Michael Acuna Municipal Judge City of Dallas 2014 Main St, Rm 331 Dallas, TX 75201-4438 214.670.5573 michael.acuna@dallascityhall.com Jan Blacklock Matthews Judge City of Wilson P.O. Box 22 Wilson, TX lubbock7@gmail.com Robby Chapman Director of Clerk Education and Program Attorney TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX 78756 512.320.8274 chapman@tmcec.com Hilda Cuthbertson Consultant Bojorquez Law Firm, PLLC 1005 Skrivanek Drive Bryan, TX 77802 979.224.0596 hcuthbert@suddenlink.net Dianna Faulkenberry Court Administrator Cleburne PO Box 657 Cleburne, TX 76033-0657 817.645.0928 Dianna.Faulkenberry@cleburne.net Mark Goodner Deputy Counsel and Director of Judicial Education TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX 78756-2509 512.320.8274 goodner@tmcec.com TEXAS MUNICIPAL COURTS EDUCATION CENTER FACULTY ROSTER Regional Clerks Seminar Amarillo April 7 9, 2015 Lisa Howard Court Administrator Hurst 1505 Precinct Line Rd Hurst, TX 76054-3302 817.788.7058 lhoward@hursttx.gov Leah Huff Former Court Administrator City of Southlake 4120 Broken Bend Blvd. Keller, TX 76244-8131 leah.huff@gilacorp.com Casey Kennedy Director, Information Services Office of Court Administration 205 W. 14th Street, Suite 600 Austin, TX 78701 512.463.1603 casey.kennedy@txcourts.gov C. Victor Lander Judge Dallas 2014 Main St, Suite 330 Dallas, TX 75201-4438 214.671.9901 victor.lander@dallascityhall.com Sheli Masterson Court Operations Manager City of Irving 305 N. Connor Irving, TX 75061 972.721.3579 smasterson@cityofirving.org Victoria Medley Court Administrator Amarillo PO Box 1366 Amarillo, TX 79105-1366 806.378.9342 victoria.medley@amarillo.gov Ned Minevitz Program Attorney & TxDOT Grant Administrator TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX 78756 512.320.8274 ned@tmcec.com Marian Moseley Presiding Judge Coppell 130 Town Center Blvd Coppell, TX 75019-2127 972.304.3651 mmoseley@coppelltx.gov Tammy Odom Court Administrator Texas City 1004 9th Ave N Texas City, TX 77590 409.643.5800 x2801 todom@texas-city-tx.org Robin Ramsay Presiding Judge City of Denton 601 E. Hickory, Suite D Denton, TX 76205 940.349.8139 raramsay@cityofdenton.com Ryan Kellus Turner General Counsel and Director of Education TMCEC 2210 Hancock Drive Austin, TX 78756 512.320.8274 rturner@tmcec.com
2210 Hancock Drive, Austin, Texas 78756 512.320.8274 800.252.3718 fax 512.435.6118 FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES MICHAEL ACUNA Michael Acuña received his J.D. from the University of Houston Law Center and was admitted to the Bar in 1993. He started his legal career at the City of Houston in 1993 as a municipal court prosecutor. In April 1997, Judge Acuña moved to the Land Use Division where he litigated nuisance abatement and sexually oriented business cases in state and federal courts. In November 1999, he was hired by the City of Dallas where it created the position of Assistant Chief Prosecutor for him. He served in that capacity until August 2004 when he was first appointed a full-time municipal judge. Since then, Judge Acuña has presided over various dockets including traffic, penal code, animal control, bond forfeitures, environmental pollution, urban rehabilitation and 8-liner dockets. Judge Acuña represents the City of Dallas on the Dallas County Bail Bond Board. Judge Acuña has been the region III representative on TMCEC/TMCA board of directors since June the Fall 2013. He also serves as cochair for the board s Education and Budget and Finance Committees. He has been a regular speaker for TMCEC and other entities on many subjects since 1994 including municipal court complaints, bail bond forfeitures, pretrial hearings, court interpreters, cross-examination, Chapter 54 and 125 cases, attorney general opinions, sexting, bullying and online impersonation. JAN BLACKLOCK MATTHEWS Jan Blacklock Matthews currently serves as municipal judge for the City of Wilson (appointed 2011). Previously, she served as a municipal judge for the city of Lubbock (elected 1994 and 1998, appointed 1998-2011). She also serves as an Assistant City Attorney/Prosecutor for the cities of Idalou and Petersburg. Matthews is an attorney and trained mediator. