ICWinter09 Conference Wrapup

08 Judicial Section Annual Conference Wrapup

Despite the impending arrival of Hurricane Ike into the Gulf Coast area, nearly 500 Texas judges and 200 guests and faculty attended the Judicial Section’s 80th Annual Conference in Dallas from September 14–17, 2008.

This year’s conference theme was “Fingerprints of Justice,” exemplifying the significant impact Texas judges make on the cases they hear. Just some of the keynote topics included: The Foundations of Law; Leadership Lessons from our Commanders in Chief; Fourth Amendment Satisfaction; The Transitional Judge; Needs of Children Exposed to Family Violence; Adolescent Drug Trends; Neuroscientific Evidence; and case law and legislative updates.

The Honorable Brian Quinn, Chief Justice of the 7th Court of Appeals in Amarillo and 2007-2008 Chair of the Judicial Section of the State Bar of Texas, presided over the conference until transferring leadership to the 2008-2009 Chair, Judge Suzanne Stovall from the 221st District Court in Conroe.

We had a hot item for this year’s raffle: an all-terrain Segway. Attendees took turns trying out their balancing skills by taking the Segway for a brisk ride through the Hilton Anatole and drawing many spectators. The total amount raised was $15,700, and the lucky winner was 218th District Court Judge Stella Saxon. Congratulations, Judge!

Receiving awards this year are:

Hon. Lamar McCorkle
Mari Kay Bickett Judicial Excellence Through Education

Hon. Marilea Lewis
Exemplary Judicial Faculty

Professor Joseph Hoffmann
Exemplary Non-Judicial Faculty

Hon. Harvey G. Brown, Jr.
Exemplary Article

Many thanks from the staff of the Texas Center to our fabulous faculty, special guests, and exhibitors who gave so much of their valuable time to make this conference a success.

We think those who attended will agree that our talented, well-respected faculty provided a diverse program of useful, relevant, and interesting information to all judges. Below are some terrific photos of the four-day event, along with some of the comments we received.

Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably funded bar foundation.

Chief Justice Brian Quinn, 2007-2008 Chair of the State Bar of Texas Judicial Section and Texas Center for the Judiciary, receives his unique award for outstanding leadership from Texas Center's Executive Director, Ms. Mari Kay Bickett.
	Hon. Marilea Lewis received the Exemplary Judicial Faculty award for excellence in judicial education through her personal commitment and service with distinction as a Texas Center faculty member. Here Judge Lewis is accompanied by Judge Stephen Ables.
Judge Lamar McCorkle, unable to attend the annual conference due to Hurricane Ike traversing his hometown of Houston, was the proud recipient of the 2008 Mari Kay Bickett Judicial Excellence Through Education Award.

The Board of Directors' incoming leadership take time out for a picture with Mari Kay Bickett. From left: Chair-elect David Garcia (2009-2010), Mari Kay, and the 2008-2009 Chair, Honorable Suzanne Stovall.

After competing in the 2008 Olympic games in China, Nancilea Foster delivers the keynote address to judges attending the Memorial Breakfast. Here, Ms. Fisher signs autographs.

"There were many different subjects covered so I got a lot of theory as well as nuts and bolts."

"I discovered that there is a lot of digital media I didn’t even know existed."

"I came to this conference to learn; to continue contacts with friends and meet new judges; to find out what is going on in our world."

"As a result of this conference, I re-learned that the Fourth Amendment is very far reaching."

"As a result of this conference, I learned symptoms of trauma in children exposed to domestic violence – very useful in custody cases."

"Small presentations that foster discussion with participants was good."

"Good spread of info. Staff handled problems with Hurricane Ike very well – very professional with notice of cancellation of Sunday activities, etc. – really rolled with the punches."