ustxtxb_obs_1977_02_25_50_00022-00000_000.pdf

Political Intelligence Ai . 41, ;MI There is a state law requiring cycle rid ers to wear crash helmets, and it is not universally popular. Rep. John Hoestenbach strike the helmet law from the books, and ear lier this month his proposal got a hearing. Do zens of Texas motorcyclists who do not like the helmet requirement one bit rendezvoused at the capitol in support of Hoestenbach’s bill, and it is reported they made their presence felt. .Hans Pe ter Otto the present five criminal appeals judges, the two commissioners of the court of criminal appeals, and two members to be appointed during a transition period by the governor. Ultimately, all would run for election. bill up in the Senate jurisprudence committee earlier this month, basing his opposition on the two interim appointments: “I just don’t like appointed judges,” Mauzy said. But the Senate would get to okay them, argued the bill’s proponents. “The Legislature won’t even be in session,” Mauzy shot back. Back to subcommittee for revision went the bill. The Federal Trade Commission has ordered credit bureaus to stop placing a wife’s credit history automatically in her husband’s file \(Obs., Feb. Equal Credit Opportunity Act and takes effect June 1. Wait and see Harry Hubbard, president of the Texas AFL-CIO, won’t say who his organization will support for gover nor in 1978, should the race be between Dolph Briscoe and Atty. Gen. John Hill. “We’ll just play the ball game until the ninth inning is over,” Hubbard said. “And when the score is tallied up, we’ll go with the winner.” Hubbard said the 1978 convention of COPE, labor’s political arm, will make the final determination. Rep. Frank Collazo Jr. \(D-Port Ar set a ceiling price on Texas natural gas. Industry officials have testified that the current high prices being charged Texas might look good tomorrow, saying that $5 gas is not out of the question for the near future. Dr. Jack Hopper, an independent economist and energy consultant who works out of Austin, calculates that such an increase would cost Texas customers an extra $10 billion a year. The state court of civil appeals in Waco has ruled that an 11-year-old girl cannot “knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily” waive her privilege against self-incrimination, as has been alTexas Family Code. Effectively, the court ruled that provision of state law unconstitutional. The case involved an 11-year-old girl who had been picked up by police and held from midnight to 9:00 a.m. without being allowed to see a family member or a lawyer. During that night, a written confession was obtained from her; it was then introduced at her trial, where she was judged delinquent. The case was brought,by , ,the TeIt .4.041 Liberties Union. There are more than 400,000 lawyers in the United States. Another 35,000 Americans will complete law degrees this year. The Texas Bar lists 28,000 licensed attorneys, but says that only about 25,000 work regularly in the state. There shouldn’t be a lawyer shortage anytime soon. Between 1,500 and 2,000 Texans will hang up shingles this year, says Alta Moore, secretary of the State Board of Examiners. According to Moore, the Bar licensed 1,709 new lawyers in 1975, the latest year for which final figures have been computed. Moore says the number of Texans passing the Bar exam has doubled in ten years. In 1967, 920 persons were admitted to the Bar. By 1974, the number admitted had reached 1,826. The state’s eight law schools–Baylor, Southern Methodist University, South Texas, St. Mary’s, University of Texas, Thurgood Marshall, Texas Tech, and the University of Houstonrecorded an en rollment of some 6,500 students last fall. Moore says that about 90 percent of those taking degrees this year can expect to pass the Bar exam on the first try. A candidate for the Bar may take the exam as many as three times in a year, she says, but must wait a year before a fourth attempt. Should the prospective lawyer fail a fourth time, he or she must wait still another year for a fifth try. Lawyers still hold a tight grip on the legislative branches of state and national government. In the U.S. Congress, 284 of the 535 seats are held Appointed judges Legislation to expand the state court of criminal appeals from five to nine members is moving through the Legislature. The bill, backed by Atty. Gen. John Hill and most of the state’s judiciary, would fill the nine seats with