Bench Book

The Texas Mental Health and Intellectual and Development Disabilities Law Bench Book is a procedural guide for Texas judges hearing cases regarding persons with mental illness and/or IDD, developed by the JCMH and numerous contributing authors and editors including the Bench Book Committee. 

The Bench Book Committee is chaired by Judge Camile DuBose and meets as needed to advise on content, editing, and feedback on the most up to date version of the book. In 2021, the Committee worked diligently on a 3rd edition, ultimately adding more than 70 pages of new information. The new content includes Intercepts 4 and 5, additional sections on Risk Assessments, Insanity, and Expunctions/Non-Disclosures. The newest edition will be published before the end of 2021.

• Hon. Camile DuBose, Chair
  38th Judicial District Court
• Chelsea Biggerstaff, R.S.P.S., P.S.S.
  Recovery People
• Melinda Brents, J.D.
  University of Houston School of Law
• Nelda Cacciotti, J.D.
  Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office
• Colleen Davis
  Burnet County Attorney’s Office
• Officer Shawn Edwards
  Belton Police Department
• Emily Eisenman, M.S.
  TDCJ Reentry and Integration Division
• Alyse Ferguson, J.D.
  Rosenthal, Kalabus & Therrian
• Hon. Dee Grimm, R.N., J.D.
  City of Saint Hedwig Municipal Court
• Hon. David Jahn
  Denton County Probate Court
• Nelson Jarrin, J.D.
  Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
• Lee Johnson, M.P.A.
  Texas Council of Community Centers, Inc.
• Louise Joy, J.D.
  Joy & Young, LLP
• Adrienne Kennedy
  National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Beth Lawson, M.B.A.
  StarCare Specialty Health System
• Hon. Pamela H. Liston
  Messer, Fort & McDonald, PLLC
• Chris Lopez, J.D.
  Texas Health and Human Services
• Matthew Lovitt, M.S.W.
  Texas Health and Human Services
• Hon. Stacey Mathews
  277th Judicial District Court
• Amber Myers, J.D.
  Justice Court Training Center
• Magdalena Morales-Aina
  El Paso County Community Supervision & Corrections
• Beth Mitchell, J.D.
  Disability Rights of Texas
• Hon. Roxanne Nelson
  Burnet County Precinct 1
• Lee Pierson, J.D.
  Dallas County District Attorney’s Office
• Andrea Richardson, M.S.
  Bluebonnet Trails Community Services
• Brian Shannon, J.D.
  Texas Tech University School of Law
• Jennie Simpson, Ph.D.
  Texas Health and Human Services
• Nydia Thomas, J.D.
  Lone Start Justice Alliance
• Haley Turner, M.S.W.
  Texas Health and Human Services
• Hon. Ryan Kellus Turner
  Texas Municipal Courts Education Center
• Will Turner
  Texas Commission on Jail Standards
• Amanda Vasquez
  Office of the Attorney General
• Steve Wohleb, J.D.
  Texas Hospital Association
• April Zamora, M.Ed., L.C.D.C.
  TDCJ Reentry and Integration Division

As of October 2023