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- COURT: I am grateful for the honor of serving the good folks of northeast Texas as Chief Justice of the Sixth Court of Appeals headquartered in Texarkana and serving 19 counties as our primary service area. Come June, I will have been serving in this office for 8 years. Northeast Texans have recently voted effectively to rehire me for another 6-year term (through 2016). Thank you for placing your trust in me! The Court is in great shape with a great team of public servants in place. We consistently rank among the most prompt of the 14, well run, Courts of Appeals distributed all over this great state. In three of the last four years, we have had the shortest time (among those 14 "sister" courts) from the filing of an appeal to the time we issue our opinion deciding that appeal. And our case backlog is the lowest of any of the 14 sister courts. More importantly, we decide cases based on the law and the facts, in an impartial, fair manner, not based on any social or personal agenda. We practice "judicial restraint," like judges should and like most do in the Texas state court system. I believe our reputation bears out those claims. We at the Court have heard that the most immediate effect of the budget shortfall expected by Texas officials will be that, after asking us to identify 5% of the current biennial budget to "save," we have been told that officials will reduce our current budget by only 2%. That's good news for us. So far, so good. Now, for the next biennial budget, all bets are off. We are hearing that something like 5% will be deducted for as many as four years, to help balance the Texas state budget in the near term. Stay tuned. THE SILVERMOON: Diana and Josh's "Silvermoon" project in historic downtown Texarkana continues. A few weeks ago, the City issued us a building permit. We have now transitioned from "demolition and stabilization" into real construction. We can now say with confidence that the buildings in this project have been saved from further deterioration and destruction. Now we must decide on the intricate details of the huge project, figuring out what parts must be set aside for reality's sake and coming up with a plan to pay for this huge project. And we must also plan the "phases" of the Silvermoon. Phase I: New Moon: At this point, our plan is to get the exteriors of the buildings done along with the first floor (public events center) spaces and get them opened first. This will, we hope, give the largest boost to downtown Texarkana's new vitality. Phase II: Silvermoon Home: The next phase after that, the timing of which is not certain, is our living space. That phase will, undoubtedly, have the largest effect on our lives! Phase III: Full Moon: Finally, we would apply ourselves to the apartment/condominium living spaces on the second floor areas. That would complete the project. Thanks for visiting! Josh Morriss |
