2016-07-27T10:04:17-07:00 2015-12-31 Dunagan Jack LLP 3724 Jefferson Street Suite 307 Austin TX 78731 990 2015-01-01 383740913 Texas Fair Defense Project TEXA 5126375220 314 E Highland Mall Blvd Austin TX 78752 Rebecca Bernhardt Exec Director 2016-07-27 true Gary Joseph Jack P00184408 5124208997 X 2015 2017-02-10 21:41:12Z X Rebecca Bernhardt 314 E Highland Mall Blvd 108 Austin TX 78752 307654 false false X fairdefense.org X 2006 TX Texas Fair Defense Projects mission is to improve the fairness of Texass criminal courts and to ensure that all Texans have access to justice. 6 6 5 8 0 133585 306759 16667 0 16 25 870 150268 307654 0 0 163459 170029 0 12884 41741 55184 205200 225213 -54932 82441 107969 190410 0 107969 190410 Texas Fair Defense Projects mission is to improve the fairness of Texass criminal courts and to ensure that all Texans have access to justice. The Project focuses on improving the public defense system and challenging policies that create modern-day debtors prisons filled with poor people who cannot afford to pay commercial bond fees and post-conviction fines and costs. false false 194310 We fight to make sure that people who are accused of criminal offenses arent stripped of their rights just because they dont have enough money to defend themselves, and that people who are convicted of crimes dont leave the criminal justice system with so much debt that they are unable to successfully reenter society and support themselves and their families.The following cases were in litigation in 2015:Valerie Gonzales et al. vs. City of Austin, Civil Action No. 1:15-cv-00956-SS: TFDP filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Valerie Gonzales, Maria Salazar and all those similarly situated individuals at risk of being jailed by the City of Austin for inability to pay their fines and fees arising out of fine-only offenses before the Austin Municipal Court. Plaintiffs alleged that the City of Austin has a policy and practice of jailing people unable to pay their fines and fees from traffic offenses and other Class C misdemeanors for as long as 45 days. The case was pending at the end of 2015.In Re Ashley Willis, C1-CR-15-100048: This was a habeas petition filed on behalf of an indigent single mother, Ashley Willis, in the Travis County Court at Law. Ms. Willis had been committed to jail for over 20 days by the Austin Municipal Court because she could not pay fines and court costs stemming from class C tickets, in violation of federal and state law. After filing the petition, TFDP secured Ms. Willis's release by negotiating with the city prosecutors and a city judge.Salinas v. State, 464 S.W.3d 363 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015): TFDP wrote an amicus brief in this criminal case in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The defendant in the case alleged that the consolidated court cost, which is assessed in all criminal cases in Texas, was an unconstitutional tax because it does not go to fund the criminal court system. The intermediate court found that he had failed to show that the statute was invalid, in part because he did not establish what the money from the consolidated court cost actually funds. TFDP's brief tracked the money and found that much of the money went to fund government activities unrelated to the courts and in many cases unrelated to the criminal justice system as a whole.Ex Parte Torres, PD 0679-14: TFDP, with co-counsel filed an amicus brief on behalf of Manuel Torres in the first Texas case addressing the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel post-Padilla where defense counsel failed to inform a non-citizen defendant that pleading guilty would almost certainly result in dire immigration consequences. 194310 true true false true false false false false false false true false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false false true 2 0 true 5 true false false false false false false false false 0 false false false false false false false false false false X 6 6 false false false false false false false true false false false true true false true true false true false false X Rebecca Bernhardt 5126375220 314 E Highland Mall Blvd 108 Austin TX 78752 Raman Gill President 0.30 0.00 X X 0 0 0 David Lein Treasurer 0.30 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Lisa Tsai Secretary 0.20 0.00 X X 0 0 0 Erich Fritz Director 0.30 0.00 X 0 0 0 Andrea Marsh Director 0.50 0.00 X 0 0 0 Vikram Swaruup Director 0.50 0.00 X 0 0 0 Laurie Fitzgerald Director 0.20 0.00 X 0 0 0 Jeremy Wright Director 0.20 0.00 X 0 0 0 Rebecca Bernhardt Exec Director 40.00 0.00 X 60000 0 2298 60000 2298 0 false false false 0 5121 301638 306759 0 25 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other revenues 870 870 870 307654 895 0 0 0 0 62298 43610 9344 9344 0 93009 93009 0 2792 2792 11930 10522 704 704 0 0 4850 4850 0 0 0 0 0 12601 11341 630 630 0 0 19007 17107 950 950 5903 5903 0 0 0 0 563 507 28 28 0 Miscellaneous 5170 4652 259 259 Professional development 3436 2400 1036 Litigation expenses 2467 2467 Bank & online donation fees 613 218 395 574 574 225213 194310 18019 12884 61400 120662 45745 66170 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12638 10354 824 2284 0 0 0 0 1294 107969 190410 0 0 X 107969 190410 107969 190410 107969 190410 82441 X false false false X 338914 76750 209770 133585 306759 1065778 0 0 338914 76750 209770 133585 306759 1065778 269959 795819 434 182 39 16 25 696 0 870 870 1067344 36667 0.74560 0.76170 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED false false 28207 28207 197006 225213 45043 11261 false 44948 47153 41040 45043 178184 267276 463 4450 386 28207 33506 11237 11788 10260 11261 44546 66819 8492 6208 2284 4146 4146 2284 Form 990, Part VI, Line 11b: Form 990 Review Process The Project's CPA prepares a draft of the return. The Executive Director reviews the draft and then provides an electronic copy to the Board before it is filed. Form 990, Part VI, Line 12c: Explanation of Monitoring and Enforcement of Conflicts From Article IX of the Project's Conflict of Interest Policy:To ensure the Corporation operates in a manner consistent with charitable purposes and does not engage in activities that could jeopardize its tax-exempt status, periodic reviews shall be conducted. The periodic reviews shall, at a minimum, include the following subjects:(1) whether compensation arrangements and benefits are reasonable, based oncompetent survey information and the result of arm's length bargaining; and(2) whether partnerships, joint ventures, and arrangements with managementorganizations conform to the Corporation's written policies, are properly recorded, reflect reasonable investment or payments for goods and services, further charitable purposes and do not result in inurement, impermissible private benefit or in an excess benefit transaction. Form 990, Part VI, Line 15a: Compensation Review & Approval Process - CEO, Top Management The Executive Director's compensation is determined by the Board, based on competent survey information. Form 990, Part VI, Line 19: Other Organization Documents Publicly Available Certain other documents are available upon request.