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Sul Ross State University in Alpine, Texas (1981) and her Juris Doctorate from Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock (1987). ROBBY CHAPMAN Robby Chapman is Director of Clerk Education and Program Attorney for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. In this role, he plans, develops, and manages nine Regional Clerks Seminars, two 32 hour New Clerks Seminars, and the annual Court Administrator s Conference. Mr. Chapman has been on the faculty for TMCEC since 2013 and has presented to municipal judges, prosecutors, and clerks throughout the state. Mr. Chapman previously served as an Assistant District Attorney for Nueces County, Assistant City Attorney for the City of Cedar Park, and a criminal defense attorney. While a prosecutor, Mr. Chapman received the Merit Certification in Municipal Court Prosecution from the Texas City Attorneys Association. He has handled criminal cases ranging from class c misdemeanors to felonies. Mr. Chapman has a Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary s University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in History from The University of Texas at Austin. HILDA CUTHBERTSON Hilda Castillo Cuthbertson graduated from Sul Ross State University located in Alpine, Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry in 1976. Ms. Cuthbertson taught
Science in Texas public schools for five years at three different school districts: Pecos, Yates High School in Houston, and Dublin, Texas. Ms. Cuthbertson went to work for the City of Bryan in March of 1983 in the City Secretary s office and was later promoted to Court Administrator July 1985. She served as Court Administrator in Bryan until March 31, 2014, and continues to work in the court as a licensed court interpreter. Ms. Cuthbertson has been very active in this profession as a leader in the field of court administration particularly involved with the Texas Court Clerks Association since l985. As a City of Bryan employee she has been awarded the Division Employee of the Year award in 1989 and 1994 and the Employee of the Year award in 1994. Ms. Cuthbertson is now a consultant with the Law Firm of Alan Borjorquez, Inc. offering cities assistance with audits, validations, and training. She was elected Vice President in 1989 through 1992 and was elected President of the Texas Court Clerks Association in 1992 through 1994. She was the TML affiliate representative from 1994-1996. She has also been very involved with the Gulf Coast Chapter since 1985 and held the position of President twice, 1990-1992 and again 1996-1998. TCCA has awarded her the Distinguished Service Award in 1995 and the TCCA Extraordinary Achievement Award in 1996 and 2004. In 1997, she was awarded the Award of Excellence. She was named the Clerk of the Year by the Texas Municipal Courts Association for the year 1997-1998. TCCA awarded her the Board of Directors Award at the 2013 annual conference. She has been a faculty member for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since 1991 teaching various subjects. She is a member of Texas Municipal Courts Association and is currently serving as Secretary of the board. She is currently a member of the TCCA Education Committee. She is currently a Level II certified court clerk and is also a certified study session facilitator for Level I and Level II. She is a State of Texas Licensed Court Interpreter in Spanish. She is currently working on her Level III certification. She also holds a Certified Court Manager certification through the Institute of Court Management. Ms. Cuthbertson is very active within her community, as well. She has been a presenter, English and Spanish, for the Bryan Police Department Citizens Police Academy. She is a volunteer at the Dispute Resolution Center as a bilingual certified mediator for family law and other types of mediation. She is a Past President of the local Habitat for Humanity Affiliate Board of Directors and has been a volunteer the last eight years. She is Bryan Rotary Club member. Ms. Cuthbertson is a 2013 Fellow, having graduated in May of 2013 from the Institute of Court Management at the National Center for State Courts. DIANNA FAULKENBERRY Dianna Faulkenberry began her career with the Texas court system in the Weatherford Municipal Court in 2002. In Weatherford, she attained her Level I and II Certification, which helped her as the Court Administrator for the City of Mansfield, where she accomplished her Level III Court Clerk Certification in 2007. Ms. Faulkenberry continues to strive to increase her knowledge in Municipal Government and is currently working on her TMRS certification and degree in Adminstrative Management.
