quicker to dispose of.

Uh so we have two administrative hearing officers that hear these cases, and this shows um cases that they were found liable, 8,442, amounts paid on those, and then what's outstanding 2,864.

Uh these cases are hard.

Uh if these most of these cases are defaulted, in other words, they're cited.

Uh code officer will cite the individual, they're set for a hearing, they failed to show up, and we have a conviction on that case.

Um the 4,689 or is actually resolved, paid.

That's a $627,000.

And then a dismissed, not liable, or some type of compliance.

Um that's where you see uh maybe insufficient evidence, or maybe they did those things that they were supposed to do, but it it missed it.

They they did those and they satisfied that with the code officer, but they didn't have that available to them when they cited the case, and so they showed that at the hearing, and the judge uh dismisses that and finds them not liable regarding parking too.

Um this shows the amount of cases that were default uh and are open, 3,571, and the amount owed there, and then the 72,143 of the cases that were paid and amount of money that was paid on those parking citations.

Uh dismissed, not liable.

Uh many times uh the either the handwriting on the ticket is not legible, and uh the data entry clerk will put the wrong license plate number, so it goes to the wrong individual, they're not at fault.

Uh or the individual may have paid the this the uh parking and has a receipt, maybe they didn't have it with them.

So they showed the the judge, the hearing officer the receipt.

In fact, there's they were not in in violation of law, they were in fact in compliance.

Um magistrations and writs.

Uh, these numbers, of course, as as as you know, the uh the arrestees that come to our facility are sanitary police officers' arrests and all department of public safety's arrests, on-site arrests.

If an individual has a warrant, and I'll send out sending a county warrant, they'll go straight to the the county facility.

So these are on-site arrests by San Antonio Police Department.

The 39,315 shows uh these are just higher offenses, class B, class um class A or felony cases where it could be a DWI, it could be uh family violence assault case, a murder case.

Those are arrested for county only uh city only intakes, they're arrested on a on a class C warrant that they did not appear on, or they failed to comply with the the order, um, and they get arrested by the law enforcement on that.

The convo 23,000, that shows they had both uh a brand new on-site arrest, and then the judge the uh police officer discovered they also had county city warrants, and so they arrested them for those things too.

And on the uh right shows the writs that were issued during that time period 26 arrest warrants.

Um 3,412 blood draw warrants, uh, where an individual was given the opportunity to take a breathalyzer test and they refused it.

So the officer brings a warrant, a blood drawing warrant to an uh independent magistrate to review, determines that that that uh offense was committed by probable cause, and then they'll issue that warrant to draw the blood.

And that happens at our facility uh where they actually draw the blood.

Is where an individual uh is displaying either some harm to themselves or others, or maybe because of their mental illness, uh they degrade it enough where they're they're they're danger.

Uh the police officer or the nurse will present an affidavit to the magistrate to sign emergency detention to get them to the hospital for some help.

This is an order by protective order by the judge to keep them away from that individual that gets served there at the at our facility until they're able to get a more permanent protective order signed.

The mental health order, the 14,170.

That number reflects the number of times where a judge may have a magistrate may have been aware or been advised by the arresting officer or the personnel there at the facility that shows that this individual displays either a history of mental illness or maybe has tried to commit suicide in the past.

The judge can order an assessment done, and that's also part of their magistration paper where it gets sent over to the county.

Um for illegal evidence that the magistrates have signed for the police officers.

Again, we operate 24-7, seven days a week nonstop.

We always have a magistrate uh present and staff there to handle those cases.

Um it shows uh 7% 24 million dollars collected online during that time period, and 10,80,000 collected in person, the 29%.

Um I was and then and on the right is the it's it's the same uh information but by transactions, uh 173,828 transactions by online and 76,619 transactions in person.

I will say that what we've seen the year before COVID uh 2019, 35 percent of resolution and payments were online, and now we're bumping at 71 percent, 69 percent uh online.

