Court Opinion

ID: 9774735
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 18:32:11.507791+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:32:14.900075
License: Public Domain

ROBERTSON, Justice,
concurring.
I concur. The Petitioners in this cause, litigants in the Harris County court system, have alleged sufficient infringement of their right to seek redress in open court to establish standing.
A civilized people rely on an accessible system of courts to redress their injuries. Our constitutional guarantees of open courts and remedy by due course of law are rooted in the Magna Carta and represent a “basic consensus in our society about how government should act.” G. Braden, 1 The Constitution of the State of Texas: An Annotated and Comparative Analysis 51 (1977).
*325The Texas Constitution, Article I, Section 13, provides:
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel or unusual punishment inflicted. All courts shall be open, and every person for an injury done him, in his lands, goods, person or reputation, shall have remedy by due course of law.
Delay is inherent in the judicial process, and one must expect delay to be greater in a burgeoning metropolis than in a rural community. Nevertheless, at some point delay may become so prolonged as to constitute closure of the courts and deprivation of due course of law within the meaning of Section 13. The question where on the continuum between delay and absolute closure of the courts this deprivation occurs is a matter to be resolved on the merits by the courts below. In another context, we have held that procedural delay which results in irreparable injury may violate Section 13. Waites v. Sondock, 561 S.W.2d 772 (Tex.1977). I disagree with Respondents’ contentions that Petitioners’ failure to allege exactly when the doors of a specific courtroom were closed to them deprives them of standing. While the cause asserted is bold, and the remedy sought is unusual, it cannot on these grounds alone be denied judicial review. The plaintiffs have standing to assert their cause of action.