Legislative Research

The Supreme Court of Texas and Texas Court of Criminal Appeals have a strong interest in studying the organization and practices of the Texas Judicial Branch related to behavioral and mental health needs of individuals before the courts. On October 1, 2019, the two highest Courts in the state ordered the creation of the Legislative Research Committee (LRC), to make relevant recommendations to the Texas Judicial Council. The current JCMH Legislative Research Committee now represents two task forces appointed in 2019. One task force was chaired by Justice Bill Boyce and the other was led by Judge Brent Carr. The work of the two task forces was submitted to the Texas Judicial Council and unanimously approved to be included in the Texas Judicial Council’s Criminal Justice Committee’s 2020 Report and Recommendations to the Legislature. In the 2021 regular legislative session, 10 of the 16 JCMH proposals were entered into law; in the 2023 regular session, 6 of 12 JCMH proposals were entered into law. 

• Hon. Bill Boyce, Chair
  Partner, Alexander Dubose Jefferson
  Justice, 14th Court of Appeals (Fmr.)
• Hon. Renee Rodriguez-Betancourt
  Judge, 449th District Court, Hidalgo County
• Dr. Virginia Brown
  Assistant Professor, Dept. of Population Health, Dell Medical School, University of Texas at Austin
• Sonja Burns
  Mental Health Advocate
• Hon. Nelda Cacciotti
  Assistant Criminal District Attorney – Mental Health, Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office
• Hon. Brent Carr
  JCMH Jurist-in-Residence
  Judge, Tarrant County Criminal Court No. 9 (Ret.)
• Alycia Castillo
  Associate Director of Policy, Texas Civil Rights Project
• Hon. Danny Dominguez
  Judge, Justice of the Peace Pct. 2, Webb County
• Hon. Camile DuBose
  Judge, 38th District Court, Uvalde County
• Sergeant Shawn Edwards
  Training Coordinator, Crisis Intervention Unit #920, Burleson County Sheriff's Office
• Dr. Melissa Eshelman
  Assoc. Professor, Dept. of Psychiatry, Dell Medical School
• Hon. Drue Farmer
  Board Chair, StarCare Lubbock
• Alyse Ferguson
  Of Counsel, Rosenthal Kalabus & Therrian
• Sara Gonzalez
  Vice President of Advocacy & Public Policy, Texas Hospital Association
• Dr. Robert Greenberg
  Emergency Medicine Physician, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center
• Dr. Courtney Harvey
  Chief of Government Relations, Texas Council of Community Centers
• Hon. Guy Herman
  Judge, Travis County Probate Court No. 1
• Sen. Joan Huffman
  Texas State Senator
• Trina Ita
  Associate Commissioner, Medical & Social Services Division, Behavioral Health Services, HHSC
• Hon. Dave Jahn
  Judge, Denton County Probate Court No. 1
• Lee Johnson
  Chief Executive Officer, Texas Council of Community Centers, Inc.
• Windy Johnson
  Program Manager, Texas Conference of Urban Counties
• Louise Joy
  Attorney, Joy & Young, LLP
• Dr. Andrew Keller
  President and CEO, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute
• Hon. Evelyn Keyes
  (Ret.) Justice, 1st Court of Appeals
• Ashley Kintzer
  Manager of Regionalization and County Grants, Texas Juvenile Justice Department
• Megan LaVoie
  Administrative Director for the Texas Office of Court Administration
• Chief Mike Lee
  Chief Deputy, Harris County Sheriff’s Office
• Scott LePor
  Medical Director, Texas Juvenile Justice Department
• Hon. Pam Liston
  Senior Attorney, Messer Fort, PLLC
• Chris Lopez
  Assistant General Counsel, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• Matthew Lovitt
  Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Forensic Coordination, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• Mike Lozito
  Judicial Services Director, Bexar County
• Hon. Stacey Mathews
  Judge, 277th District Court, Williamson County
• Beth Mitchell
  Litigation Coordinator, Disability Rights Texas
• Rep. Joe Moody
  Texas House of Representatives
• Hon. Roxanne Nelson
  Judge, Burnet County Justice Court, Pct. 1
• Denise Oncken
  Bureau Chief, Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Mental Health Bureau
• Angela Ott
  Policy Fellow, Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
• Hon. Larry Phillips
  Judge, 59th District Court, Grayson County
• Hon. Robin Ramsay
  Judge, Denton County Magistrate Court
• Janis Reinken
  Former Chief Clerk, House Committee on Corrections
• Prof. Brian Shannon
  Paul Whitfield Horn Professor, Texas Tech University School of Law
• Melissa Shearer
  Director, Travis County Mental Health Public Defender's Office
• Dr. Jennie Simpson
  Forensic Director, Texas Health and Human Services Commission
• Hon. John Specia, Jr.
  JCMH Jurist-in-Residence
  Judge, 255th District Court (Ret.)
• Hon. Polly Jackson Spencer
  Judge, Bexar County Probate Court, No. 1 (Ret.)
• Hon. Charles Stephens
  Judge, Comal County Court at Law, No. 2
• Hon. Ryan Kellus Turner
  Executive Director, Texas Municipal Courts Education Center
• Julie Wayman
  Mental and Behavioral Health Manager, Interagency Liaison, Texas Education Agency
• Hon. Cynthia Wheless
  Judge, 417th District Court, Collin County
• Hon. Deborah Wigington
  Judge, Comal County Court at Law #3
• Steve Wohleb
  Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Texas Hospital Association

Updated January 2024