And so we, the judge, Judge Obleto and myself, we adjusted the judges' work schedules and staffing to accommodate for that because it requires a lot of back room efforts to to resolve those cases online.

But we see that trend uh happening and continue, and it just makes it easier for individuals to take care of their cases to set things for trial, uh, to request a payment plan, uh, to request uh dismissals for compliance dismissals, all those things are available to them online, and that's why we see those numbers up.

Um at the same time, the in-person activity is required.

Uh, you have individuals that need to have trials, need to have hearings.

Indicated some of those ones yesterday, say to seven o'clock, those are in-person hearings that are required to be had uh in person, and so uh you know, we have judges and staff and prosecutors available to do those things.

Uh that concludes my portion of the presentation, and I'll let uh Judge of letto uh uh finish the presentation.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today.

Um so each calendar year, the court applies for the Texas Municipal Traffic Safety Initiatives award.

I'm proud to tell y'all that we just found out late last week that we want again for high volume cities.

So this is the seventh time.

Thank you.

I will be sending y'all an email later today.

Uh this is the seventh time since 2019 that the court has been recognized for our commitment to traffic safety.

Um this award reflects the dedication of our judges and staff to keeping our community safe.

To achieve this level of recognition, the court hosts numerous awareness and education campaigns and participates in community events throughout the year.

While I cannot cover every activity in detail today, you did receive an FY24 community engagement booklet highlighting the court's outreach efforts.

The um FY25 booklet has been placed on pause due to other court priorities, but I welcome the opportunity to meet with you individually.

Should you have any questions regarding the court's activities?

Um this month we recognize Spain Neuter Awareness Month, and we also began our warrant resolution campaign on Monday, February 16th.

Individuals with outstanding citations are contacted through multiple methods and are encouraged to visit the court and they will not get arrested.

They will not be arrested.

This year we worked with communications and engagement to secure an electronic billboard at the corner of I-35 and Eisenhower, and that billboard went live on February 9th, and that is in English and in Spanish.

Also to increase success accessibility, the court was opened this past Saturday, and we will open again this Saturday, February 28th from 8 a.m.

to 3 p.m.

Last year, this campaign helped resolve approximately 14,000 warrants.

And again this year, the court partnered with ACS to host a vaccination and microchip clinic.

The clinic was held last Saturday and was originally scheduled to serve 100 residents, but because of overwhelming response, the clinic added an additional 75 slots, and those were very quickly filled.

This partnership enforces the court's broader commitment to public health and community well-being.

In addition to the monthly campaigns listed on this slide, some notable initiatives include our reality education for drivers, the Road Pro RED program for the last three years.

The court has partnered with Texas AM AgriLi Extension to host reality education for drivers classes.

This is a free program that targets young drivers ages 15 to 25, whether they've received a citation or not.

The goal is to guide participants towards safer driving behaviors through real life education and prevention strategies.

To date, we have hosted six classes at the court, averaging 16 participants per class, and have two more scheduled later this year.

Throughout the year, our judges also participate in career day events at local elementary schools.

The court also provides resources at safe driving events hosted by area high schools.

During these visits, judges discuss safe driving habits, the importance of regular school attendance, the dangers of vaping, and information about our teen court program.

These conversations allow the judges to positively influence students both inside and outside of the courtroom.

The court is also scheduled to participate in the Roosevelt High School Safe Driving Event in March.

They attend City Council sponsored resource fairs.

This past summer, the court participated in four backpack events in addition to our own backpack giveaway to students at Antonio Margil Elementary School and SAISD.

Currently, the court is hosting local high school students through newly created internship programs.

Judge Kenneth Bell is working with students from the Explorers Club at Harlandale High School.

Twelve students have been rotating through the court every Monday since last October and have experienced just about every area of the court.

Judge Lisa Gonzalez is mentoring students from Providence High School.

The three students come to court twice a week, and they are helping us craft our safe driving messages to teen drivers.

