WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TX — Judge Stacey Mathews of the 277th District Court has been appointed by the Texas Supreme Court and Court of Criminal Appeals to the newly formed Judicial Council on Mental Health Legislative Research Committee, officials said.

Mathews currently serves as a Commissioner on the Judicial Commission on Mental Health. The Judicial Commission on Mental Health was created by the Supreme Court of Texas and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Feb. 13, 2018, to develop, implement, and coordinate policy initiatives designed to improve the courts interaction with, and the administration of justice for, children, adults, and families with mental health needs.

The Legislative Research Committee was created to study the organization and practices of the Texas Judicial Branch related to behavioral and mental health needs.

“Mental health and related issues are addressed too often by default as a court or law enforcement responsibility,” Mathews said in a prepared statement. “I am extremely honored to have been appointed to this committee.”

Texas; the US Supreme Court prefers the terminology ‘intellectual disability’ (and we concur)

“We conclude that the appeals court’s opinion, when taken as a whole and when read in the light both of our prior opinion and the trial court record, rests upon analysis too much of which too closely resembles what we previously found improper. And extricating that analysis from the opinion leaves too little that might warrant reaching a different conclusion than did the trial court. We consequently agree with Moore and the prosecutor that, on the basis of the trial court record, Moore has shown he is a person with intellectual disability.”

Moore v. Texas, 139 S. Ct. 666, 672 (2019)

Bio of Judge Stacey Mathews (Republican)

Stacey Mathews has been the judge of the 277th District Court since 2013. She was an English and Social Studies teacher for eight years, as well as an adjunct professor for the University of St. Thomas. Next, Stacey decided to return to the classroom as a student to pursue a law degree at the University of Houston Law Center, in part because of her ongoing desire to help children.

While in law school, she interned in the Child Abuse Division of the District Attorney’s Office and served as an ad litem attorney for abused and neglected children. After graduation, Stacey was awarded a two-year fellowship dedicated to the representation of children with special needs in both the school and juvenile justice systems. She then served as an Assistant District Attorney in Harris County.

#TelltheTruth #Texas https://t.co/1SS6k6lkN8 pic.twitter.com/RKZuzFnOnn

— LawsInTexas (@lawsintexasusa) May 22, 2020