Texas Defender Service

“The bylaws were amended to provide for terms for board members.”

“The Director of Finance and Administration reviews the 990 after it has been prepared by outside accountants; the Executive Director then sends it to the board of directors for comment prior to filing with the IRS. The board of directors has no less than 30 days to review the 990 prior to filing and during that period is invited to submit questions and comments regarding the 990 to the Chairperson of the board.”

“The officers and directors of TDS are required to report any conflicts of interest throughout the year. Any conflicts reported are discussed by the governing body which decides how to handle the conflict of interest.”

“The salary of the Executive Director is determined by the board of directors. Data regarding the salaries of other similarly sized non-profits is used to compare compensation. Comparison data was last used in 2012, but the Executive Director's salary has not changed other than by cost of living adjustments, since 2011.”

“The Executive Director sets the salaries of other employees in consultation with the board of directors. Salaries are set based on an existing internal salary scale which is compared to the salary scale of Federal Public Defenders in a similar position of responsibility and in the case of non-legal positions, to other similarly sized non-profits. Comparison data with other non-profits was last consulted in 2012.”

“All governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are available upon request.”

“The Lethal Injection Project was created in 2014 to research, monitor, and litigate issues concerning the use of lethal injection in Texas.”

“The Prosecutorial Accountability Project became an independent entity in 2014 and therefore is no longer conducted by TDS. Additionally, the StandDown Texas Project ended during 2014.”

“OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: The Prosecutorial Accountability Project (PAP) supports a climate of accountability for prosecutors. Through education and advocacy, PAP promotes better understanding and utilization of the appropriate regulatory authorities in cases where misconduct occurs. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 5: The StandDown Texas Project maintains a website that is constantly updated to allow interested parties to be aware of the most current issues in indigent defense and capital punishment issues and maintains several different listserves to communicate with general audiences and highly issue-specific groups, including mental health criminal justice groups. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 6: The Atlantic Center for Capital Representation (ACCR) is a regional death penalty representation project based in Philadelphia. OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 7: The Capital Communications Project implements public education strategies to help increase success in capital litigation. The project develops and provides information to the public and interested stakeholders about the facts of these cases.”