Each of them updated slides for the 100 Deadliest Days of Summer.

I've been really impressed with what they have done, and I am trying to figure out a way to share those slides with a wider audience.

Both judges are committed to ensuring that the students have a positive, meaningful, and educational experience within the court system.

The court has also provided tours for students from Jubilee Academy, Providence High School, Students of Service Summer Camp, and the Teen Court Volunteers.

I would also like to mention that Judge Bell and Judge Melanie Castillo are working to host the first ever San Antonio Municipal Court mock trial competition.

That tournament will be held later this year and it will be tied to municipal courts week in November.

I will share more details with you as they become available.

On our next slide, as I have uh mentioned before, the first week of November is recognized as a municipal courts week.

This is a week that honors the vital role municipal courts play in promoting public safety and community well-being.

More people visit municipal courts in the state of Texas than all other Texas courts combined.

So their experience of the criminal justice system is really influenced by what they experience in a local court.

Each year we invite local high school students to learn about court operations, explore careers in the legal field, participate in mock trials, engage with guest speakers, and take part in interactive educational activities.

A new addition this year was the court's safe city experience.

It was created and designed by court staff, and this interactive program enhanced public safety awareness for adults, teens, and also for children.

Participants drive through the streets of Safe City while encountering real life challenges.

The program teaches critical lessons about traffic safety, responsible decision making, and the consequences of impaired or distracted driving.

This hands-on experience makes safety education engaging, memorable, and impactful.

And while the students were driving through Safe City, SAPD officers were there enforcing traffic laws and handing out citations for offenses such as not wearing a seatbelt, speeding, following too closely, not stopping at a stop sign, and even distracted driving.

These traffic safety lessons were reinforced by detectives from the homicide traffic investigation detail.

Their presentations included real-world applications such as audio, video, and firsthand experience.

Again, this year.

Mrs.

Zaltzman's willingness to share her family's deeply personal experience reminds us of the profound impact that distracted driving can have on individuals and families.

Mrs.

Zaltzman insists on speaking to every student that attends municipal courts week.

I have heard her presentation on many many times, and each time it is very difficult to not get emotional.

I invite you to watch her family's story.

It's Emily's story.

It's called Meet Emily, and it is on the court website.

I think Councilman Mickey Rodriguez, you remember we had a press conference in this very room for that.

The video is a powerful reminder of why our collective efforts to combat distracted driving are vital.

So in closing, our judges and staff consistently rise to the challenge of trying new and innovative approaches to improving public safety, promoting school attendance, educating our community, and supporting us supporting safe and clean neighborhoods.

We remain committed to proactive outreach, education, and community partnership, not just in enforcing the law, but helping prevent violations before they occur.

Thank you.

Thank you both for uh the presentation for the updates.

Um I'll say I uh requested this item with Councilwoman Aloretta Cabito in mind.

Um we're going to be considering judges for appointment and reappointment fairly soon, and I'd like our recommendations to be rooted in data.

Uh and here we have data roughly by docket that can inform some of the questions that we ask and priorities that we convey to applicants.

Uh and so we'll start with uh discussion on this item and then we'll move into uh presentation with an overview of the municipal court process, and we'll have a quick executive session for some personal matters.

So starting with council member Albert DeCorpho.

Thank you, Chair.

Um, yeah, you know, I know I've mentioned that before that when it comes to these cases, especially animal-related cases, you know, neighbors residents want to see their neighbors held accountable because I the impact of these uh offenses offenses can seem small, but they do impact people's daily lives.

And and you know, sometimes my pushback has been that we need to keep the victims um in mind when making the decision about the outcome of these cases, but I do appreciate y'all sharing the numbers and also sharing what uh what the quote unquote dismissals look like because it's it's not just waved off or anything like that.

So I definitely appreciate that.

Um, again, I I think we just need to reinforce that people need to be good neighbors regardless of the situation.

Um let's see.

