The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is considering a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) that aims to improve access for certain residents to access the federal justice system.
Rep. Gonzales on Feb. 9 introduced the Improving Access to Our Courts Act, H.R. 786, which would allow federal court proceedings to be conducted in Alpine, Texas for the Western District of Texas, which is in Rep. Gonzales’ district and serves nine Texas counties.
“If you have ever been to West Texas, you know it is never easy to get from Point A to Point B,” Rep. Gonzales said. “This legislation will expand courtroom access for West Texas constituents and ensure they don’t have to travel far distances to access our judicial system. I am proud of this effort to make court proceedings more accessible.”
Currently, litigants typically sign waivers to allow for court proceedings in Alpine, Texas, so updating the law to remove this bureaucratic hurdle would streamline court proceedings by facilitating more cases to be held in the Alpine courthouse rather than in other Western District courts. There is no new cost associated with this bill, according to Rep. Gonzales’ staff.
The bipartisan H.R. 786 also would allow such proceedings to be held in Mt. Vernon, Wash., for the Western District of Washington. H.R. 786 has two Democratic cosponsors from Washington State, including U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen.
“Having Mt. Vernon as a court location for the Western District of Washington gives defendants, attorneys and witnesses in northwest Washington a better chance at appearing in court without disruption to their work, education and family lives,” said Rep. Larsen.
H.R. 786 is the companion bill to the same-named S. 227, which U.S. Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Patty Murray (D-WA) introduced on Feb. 2. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is considering this bill.