Published Sunday, July 26, 2009 12:11 AM
Backlog weighs down Brazos courts
By MATTHEW WATKINS
matthew.watkins@theeagle.com
Brazos County prosecutors and trial judges are seeking funding for new positions and possibly new offices to battle a worsening backlog in local courts.
The requests come during a tumultuous economic time, and Brazos County Judge Randy Sims said he was grappling with how to fit everything into next year's budget.
Sims and the county commissioners have held hearings over the past few weeks to learn the needs and requests of county agencies for the upcoming budget year. Sims' office will compile a preliminary budget that then must be approved by the commissioners court.
He said he probably would call again on five agency heads in hopes of trimming costs further.
On Friday, District Judges J.D. Langley and Steve Smith presented commissioners with a stark reality in regard to their caseloads. Each of the five courts housed in the Brazos County Courthouse -- the 85th, 272nd and 361st district courts and the two county courts at law -- has more than 1,400 pending cases on its docket.
The result, the judges said, is that defendants in criminal cases sometimes must wait in long lines to stand trial. If they cannot afford to post bail, they could spend years behind bars before being convicted or acquitted of a crime.
Some of that delay is caused by procedural motions and intentional efforts by defense lawyers to drag out the process, the judges acknowledged, but the cases should be moved through the legal system faster.
"Ninety-five percent of the reason [there are delays] is because I can't get to them," Smith told the commissioners.
Brazos County hasn't added a district court in more than a decade -- though a magistrate judge and juvenile court referee have been added -- and several counties with smaller populations have more courts.
The backlog comes at a time when the courts seem to be trying more cases than ever, officials said. The county has eight pending murder cases on its dockets -- likely the highest number in county history, officials said.
District Attorney Bill Turner said a lawyer in his office responsible for overseeing appeals reported as many notices of appeal at the end of June as he did in all of 2008.
"That indicates that we are doing about double the trial numbers," he said. "The courts have really stepped up the pace of trying cases this year, and we are still having difficulty reducing the backlog."
Turner said his office was reorganizing in an attempt to alleviate the problem. In the past, the office has had two prosecutors assigned to each district court. Those prosecutors would handle almost every case that passed through their courts and would be responsible for trying the cases and negotiating plea agreements.
Last year, Turner's office received funding for one entry-level prosecutor, who was assigned on a trial basis to the 272nd District Court. Next year, Turner hopes to add prosecutors to the two other courts by securing funding to hire one new lawyer and reassigning a juvenile prosecutor.
"We are hoping with one position and reorganizing the office, we can stay current and even reduce the backlog next year," Turner said.
An entry-level lawyer would earn a salary of about $62,000 plus benefits. Additional funding would be needed for office supplies.
The judges have asked the county to fund either a new magistrate court or an impact court to help get control of the docket. A magistrate judge would handle items on the judges' dockets that do not require a jury trial, including hearings on temporary orders, pleas and motions to revoke probation.
An impact court would be able to perform all the duties of a district court but would have no permanent judge. Instead, the county would use visiting judges for all cases.
The addition of a magistrate would have an estimated net cost of about $270,000. The impact court would cost about $260,000 plus the cost of a visiting judge.
Commissioners expressed concern that making such additions would be difficult this year.
"We have got several things we are looking at over here," said Commissioner Duane Peters. "We have space limits and money limits."
The county has experienced lower-than-usual growth in tax revenue this year. Interest rates have also declined.
Even if the county did add a new judge, officials would have difficulty finding work space. The Brazos County Courthouse is expected to lose space while it is remodeled this fall.
Sims indicated that helping the courts was a top priority and that he would make room for the additions in the budget.
He said the current commissioners court meeting room in the County Administration Building or an unused old justice of the peace office in the courthouse could be used to hold trials or hearings.
"We are going to look at what we want to be able to do," he said. "The district judges have wanted another magistrate for probably the last two years, and I have put it off for the cost factor. And I think now we are getting to the fact that the population is growing so much in Brazos County that we have got to handle those cases."
Comments
15 comment(s) found!
Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 9:45 PM
Comment Title: Our elected officials are relied on to prevent and/or solve problems on our behalf.