One of the things I had a question on one of the issues that we've heard from residents is that they have been told that people need to be caught in the act when ticketed.

And so videos from neighbors and and that videos from neighbors of the offense occurring can't be used to ticket someone.

Um but to us in many cases staff catching someone in the act would be near impossible.

So can you help me understand why that is a requirement and uh requirement for evidence and when it does and doesn't apply?

Joe, you want to take that?

If I understand the question, I guess the question is whether the we can identify the defendant.

So when it comes to any criminal case, uh the main goal, of course, is you need to be able to identify the defendant.

So uh you can have a video, a picture, but if I can't identify who you are, then we cannot follow a case.

So then y'all, so if there is a video, let's just say um there's a video of a dog who's uh barking aggressively at people walking uh on the street, and they see this dog, you know, a resident sees this dog, and they take a video of those dogs acting that way, for instance.

Um would that be sufficient evidence?

Well, that's sufficient evidence to prove the offense.

However, we're still being need to be able to identify the owner of the dog, of course, in that situation, then they would contact ACS and hopefully ACS would conduct an investigation to try to determine hey, the video shows that dog went to this residence, uh, and which point ACS would be able to investigate and determine who owns that dog and possibly give a citation off of that video based on the identity of the uh owner.

So then I I guess and I'm just trying to figure out what feedback we give to residents, because we get this a lot, you know.

Um they're like, I have it on videos, it's gonna be near impossible for staff to catch it.

So really, I mean, I guess the feedback is fine, catch it on video, but they you also need to identify the owner or the person who's responsible.

Yes, ma'am, because that's the only way we're gonna be able to cite somebody, and of course we need to be able to cite the proper person because let's say we do cite somebody and it's not the right person, then a warrant is issued.

Of course, now we're we're arresting the wrong person.

So yeah, one of the other times this question came up is where a neighbor keeps blowing leaves into the street and SAWs won't ticket them because they saw us hasn't caught them in the act.

Um their attorney said we can't use the videos from the neighbors, uh, but we also know that SAWS doesn't have the staffing to catch them in the act.

So then it just really creates rifts between residents, and so we're just trying to figure out a way to all that evidence is great, and uh of course we'll if that's the one of some of the best evidence to have any kind of video evidence where we're at the end of the day, we're still need to get that case investigated by either SAWs or ACS or or code or depending on what kind of case it is, uh, and they'll make the determination whether who that person is.

Okay, sounds good.

Thank you for that.

Um really quick on slide six.

We know that um citations for animal-related cases have gone up.

Um like was mentioned, so thank you for that.

Uh have how have the conviction rates been impacted?

Do we know?

Well, uh the conviction rates are higher.

Uh first and foremost, the judge that oversees the animal docket is really hoping that when defendants come in, there is more compliance there can than convictions because you know, I wouldn't want to live next door to somebody and know that they've paid the court $500.

I want the problem fixed.

So she's working towards compliance, but uh but those convictions have increased because um you know, there's there's just more zero tolerance with regards to some of those cases.

Yeah, and um is this slide six?

Okay, um, yeah, I would I was just um also curious about the um how what how many what municipal courts is doing to collect the ode fines so if somebody so if somebody does not appear on a first appearance, we are required by law to give them a reset.

If they do not appear at their second appearance, then we issue a warrant for their arrest.

And in between all those, we're sending either postcards or letters.

If we have a good email address, we're sending them emails.

If we have a good cell number, we're also sending uh text messages to appear in court, reminding people to appear in court, reminding if it's already a conviction, reminding them that they have outstanding balances, letting them know that if they don't appear in court, they will have a warrant for their arrest issued.

Okay.

Um and just a kind of a general question on slide 11.

What in what area are we having the most trouble collecting fees?

Like animal citations, code traffic.

Which one and I'm asking, I like in what area are we have is municipal courts having the most trouble collecting fees?

