Spring Break by the Cline

For spring break I volunteered to go with a group of law students from Texas Tech to work with an organization that serves the indigent people around the Abilene area.  The organization is called Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, and I count the week as time well spent.  I got to appear in court for the first time, I got to meet several judges in Taylor, Tom Green, and Runnels County, and I also got to collect more information about the happenings of the Cline Shale.

Pictured above is Judge Eddie Howard.  He's a justice of the peace (an elected position for which no legal training is required) in the city of San Angelo located in Tom Green County which sits on the edge of the Cline.  With a population of just under 100,000, San Angelo is one of three major hub cities that service the Cline (Midland and Abilene are the other two)  Our group found Judge Howard in the basement of the courthouse presiding over a small wedding in his modest 30' X 30' courtroom.  He graciously took the time to answer some of our general questions about his office and the legal profession in general.  

My ears perked up when Judge Howard started to talk about the effect of the nearby oil exploration on the types of claims that recently entered his court.  He said he had seen a big rise in landlord/tenant claims because landlords noticed that the market price of their units went up significantly almost overnight, and to get these higher prices for their units they sought to evict their current tenants that might be in or near default.  In Texas and in most states, however, the tenant can't just be discarded.  Even in cases where there is only an oral agreement the tenant is entitled to 30 days written notice before he can be forced to vacate.  Judge Howard said he has had to be vigilant in these cases to make sure that landlords have their ducks in a row before they are allowed to chase higher rents, which may be double the previous occupant's rent payments in some cases.  He also said his friends in real estate reported an average time on the market of between 1 and 7 days for a residential sale right now. Information like this makes me think the oil boom is a reality right now in San Angelo.  I can't wait to see data and hear anecdotes about the economy in San Angelo a year from now.

However, one of Judge Howard's main concerns, one everyone in West Texas shares, is the communities' need for water.  Water will be the focus of some later blog posts.

Here's an article that ran in the AJ about our spring break trip http://lubbockonline.com/crime-and-courts/courts/2013-03-19/texas-tech-law-students-provide-free-legal-services-underserved#.UUnFzI6rVUQ I'm quoted at the end of the article.

And here's a news segment on the trip that ran in the Abilene market.  Look for me loitering in the conference room in a lime green jacket. http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=578762