Ms. Faulkenberry has been honored by TCCA with the Distinguished Service Award and recently in 2012 with the Extraordinary Achievement Award. Dianna now serves as the Court Administrator for the City of Cleburne. Dianna has enjoyed serving on the TMCEC faculty since 2008 and feels blessed to be a part of the staff. MARK GOODNER Mark Goodner serves as the Presiding Judge for the City of Woodcreek and is the Deputy Counsel and Director of Judicial Education for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Prior to joining the Center, he worked in civil litigation in Austin. Mr. Goodner graduated from the University of Texas School of Law with a juris doctorate and certification in the Graduate Portfolio Program in Dispute Resolution in May of 2007. While in law school, he worked in the mediation clinic, was a finalist in the Thad T. Hutcheson Moot Court Competition, and served on the executive board of Assault & Flattery. LISA HOWARD Lisa Howard has been in the municipal court for over 14 years and has attained Level 3 certification. She currently serves her city on the Customer Service Advisory Team, Blue Print Leadership, Deferred Compensation Committee, and leadership council. Lisa also serves the TCCA board as a member of the education committee. She previously served as a Director at Large for the Texas Court Clerks Association and Vice President of the North Texas Chapter. Mrs. Howard was formerly a teacher and absolutely loved to learn while having fun! She loves learning so much that she is currently back in school finishing up her degree! She loves people, swimming and learning new things. Continuing education and the certification program are always at the forefront of her agenda when working with other clerks. LEAH HUFF Ms. Huff began her 15 year career with the Fort Worth/Dallas based, municipal law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla and Elam, L.L.P. as a paralegal, and promoted to Law Office Administrator. In 2006, she joined the City of Southlake as the Municipal Court Administrator for five years, with major accomplishments including the development of a high-level technological court process with her team through implementation of paper-light, audio/visual court recording, online / kiosk payments and warrant interface with remote dispatch center, while building a quality team through the World Famous Seattle FISH! Program. Tyler Technologies offered her the opportunity to assist other courts through implementation of the paper-light and legal court processes across nine states, and soon afterwards a precious granddaughter was born (The Princess). Ms. Huff achieved her Texas Court Clerk's Certification, Level I certification in 2007, Level II certification in 2008 and began her Level III certification (CMCC) assessment clinic in 2009. Currently, she is pursuing completion of her Certified Court Manager s certificate with the National Center for State Courts Institute for Court Management. Additionally, she graduated from Strategic Government Resources Fourth Dimension Leadership Model Academy in 2009 and from nationwide trainer Coach Rick Kolster's Leadership Academy in 2007, as well as numerous paralegal and law office administrative certification and CLE courses. During her career, Ms. Huff has been active in the Texas Court Clerk s Association, North Texas Court Clerk's Association, and the Texas Municipal Courts Association serving in a variety of positions ranging from Director at Large to Conference Committee Chair & Committee Member, as well as on the Education Committee. Ms. Huff is a certified instructor for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since 2007 and has continued to serve as faculty for the Court Clerk's School, New Judges and Clerks
Boot Camp, and Court Administrators. Additionally, she has been active as an instructor for a variety of leadership and management courses across the United States, sharing her passion for court and the law, and has been an active trainer for software and imaging instruction with Tyler Technologies and Laserfiche. Ms. Huff is an approved instructor for the Clerk Certification Program for continuing education hours provided by the TCCA chapters and regularly facilitates training opportunities across the State of Texas to share court and technology knowledge, as well as build court "share communities" to encourage court clerks to support each other in the municipal court profession. Soon after the Princess was born, Ms. Huff joined the Business Development Team at Municipal Services Bureau d/b/a Gila, L.L.C., fulfilling her passion for court and the law by training on court procedures, technological processes and facilitating court collection and cash handling best practices with Municipal Court clients, cities, counties & state agencies across 38 states. CASEY KENNEDY Mr. Kennedy joined OCA as the Director of Information Services in 2010. His team provides direct IT support for the Texas Supreme Court, Court of Criminal Appeals, the 14 intermediate appellate courts, and several judicial branch state agencies. Mr. Kennedy is also the lead OCA staff for the Judicial Committee on Information Technology or JCIT. The committee is appointed by the Supreme Court and makes recommendations and sets standards for court technology in Texas. Mr. Kennedy is currently on the executive board of the Court Information Technology Officer Consortium, a national