And I'm asking just because I'm wondering if there's anything we could be doing different to collect those fees.

You wanna it's it's using civil.

I mean, the civil um violations, there we can't even issue a warrant on those cases.

So there's no there's no teeth.

So those are problematic yeah.

And then we we do have a high phenotopia rate for non-traffic violations too.

For whatever reason and I'm really asking just so that way we can think creatively on on how we um uh get people to pay up there's no solution or or anything that I have right now but uh just putting that out there those are all my comments thanks um councilwoman oh I'm sorry just recently we uh started working with a third party vendor to go after well to contact individuals who have not appeared in court within the last six months so that is part of our warrant resolution campaign um one of the reasons that we're working with this third party vendor is because they are able to do a lot of skip tracing that the court does not have resources to do so we are already seeing people appear in court for older violations but um they are targeting individuals who did not appear for adjudicated and unadjudicated cases okay you're welcome thank you council member uh council member white thanks chair um judge thank you for all of this and and all of the work um I'm looking forward to seeing the appointment process begin as soon as possible so so we can meet um the the required date um let me ask you this beyond the the minimum eligibility requirements what sort of qualities are we looking for professional background do you on that we're gonna get the presentation in a second for that one do you have any questions on this item okay you want to still okay well I was jumping ahead I thought we were gonna do them both together all right biggest operational challenge in the volume of cases that that you're handling operational challenge because it seems like a lot of cases are are we are we handling them you think efficiently or or things we can do better.

Actually councilman we are actually going through the CBR process right now so we are looking at all of our processes right now to see where we can make any type of improvements um looking for inefficiencies making sure that we are not duplicating any duties one of the biggest challenges that we do have is honestly is getting people to come to court we the state legislature has given us more tools to work with indigent defendants than to enforce our orders and that's just across the state so um you know we can issue a warrant for somebody's arrest but the court doesn't actually go out and arrest people right so um that that is one of the challenges that we have is enforcing our orders because we're of course complying with the law and there's just more tools to work with indigent defendants than there are to enforce our orders.

And and so are we trying to come up with solutions there on on how we get these people to actually respond.

Actually we are I mean you know we have warrant resolution that's why we engage in so many uh community activities because we don't want people to be afraid to come to court that's why we have um online resolution because if they are afraid to come to court then we're trying to make it as convenient as possible for them we do have one kiosk right now where if individuals want to actually see a judge by video it's at the IGO library we're working to get more kiosks throughout the city so we don't want them to be afraid to come to court but but we also don't want them to um or or I guess we we want them let them know that they do need to show absolutely right and there could be penalties for not showing up to court absolutely well you know if they're driving down the road with their children and they have a warrant for their arrest and they get pulled over they're gonna get taken in do we use text messaging with we do we do absolutely okay um one issue that really I think we heard a lot about um at least a year or two ago from the centro folks and others are about all these property crimes that that have taken place um I guess downtown a lot people throwing rocks through windows and businesses that have this damage and uh you know these I guess they're class C penalties and we weren't being able to enforce some of these I mean tell me a little bit about that depending on the amount some of them are class C misdemeanors if they're uh and so we do have a community court as well that works specifically with unhoused individuals the judge Judge Daniel Guerrero and um he works with um some of the local community organizations we're trying to get uh unhoused individuals to come in voluntarily we're working specifically with these nonprofits instead of law enforcement because a lot of times unhoused individuals have a fear of law enforcement there we want them to um uh feel like it's their choice to come to court instead of being forced to come to court but there are you know while it's difficult to um you know we can't exactly charge money to unhoused individuals so there are other ways to hold them accountable but again there's not a mail box where we can send them a postcard to come to court you know there's

There we want them to um uh feel like it's their choice to come to court instead of being forced to come to court.

But there are, you know, while it's difficult to um uh you know we can't exactly charge money to unhoused individuals, so there are other ways to hold them accountable, but again, there's not a mail box where we can send them a postcard to come to court.

