Harris County to fund public defender's office

Harris County commissioners voted 5-0 to create a hybrid public defender's office in Harris County. Of course the devil of such a proposal is in the details and there is no consensus on how the office would operate and whether the county's various courts would have to participate in a public defender system.

Currently in Harris County indigent defendants are represented by private attorneys. Some courts used a rotating list of eligible attorneys while others employ contract attorneys. Harris County's indigent defense system has been criticized in the past for the number of felony cases assigned to particular attorneys. (See "Crowded House.")

• 11 of the 22 state district courts would use a public defender office for appellate work;
• 5 of the 22 state district courts would use the office for adult felony cases;
• 2 of the 3 juvenile courts want to use both public defenders and private attorneys; and
• all 15 county courts want to use public defenders for defendants who are disabled or who have mental problems.

Commissioner Steve Radack said he was supporting the office in order to take care of overcrowding in the Harris County Jail. Hmmm. Let's think about that for a second. In Harris County (with rare exception) the only defendants who are eligible for appointed counsel are those who are unable to bond themselves out of jail. Offers on Class B misdemeanors range (typically) from time served to 30 days. I fail to see how a public defender's office would alleviate jail overcrowding given that scenario.

And this isn't even factoring in the ridiculous offers of 30 days on DWI cases or the escalating sentences in prostitution cases. The way to reduce overcrowding in the Harris County Jail isn't to create a new bureaucracy -- the answer is to rethink how we handle those accused of committing minor offenses. The police can issue more personal bonds on minor drug possession cases (so-called "catch and release"). Magistrates could take into consideration a defendant's ability to post bond when setting bond by the county's bail schedule.

Instead the county wants to create a new office funded and beholden to those in office to defend those who can't afford to retain their own counsel. Just wait until budgets and staffing are cut in the name of budget constraint and political pressure.

Harrowing tales of conditions in the Harris County Jail

Randall Patterson of The Houston Press penned an article in the current issue on the conditions inside the Harris County Jail. Mr. Patterson interviewed people as they were released from the facility and asked them to describe what it was like on the inside. The accounts of former inmates casts, shall we say, a different light on the facility than the assurances of Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Attorney Vince Ryan.

Here's a taste of what Mr. Patterson discovered:

As for meals, "that whole food thing is hit or miss," said Shemika. "When they did feed you, it was a bologna sandwich — and I'm Muslim." Frank George Smith Jr. said he was there three and a half days and got just two sandwiches. No one was given anything to drink. There was only the fountain, which was suspended just above the toilet. The toilet was "like a fucking rain forest," Jarret said, "fungus and mold in there like this thick." People were lying on the floor around it; someone was always sitting on it. Jarret managed not to use the toilet for two and a half days — "man, you just take the stomach pains," he said — but he had to drink. "You practically got to put your face in shit to drink," he said. And Smith said, "you see that tan truck there? The water looked about like that."

What's even more appalling is that these folks were supposed to be presumed innocent when they were brought to the county jail. If this is how the Harris County Sheriff's Office treats people who haven't been convicted of anything - how much worse is the treatment of those who have been convicted?

Crowded house

Harris County officials seem to have finally seen the writing on the wall regarding jail overcrowding. With the inmate population of the Harris County Jail expected to rise to 12,600 this spring, the Sheriff, Adrian Garcia, the District Attorney, Pat Lykos, and the eight new criminal district judges are looking at ways to alleviate the situation.  Chief among the suggestions are the issuing of personal bonds for nonviolent offenders and the creation of a mental health court.

The Harris County Jail has been certified by the state to house up to 9,435 inmates but is currently housing close to 11,000 thanks to the state's authorization of 1,840 "variance beds." There are also nearly 1,000 Harris County inmates being housed in Louisiana.

As my colleague, Mark Bennett, stated, holding minor drug offenders in custody only encourages them to plead to cases before any investigation has been conducted on their behalf. He is correct in acknowledging that it is easier to defend a case when the citizen accused is able to function in a (somewhat) normal manner during the pendency of the case.

According to the Eighth Amendment "[e]xcessive bail shall not be required..."  The purpose of bail is to guarantee appearance in court -- not to punish.  If a citizen cannot afford to post bail, that is, by definition, excessive bail.  Continuing to hold that citizen deprives him of his right to confront witnesses and present evidence to the court, which, in turn, makes the presumption of innocence a cruel joke.

PR Bonds

Rumors are swirling about that inmates in the Harris County Jail will soon be receiving 3-for-1 credit on their time served.

Harris County continues to send inmates whose sentences were reduced under 12.44(a) to Louisiana because the downtown complex is overcrowded.

Everyday a line of defendants wearing HCJ jumpsuits enter pleas en masse.

The common link? Too many citizens are being jailed for simple drug possession offenses. The solution may be as simple as allowing law enforcement officers to issue citations for Class B drug possession cases -- the citation would tell the defendant where and when to appear (much like a traffic citation). Should the defendant fail to appear, a warrant would be issued for their arrest.

In addition, the issuance of PR bonds would enable citizens accused to fight their cases. We all know that it's easier to wage war against the Harris County DA's office when you're on the outside rather than locked up.

Fat chance it'll happen, though, as the HCDA is opposed to any reform that would make them work harder for a conviction.