|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, The year 2017 marks the 30th anniversary of the |
|
passage of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) |
|
Procedures Act, and this milestone presents a welcome opportunity |
|
to recognize one of the bill's coauthors, the Honorable Frank |
|
Evans; and |
|
WHEREAS, In 1978, Texas Supreme Court chief justice Joe |
|
Greenhill tasked Mr. Evans, a justice on the First Court of Appeals |
|
in Houston, with finding a way to reduce congestion in the dockets |
|
of trial and appellate courts in the state; convinced that |
|
alternative dispute resolution was the best answer, Judge Evans |
|
became a leading advocate for this method of limiting the number of |
|
cases resolved through litigation, eventually earning the moniker |
|
the "Father of Texas ADR"; in 1985, he, along with The University of |
|
Texas at Austin law professor Edward F. Sherman and Texas state |
|
senator Cynthia Taylor Krier, drafted legislation to provide a |
|
comprehensive framework for ADR practice in the state, and the bill |
|
was enacted by the Texas Legislature in 1987; and |
|
WHEREAS, Over the years, Judge Evans further championed ADR |
|
by helping to create the Houston Bar Association Special Committee |
|
on ADR and the Houston Neighborhood Justice Center, persuading the |
|
Harris County District Attorney's Office to begin referring citizen |
|
complaints to mediation, establishing a juvenile justice system of |
|
peer mediation in Texas elementary and secondary schools, and |
|
serving as founding chair of the ADR Section of the State Bar of |
|
Texas; and |
|
WHEREAS, After nearly two decades as chief justice, Judge |
|
Evans retired from the court in 1990, and he went on to found and |
|
head the South Texas College of Law Center for Legal |
|
Responsibility, which has since been renamed in his honor; |
|
moreover, he was retained in an of-counsel position at the |
|
Houston-based law firm Haynes & Boone and continued to benefit the |
|
First Court of Appeals as a conference judge; today, he and his |
|
wife, Elizabeth, reside in Bastrop; and |
|
WHEREAS, Widely admired in the legal profession, Judge Frank |
|
Evans has made immeasurable contributions to the justice system in |
|
the Lone Star State, and he may take great pride in the part he |
|
played in the ratification of the Texas Alternative Dispute |
|
Resolution Procedures Act; now, therefore, be it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the 30th anniversary of the passage |
|
of the Texas Alternative Dispute Resolution Procedures Act and |
|
commend the Honorable Frank Evans for his instrumental role in |
|
promoting ADR in the Lone Star State; and, be it further |
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
prepared for Judge Evans as an expression of high regard by the |
|
Texas House of Representatives. |