You know, there's not a phone where or email where we can send them a text message to come to court, like everybody else, though, if they do not appear in court, we will issue a warrant for their arrest.

Okay.

We're just trying to not create a revolving door where I I worked, I've been a city judge for a number of years.

I worked magistrate for a lot of those years, and it was just a revolving door.

Individuals would get arrested, we'd release them because they don't have any money.

A couple of days later, they're re-arrested.

Yep, you know, yep.

So we're trying to figure out a solution to that, but it takes time.

We are working with uh DHS and they are keeping they are there whenever they are at court whenever we have a docket, so they're trying to keep track of who is appearing in court, and you know, so that we can hopefully share some success stories.

Yeah.

Um what's the do and I'm apologize if I missed it.

What's the overall cost to run the municipal court?

Plural.

That's that's a Fred question.

Let me think it's uh councilman.

I don't know what the exact number I think it's like um I think the general funds about 14 million dollars, and then there's the their specialty uh funds, technology fund, uh juvenile case manager fund, security fund.

Uh another three million, so about 17, 16, 17.

Okay.

All right.

Um, last question, partnerships with schools and community groups.

Anything I know there's a lot that that we do.

Is there anything you'd like to expand, perhaps, that you think may be beneficial and in ways for council members to get involved there?

Well, um, as Fred briefly mentioned, we didn't even get into our juvenile services because we had just done uh we had just uh presented to the educational opportunities committee.

Um, but we do have a number of programs in our juvenile department, our senior summit where we focus on seniors who are at risk of not graduating.

Um we've been pretty successful with the seniors that have attended.

We will start that up again in the fall.

We have a number of partnerships.

We have community partners that are actually at the summit that will not only engage with the students but also their parents.

Um so our message, it's it's a positive experience.

So our message is we are invested in your academic success.

You are a part of this community, you are making San Antonio stronger.

And I know that councilwoman Via Gran has been there.

Um so we invite, depending on what schools are gonna be there, we will extend an invitation to see if you would like to come out and address the families.

Uh we it's it's something very quick because we do not want to be wasting anybody's time, but it is a very positive experience.

The juvenile case managers are also working on a re-engagement docket.

Those are students that have not re-enrolled in school that are kind of they call them levers, and I don't really like using that term, but they're just not enrolled in school.

So they'll work with school districts to go and find those individuals to get get them re-enrolled in schools.

Um something else that they're working on are transition dockets.

That's kids that are going from fifth to sixth and eighth to ninth.

A lot of times you lose them.

So they're working specifically with those students to try to keep them engaged in school.

Um youth diversion program, just a number of things.

Okay, thank you, Judge.

Thank you.

Thanks, Chair.

Thank you, Council uh member Via Gran.

Uh yeah, I'll be brief on slide number seven, family violence docket.

I'm very interested on in that uh, and I'll follow up with more information.

Um the uh mayor's commission on the status of women is looking to do another report on women and girls, and so this is this information is gonna be very interesting in terms of getting the facts of the conviction convictions and the deferred uh disposition.

So thank you for that, and thank you for the work.

And I know a lot of these cases kind of sit on that bubble between you know what is uh a misdemeanor uh and what moves into felony or a bad pattern in terms of domestic violence.

And then on the uh teen driving on that slide 11.

I would love to see that slideshow also and see if I can can't put that on some of my newsletters as we go forward.

Uh so please please share that with office.

They did a great job.

There's act uh each one did a different one.

So I'm I'm trying to figure out a way to have maybe a contest or something.

They just they did a really good job.

So well, count me in because I I you know we are always looking for things to kind of share with our neighborhood association and put on that newsletter that is information that they can use.

So yeah, okay.

No, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Wonderful.

Any other questions on this item?

All right, we'll move on to the second item, and I would request y'all go as quickly as possible.

And my second would request would be that we start off with slide four.

Good afternoon, Joe Nico City Attorney's Office, slide four.

