CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTION BY-LAWS
STATE BAR OF TEXAS

Approved by the State Bar of Texas Board of Directors on the 20th day of September, 2019.

ARTICLE I
Name and Purpose

Section 1. This Section shall be known as the Criminal Justice Section of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 2. The purpose of this Section shall be to promote the objectives of the State Bar of Texas within the field of Criminal Justice.

ARTICLE II
Membership

Section 1. Any member in good standing of the State Bar of Texas, upon request to this Section and upon the payment of the membership dues, shall be enrolled as a member of this Section. All persons so enrolled shall constitute the membership of this Section.

Section 2. The membership dues shall be Thirty Dollars per annum ($30.00) and shall be payable on or before the deadline for payment of State Bar dues.

Section 3. Each member shall remain in good standing subject to the payment of dues, and if a member does not pay within 60 days after the deadline for payment of State Bar dues his/her name shall be stricken from the membership roll.

ARTICLE III
Officers and Council

Section 1. The officers of this Section shall be a Chair, Chair-Elect, , Secretary, Treasurer, and Immediate Past Chair.

Section 2. The Criminal Justice Section Council shall consist of the Section officers, the , and twelve elected Section members to be elected by the Section as hereinafter provided. The Council will make diligent efforts to ensure that the members of the council equally represent the criminal defense bar, the judiciary with criminal jurisdiction, and the prosecution.

Section 3. The Chair-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer shall be nominated and elected, in a manner hereinafter provided, at each annual meeting of this Section to hold office for a term beginning at the close of the annual meeting at which they shall have been elected, and ending at the close of the next succeeding annual meeting of the Section, and shall serve until their successors shall have been elected and qualified.

Section 4. At the annual meeting of the Section four members of the Council shall be nominated and elected to serve for three years. (A year as herein used, means a term beginning at the close of the annual meeting of the section and ending at the close of the next succeeding annual meeting.)

Section 5. If any elected member of the Council shall fail to attend two successive meeting of the Council, without good cause as determined by the Chair, the office held by such member shall be automatically vacated, and the Council shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

Section 6. Any business or vote of the Council may be transacted at a regular meeting, by e-mail and/or by conference call.

ARTICLE IV
Nomination and Election of Officers and Council

Section 1. Elections. Elections shall be conducted at the annual meeting of the Section.

Section 2. Nominations. At least 60 days before the annual meeting of the Section, the Chair shall appoint a Nominating Committee of three members of the Section. The Nominating Committee shall make and report nominations to the Section for the offices of Chair-Elect, Secretary, Treasurer, and members of the Council whose terms will expire at the close of the next annual meeting, and to fill vacancies then existing for unexpired terms. The Chair-Elect will automatically succeed to the office of Chair unless that person is unable or refuses to serve, in which case the nominating committee shall also make and report nominations to the Section for the office of Chair. At least 30 days before the date set for the election, the Council shall give notice to the entire membership of the Section of the persons nominated by the Nominating Committee. Other nomination for all offices except Chair may also be made from the floor.

Section 3. Voting. All elections shall be by majority vote of the Section members in attendance and voting at the annual meeting of the Section.

ARTICLE V
Duties of Officers

Section 1. Chair. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and of the Council. The Chair shall formulate and present at each annual meeting of the State Bar of Texas a report of the work of the Section for the preceding year. The Chair shall perform such other duties and acts as usually pertain to the office.

Section 2. Chair-Elect. The Chair-Elect, upon the death, resignation or disability of the Chair or upon his/her refusal to act, the Chair-Elect shall perform the duties of the Chair for the remainder of the Chair’s term except in case of the Chair’s disability and then only during so much of the term as the disability continues. The Chair-Elect shall succeed to the post of Chair at the end of his/her term as Chair-Elect.

Section 3. Secretary. The Secretary shall be the custodian of all books, papers, documents, and other property of the Section. The Secretary shall keep a true record of the proceedings of all meetings of the Section and of the Council, whether assembled or acting under submission. With the Chair, he/she shall prepare a summary or digest of the annual proceedings of the Section for publication in the Texas Bar Journal.

Section 4. Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks and account for and maintain the financial records of the Section, as well as perform other duties upon request and as delegated. The Treasurer shall have the responsibility to provide required financial information to the State Bar of Texas. The authority of the Treasurer to invest funds of the Section shall be limited by the requirements of the Policy Manual of the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas (the “Board Policy Manual”) which requires that Section funds must be invested in accordance with the parameters of the Board Policy Manual. By July 15th of each year, the treasurer shall provide the Executive Director of the State Bar of Texas a complete financial report for the preceding fiscal year ending May 31 and, if available, a copy of the Section budget for the current fiscal year. Upon the death, resignation or disability of the Treasurer or upon his/her refusal to act, the Secretary shall perform the duties of the Treasurer for the remainder of the Treasurer’s term except in case of the Treasurer’s disability and then only during so much of the term as the disability continues.