organization of Court IT professionals and last year placed 1 st in the court technology geek-off competition. He holds a BA in Computer Science from The University of Texas at Austin C. VICTOR LANDER C. Victor Lander was born in Georgia and attended elementary school in New York City, elementary school in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Intermediate and High School in Fairfax County (Alexandria), Virginia. After graduating in 1971 from Groveton High School in Alexandria, Virginia, he was awarded a 4-year full tuition academic scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts with Honors in 1975. He then attended the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas, where he received his Doctorate of Jurisprudence in 1978, and was licensed to practice law by the State of Texas in 1979. He continued his legal education by being certified as a Family Law Mediator in 2008. He took a position in 1978 with the United States Federal Communications Commission in Washington, DC, where he served as an attorney for 8 years, and then started a private law practice with his father in Dallas, Texas in 1986. The law firm of Lander and Associates, P. C. handled employment discrimination and labor law cases, as well as many other matters, for over 10 years. In late 1991, Judge Lander was appointed by the Dallas City Council as an Associate (part-time) Judge of the Municipal Court of the City of Dallas, sitting as Judge in the absence of the full time Judges, and was reappointed by the City Council as Associate Judge twice, in 1992 and 1994. In May 1996 Judge Lander was appointed to his first 2-year term as a full time Judge with the City of Dallas Municipal Court, and was reappointed by the Dallas City Council as Presiding Judge of Court Number 7 five times. In August 2008, Judge Lander was appointed Administrative Judge of the City of Dallas Municipal Courts, the Chief Judge of the City of Dallas Municipal Court system, as well as Presiding Judge of Dallas
Municipal Court Number 9, and served in that capacity for 4 years. In August 2012, Judge Lander was reappointed as a full time Municipal Judge, Judge of Municipal Court Number 5, was reappointed in May 2014, and was assigned to the position of Judge of Municipal Court No. 6 in September 2014, the position he now holds. Judge Lander s responsibilities over the course of his tenure in the Dallas Municipal Court have included presiding over jury and non-jury criminal trials in traffic, criminal Class C misdemeanor, and criminal ordinance violation cases; criminal Junk Motor Vehicle cases; civil housing demolition cases; civil 8-liner gambling machine cases; civil magistrate hearings in pawn shop cases; civil appeals from parking adjudication cases, bus stop-arm camera cases, and red light camera violations; duties as a Magistrate of the 5 counties into which the City of Dallas extends; arraignment (as Magistrate) of juveniles charged with serious felony crimes in any of those 5 counties; duties as Magistrate Judge for Defendants under arrest and in jail on City of Dallas warrants; and the issuance (as Magistrate) of arrest and search warrants for law enforcement personnel from those 5 counties and over 30 Texas cities for every possible criminal activity, felony and misdemeanor, up to and including Capital Murder. As Administrative Judge for 4 years, his responsibilities included developing policies and procedures for the day-to-day operation of the Municipal Courts in the City of Dallas; handling 12 Municipal Judges and 18 Associate Municipal Judges; supervising the Court s staff, including Bailiffs and other Court personnel; and the responsibility of managing the Judiciary s budget of some $3,500,000.00 annually. Judge Lander is a long time member of the faculty of the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center; a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College of Reno, Nevada; a former Adjunct Professor at both Paul Quinn College in Dallas, Texas and ITT Technical Institute in Arlington, Texas; a member of the J. L. Turner Legal Association; a member of the Dallas Bar Association; and a member or former member of many other legal organizations. He has received several awards over the years, including the Dallas Police Department s Certificate of Merit in September of 1999 (the highest award given to a civilian by the Dallas Police Department), the 2000 Outstanding Jurist Award from the J. L. Turner Legal Association, the 2003 Judge of the Year Award from the Texas Municipal Courts Association, the 2006 Outstanding Judge Award from the Municipal Judges Section of the State Bar of Texas, and the 2008 Man of Valor Award from the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, among other honors. Judge Lander is a 13 year member of the Friendship-West Baptist Church, where he serves on the Safety Ministry and other Ministries, and he proudly makes his home in the South Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas. SHELI MASTERSON Sheli Masterson is employed with the City of Irving Municipal Court. She has been with the Court for over 20 years. Ms. Masterson is currently the Court Services Coordinator and oversees the Customer Service Department. Over the past ten years, she has been given the opportunity to conduct in-house training and loves being involved in this capacity. Ms. Masterson has achieved Level 1 Certification, believes the certification program to be extremely important, and loves to help others attain the goal of certification. VICTORIA MEDLEY Victoria Jaramillo Medley is currently the Court Administrator for the City of Amarillo. Ms. Medley received a Bachelor of Science degree and a Masters in Public Administration from Northern Arizona University. Ms. Medley has been in her current position as the Court Administrator since 2002. Prior to becoming the Court Administrator for the City of Amarillo, Ms. Medley worked for Bernalillo County Juvenile Probation in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Randall County Juvenile Probation in Amarillo, Texas. She was an officer specializing in serious offenders. Ms. Medley was originally hired