And this four that four right there.

Okay, perfect.

You know, uh Councilman, it's like one of those, and let me ask you, we'll start real quickly.

That right now we have 10 full-time uh positions and 12 part-time positions.

The uh although there's no statutory uh authority for the process itself, we do work with HR.

Uh HR goes ahead and posts those positions on the COSA website.

Uh we go through our local bar associations.

We also post in a local newspaper.

Uh during, of course, uh the posting at the uh end of the day, the uh the the application or the ends on February 15th was the last day of the applications.

We do have 25 applicants that applied, 14 for the full-time positions, and 11 for the part-time positions.

Now, during this application process, there are a number of different forms that that each applicant needs to do.

Of course, this includes the uh the application authorizations, which allows us to get the code history, their uh tax history, their uh legislative history that they may have uh with a state bar.

Uh we also do a supplemental questionnaire, which is kind of a QA of their background.

Uh we also get a criminal background check.

Uh we ask or ask for a resume based on the relevant experience credentials, and of course, the minimum requirements are the being the fact that they need to be the state, a resident of the state of Texas, citizen of the United States, licensed attorney good standing, and two plus years of law practice, and of course, be a resident of the city of San Antonio for the last three years.

You know, your role as municipal, you know, role as the municipal court advisory creator is pretty simple.

Yeah, it's basically considering all the full-time and part-time judge with judicial positions as open.

Uh consider all the minimal qualifications, uh, conduct interviews as in the past.

The interviews would be done in executive order and exact and exec that is, and and of course, make the deliberations, announce the select the candidates in open court and open session, and then make your recommendations to city council.

Um right now, my office is basically gathered all the materials so far.

All the uh all the 25 applicants.

We're doing all the local authorization forms.

Uh, we're going through each one to make sure that vetting each one to make sure that they qualify.

Of course, that's the process that just closed, so it's still creating those binders that y'all will need.

And hopefully, we'll have all those binders by the next meeting or when the next interview processes get started.

So uh that's kind of briefly.

Uh, like I said, a number of you have already gone through this process before.

It's straightforward for the most part, and that what the process entails.

Uh, however, it's up to you on how to decide how you want to conduct those interviews all at one sitting at two different sittings, and whether you want to go ahead and and interview all the applicants or or just the new ones.

Uh so basically that's the uh the application process in the nutshell.

Thank you.

I appreciate your time.

Thank y'all for thank you for summarizing all that real quickly in the in the three slides.

Um so we have 10 full-time and 12 part-time positions and 25 applicants.

Uh, because of that narrow, you know, I don't want everyone to assume that all that almost all of them are gonna be hired.

If it's possible, I'd like to extend the application window just a little bit.

If we can even just have the posting open um and make it clear that you know these folks may not be considered as the deadline as has passed, but if we decide that we want to hire, I'd like to have a pool that we can pull from if that's feasible.

Um, just consider that.

And if if if possible, I'd like to do that.

Um, we'll have we'll go over.

I guess I'll probably we'll figure out what the interview schedule is gonna look like if it's gonna be one sitting.

I prefer one sitting, but that's also a lot of candidates, and so uh we may look at two.

Um any questions from council members.

If I may before we do that to answer your question, yes, we can extend the uh posting period.

Yes, we could follow up with HR.

Uh, would you like to extend it for another two weeks?

Or do you have anything in mind?

Um yeah, let's go with two weeks.

Um so the time is now 3 07 p.m.

on Wednesday, February 25th, 2026.

The municipal court advisory committee will now meet in executive session and consult with the city attorney's office pursuant to chapter 551 of Texas Government Code.

See y'all soon.

The time is now 3 19 p.m.

on Wednesday, February 25th, 2026.

And the municipal court advisory committee will now reconvene an open session.

No official action was taken in executive session.

Uh, thank you all so much for being here and for your time.

The time is now 3 20 p.m.

and our meeting is adjourned.