True, and attending council meetings and/or contacting your councilperson is much more effective in remedying these problems than commenting about gang bangers as did the poster before MAFY4. Voting is real good assuming there is a noticeable difference between the candidates.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 3:37 PM
Comment Title: Vote out incumbents
Go to meetings if you want to run for office so the incumbent can not say you have no idea how things are run. If you want change then you need to vote.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 9:52 AM
Comment Title: To MAFY4
Our elected officials are relied on to prevent and/or solve problems on our behalf. That is the way the system is supposed to work. If they cannot be relied on to do that, we vote them out of office. Problems of this magnitude should be addressed promptly - especially when they have been pointed out for over two years. Go to all of the meetings you want to attend. I vote. That is the only time politicians listen.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
Mark On:
Tuesday, July 28, 2009 12:56 AM
Comment Title: Three strikes law
Maybe if we had the "three strikes" law the courts wouldn't be so backed up. Just reviewing the past several weeks news, several of the offenders have 10, 15 or 20 offenses. One, two or three, I can understand.... No comments from the Casa de mojados err milagros, please.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 27, 2009 3:25 PM
Comment Title:
Time for a new DA. The CA is new. Give him some time before we Judge.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 27, 2009 2:01 PM
Comment Title: To MAFY4
Have you ever tried to attend Commissioners Court meetings. The fact is because they are held during the day if you have a regular job it's impossible. And even if they are discussing something of importance to you and you make the effort don't be surprised when the most important thing on the agenda is the at the very end. You sit their for an hour or more watching people get up an leave in disgust and then find that your item of interest is tabled to another time and you can't make it. And don't even think about attending City Council meetings with their special times that they set to discuss controversial subjects. All legal but shady.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 27, 2009 11:08 AM
Comment Title:
I agree it was time for Rick Davis to leave the bench but he did not have this backlog problem. Maybe rather than letting the judges set their dockets, an administrator (non-lawyer) should be appointed to set all dockets. The only problem is then the courts would have to work.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Monday, July 27, 2009 11:01 AM
Comment Title: Run the numbers
Our DA and both Dist. and County courts try less cases on average than others in Texas. Maybe a few people should go to work.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
MAFY4 On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 10:25 PM
Comment Title:
Well if we would have had a few more responsible citizens at the Bryan and College Station Council meetings and the County Commissioners meetings we might not be in this jam. However, it is dolts like you who prefer to do nothing but bellyache about the current situation rather than actually do something constructive are a large part of the problem.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 9:23 PM
Comment Title:
If we would have stopped on the Bryan gang bangers years ago would not be in this shape.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 12:16 PM
Comment Title: Great idea!
Using the space for the proposed gym for magistrates' courtrooms sounds like a winner to me!
Report Abuse
Posted by:
Obviously space is an issue to consider, too. On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 11:59 AM
Comment Title:
In lieu of a gym for Bryan city employees, why not rent/lease/sell that space to the county and locate the new magistrates there.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 11:37 AM
Comment Title: Astounding if Correct
"Each of the five courts housed in the Brazos County Courthouse -- the 85th, 272nd and 361st district courts and the two county courts at law -- has more than 1,400 pending cases on its docket." That does total 7,000 pending cases if stated correctly by the judges or quoted correctly by the Eagle. Just an election or so ago, all were bragging about the efficiency of the court system here in Brazos County. I have personally defended the judges and district attorney for participation in and acceptance of plea bargains following attacks on them in various articles about plea bargains ending cases and thus clearing them from the dockets. I have opined that plea bargains are the norm and make possible the swift delivery of justice to the best of our system's ability. That the number of cases intended for trial doubling is contributing to this backlog in the docket proves that point. This story is a strong message to defense attorneys that if they wish to keep their defendants out of jail or prison, go to trial. They surely already knew that. That a solution proposed by Judge Smith, Judge Langley and apparently endorsed by District Attorney Bill Turner appears to be to add another Magistrate to hear matters that do not require the presence of a jury is interesting. I would venture to guess that 95% of matters do not require the presence of a jury, if not more. Perhaps it would be more efficient to establish on trial court and let the judges rotate schedules through that court and serve other times on those mundane and not so glamorous hearings not requiring the presence of a jury. With the economy slumping, crime is probably not going to decrease. Another magistrate might well be needed as well. Obviously space is an issue to consider, too. But some creative thinking is necessary in terms of how judicial members utilize their expertise. Being a judge is no simple job. Trying cases is not simple matter. Deciding the merits of a plea bargain and whether or not to accept any plea bargain is not simple either. This problem is much more complex than the simple facts would have a reader believe after reading this article. But, I do recall how efficient things were reported to be at election time(s). I rather doubt that all of these problems have arisen since then - not a backlog of cases like this.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 11:21 AM
Comment Title: Randy Sims
Al Jones pushed the Expo Center. And pushed and pushed and pushed. Randy Sims might have had something to do with it, or nothing. He is certainly stuck with that boondoggle now.
Report Abuse
Posted by:
On:
Sunday, July 26, 2009 8:29 AM
Comment Title: Do your job!
Randy Sims needs to do his job. Instead of pushing Expo Centers, or stubbornly refusing to increase taxes for crime fighting, or failing to meet the health care needs of the indigent in the county. Lead on this, or move over and let a younger man do it!!
Report Abuse
RSS
Mobile
Daily Emails
Twitter
Facebook
