The Williamson County Justice of the Peace Precinct 3 (JP3) office is known for having some of the best civil servants in the county. Now, they have been recognized as having some of the best in the entire State of Texas.

JP3 recently was recognized during the Texas Justices of the Peace and Constables Association’s (JPCA) annual awards, which recognizes offices and individuals across the state for exceptional performance and outstanding representation of the court. The JPCA winners were selected from nominations submitted from 254 counties across Texas.

JP3 Judge Evelyn McLean and her staff were honored with the Best Practices of the Year Award for their development of a Financial Literacy Program, which provides Williamson County individuals who receive driving citations for no driver’s license or no insurance with the option to enroll in a free financial education class in lieu of paying fines.

According to Judge McLean, the program has been so successful because it serves to educate and help offenders, instead of simply punishing them. 

“I am grateful this team is being recognized for their outstanding efforts,” said Judge McLean. “When we developed this program, we did not move forward with the goal of winning awards, we did it with the goal of improving the lives of Williamson County residents. And I’m proud to say that so far, it’s working.”

In addition, Crystal Kaderka, JP3 court administrator, was recognized as the Texas Clerk of the Year.

Kaderka was recognized for her efforts in establishing a curbside payment service for defendants during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, in addition to creating and managing an online scheduling system for appointments  which enabled her team to maintain the highest case rate in Williamson County.