by the City of Amarillo in 1990 to serve as the first Teen Court Coordinator for the City of Amarillo and was responsible for designing and implementing one of the first Teen Court Programs in Texas. Ms. Medley has completed Level 2 of the Clerk Certification program and is a Certified Court Manager through the Institute of Court Management. NED MINEVITZ Ned Minevitz, a Massachusetts native, has served as TxDOT Grant Administrator and Program Attorney at the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center since November, 2013. Mr. Minevitz also serves as General Counsel for EverThin, LLC, a startup company based in Massachusetts. He received his B.A. from Connecticut College in New London, CT where he majored in East Asian Studies. Spending extensive time in China after college, Mr. Minevitz is proficient in Mandarin Chinese. In 2013, Mr. Minevitz earned his J.D. from the Sandra Day O Connor College of Law in Tempe, AZ. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, golf, squash, and foreign film. MARIAN MOSELEY Judge Moseley has been the presiding judge for Coppell since 1990. Judge Moseley was a chief felony prosecutor with the Dallas County District Attorney. She practiced civil and criminal law attorney in Midland and family law in Dallas. Judge Moseley received her degree in 1974 and her J.D. in 1976, from the University of Texas. Judge Moseley grew up near Wichita Falls, Texas. She has been married for 31 years to Jim Moseley. Her husband and daughter are attorneys practicing in Dallas. Her son, Jim P. has a financial planning practice in Dallas. TAMMY ODOM Tammy Odom is the Court Administrator for the City of Texas City. Tammy has been working in the Municipal Courts since 2000. She is currently a member of the Texas Municipal Courts Association, Immediate Past President of the Texas Court Clerks Association and Past-President of the TCCA - Gulf Coast Chapter. She has been the recipient of the Texas Court Clerks Association s Distinguished Service Award (2005), Extraordinary Achievement Award (2006) and the Excellence Award (2007). She was also named Clerk of the Year in 2007 by the TCCA Gulf Coast Chapter. In 2002, Ms. Odom earned her Certified Court Clerk Level II. ROBIN RAMSAY Robin Ramsay is currently a licensed attorney and the Presiding Municipal Judge for the City of Denton. Judge Ramsay received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas and his law degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. Prior to becoming a judge, Judge Ramsay served as Students Attorney for the University of North Texas and as an Adjunct Professor of Business Law. After leaving the University of North Texas and prior to his current appointment, Judge Ramsay practiced law with the Hammerle Law Firm with offices in Lewisville and Denton. Judge Ramsay has received his accreditation for the American Academy of Attorney Mediators and currently acts as a Mediator for both pre-litigation and litigated matters by assignment of court and at the request of the parties or their attorneys. Judge Ramsay also serves as alternate Mental Health Magistrate for Denton County at the assignment of the Denton County Probate Court.
Judge Ramsay is a past-president of the Texas Municipal Courts Association and currently serves as the 2 nd Vice President. RYAN KELLUS TURNER Ryan Kellus Turner is General Counsel and Director of Education for the Texas Municipal Courts Education Center. Prior to joining the Center in 1999, he served as Briefing Attorney for Judge Sharon Keller at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Mr. Turner obtained his juris doctorate from Southern Methodist University School of Law. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Psychology with highest honors from St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas, where he now teaches as an adjunct faculty member in the School of Behavioral and Social Sciences. In 2004 and 2013 he was the recipient of the School s Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award and a finalist for the University Adjunct Teaching Excellence Award in 2014. Mr. Turner is currently Deputy City Attorney for the City of Dripping Springs and has served as a Special Assistant County Attorney for Kendall County. In 2011, he was an advisory member on the Texas Judicial Council s Juvenile Justice Committee. In 2012, Mr. Turner was named Co-Chair of the Texas Judicial Council Legislative Subcommittee on Juvenile Justice. A native Texan, Mr. Turner was raised in the north Texas town of Vernon. He is the co-author of the books Lone Star Justice: A Comprehensive Overview of the Texas Criminal Justice System and The Municipal Judges Book.