ARTICLE VI
Duties and Powers of the Council

Section 1. The Council shall have general supervision and control of the affairs of the Section subject to the provisions of the By-Laws of this Section, the Board Policy Manual and other State Bar of Texas governing documents.

Section 2. The Chair may appoint committees from Section members to perform such duties and exercise such powers as the Chair or Council may direct, subject to the limitations mentioned above.

Section 3. The Council, during the interim between annual meetings of the Section, may fill vacancies in its own membership or in the offices of the Section. Members of the Council and officers so selected shall serve until the close of the next annual meeting of the Section, and shall be of the practice area as the person whose vacancy is filled.

Section 4. All binding action of the Council including adoption of any section legislative position(s) shall be by a majority vote of the council members present.

Section 5. The Chair of the Section or any member of the Council may submit or cause to be submitted in writing any proposition upon which the Council may be authorized to act, and the members of the Council may vote thereon verbally and/or in writing. If the votes of a majority of the members of council so recorded shall be in favor of such proposition or if such majority shall be against such proposition, such majority vote shall constitute the binding action of the Council.

Section 6. In the event a proposition is in the best interest of the Section and time is of the essence, the Chair of the Section may utilize electronic and/or telephonic technology to determine each council member’s vote.

ARTICLE VII
Meetings

Section 1. The annual meeting of the Section shall be held during the State Bar of Texas’ Advanced Criminal Law continuing legal education seminar, in the same city or place as such annual seminar, with such program and order of business as may be arranged by the Council.

Section 2. Special meetings of the Section and Council may be called by the Chair and/or by majority vote of the council.

Section 3. The members of the Section present at any meeting shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business

Section 4. All binding action of the Section shall be by a majority vote of the members present.

Section 5. The Council shall meet annually during the annual meeting of the Section.

ARTICLE VIII
Financial Provisions

8.1 Depositories and Investments. Section funds must be invested consistent with the State Bar’s Investment Policy as set forth in the State Bar Board of Directors Policy Manual, as the same may be amended from time to time. Section funds must be deposited into either a branch of the State Bar banking depository or an alternative banking depository meeting the requirements of the of the State Bar’s Investment Policy.

8.2 Financial Books, Records and Reports. The Section must maintain accurate financial books and records and have appropriate controls on the maintenance and disbursement of the Section’s funds, all in a fashion that permits the inclusion of the Section’s financial information in the State Bar’s financial statements and audit. The Section must provide to the State Bar such financial information as may be required for compliance with the requirements for the independent financial and/or internal audits of the State Bar as required by applicable law, rules and regulations, and pursuant to the State Bar’s procedures for reporting section financial reporting, as such procedures may be amended from time to time. The Section will submit to the Executive Director of the State Bar by July 15th of each year a budget for the then current fiscal year.

8.3 Sales Tax. To the extent required by law, the Section will collect sales tax on goods or services that it sells, and will remit monthly to the State Bar all sales tax collected during the immediately preceding month, along with a report listing the price, quantity and description of the goods or services so sold in such detail as the State Bar Accounting Department reasonably may require to ensure compliance with applicable law, rules and regulations.

8.4 State Bar Assistance. The Section may request the State Bar Accounting Department to manage Section funds, including depositing dues, managing operating expenses, issuing checks and preparing financial reports and budgets.

8.5 Fiscal Year. The Section’s fiscal year shall be the same as the fiscal year of the State Bar.

ARTICLE IX
Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 1. No salary or compensation shall be paid to any officer.

Section 2. No action, policy determination, or recommendation of this Section or committee thereof, shall be deemed to be, or be referred to as, the action of the State Bar of Texas, and shall comply with the provisions of these By-Laws and the Board Policy Manual and governing documents of the State Bar of Texas. Any resolution adopted or action taken by this Section may, on request of this Section, be reported by the Chairman to the annual meeting of the State Bar of Texas for action thereon.

Section 3. These By-Laws may be amended at any annual meeting of this Section. All amendments must be approved by a majority vote of the members of the Section present and voting, and shall not become effective until approved by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 4. No positions may be taken by the Criminal Justice Section, or its members in the name of the Section or the State Bar, that advocate or advance a political or social policy position. However, this shall not be construed so as to prohibit the support for, or advancement of, proposed changes in state laws or court rules designed to improve the judicial branch of government.

Section 5. These By-Laws shall become effective upon approval by the Board of Directors of the State Bar of Texas.

Section 6. As used herein unless otherwise expressly provided, the past, present or future tense shall each include the other; the masculine, the feminine or neuter gender shall each include the other; and the singular and plural number shall each include the other.