pjc-family-2024-lib

PREFACE Texas Pattern Jury Charges , volume 5, was begun and completed in less than two years. In August 1987, then President Joe H. Nagy (1987–88), responding to a request from the immediate past chairman of the Council of the Family Law Section, Harry L. Tindall, appointed a committee to prepare this first edition of a family law pattern jury charge book. The Committee’s work on this publication was finished during the tenure of President James B. Sales (1988–89), who had reappointed the Committee intact to ensure the stability and continuity vital to a committee responsible for a publication. With only a couple of exceptions, the Committee met monthly from October 1987 through March 1989. The meetings almost invariably began early Friday afternoon and adjourned early to mid-Saturday afternoon (with time out for dinner, during which “dis cussions” continued unabated). We vigorously discussed the contents of this volume, augmenting these discussions with individual research in an effort to achieve the ambi tious goal of producing a PJC volume in record time. In this we were successful, thanks in great part to the fact that a clear trail had been blazed for us by our predecessor vol umes of PJCs, especially the second edition of volume 1. The staff of the State Bar was uniformly helpful and cooperative in every respect. But this project could never have been completed, to say nothing of the expeditious manner by which we proceeded, without the dedication of Susannah R. Mills, the project legal editor and the Director of Books and Systems for the State Bar of Texas. A special note of thanks is also due to Charles G. Childress, Assistant Attorney Gen eral, for his extraordinary efforts on our behalf, which enabled us to complete the instructions and questions relating to the complex subject of paternity suits and legiti macy. Similar thanks for their input go to the members of the Family Law Council, chaired throughout by Larry H. Schwartz of El Paso, and especially to David N. Gray of Houston, who served as the liaison to the Committee from the Council. Further, several members of the Committee participated in a wide range of CLE activities, in part to solicit suggestions from bench and bar. These were forthcoming in considerable number and proved to be very useful in completing our task. Finally, I personally want to thank all the members of the Committee for giving me a great, free-of-charge, education.

—John J. Sampson, Chairman

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