From the Texas Tribune: With a stalled court system, some Texas jails are dangerously overcrowded in the pandemic

An example of federalism.

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The pandemic has stalled much of the Texas criminal justice system. State prisons stopped accepting new inmates for several months last year, and most counties have not held a single criminal jury trial since last March. But while many defendants are stuck in a county lockup waiting for a repeatedly delayed court date, crime still occurs and police continue to make arrests. The result: Numerous county jails are running out of room.

"There are quite a few counties that are having to contend with population issues," said Brandon Wood, executive director of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. “All along we knew that the speed at which the courts were operating would eventually create another issue, and it’s starting to have that impact.” As the coronavirus continues to kill thousands across the state, overcrowding in Texas jails has spurred alarm in several counties. A lack of space has prevented some jail officials from safely distancing inmates — most of whom have not been convicted of a crime — or quarantining new arrivals who may have been exposed to the virus.

Mentioned in the article: 

- criminal justice
- counties.
- Texas Commission on Jail Standards
- Texas jails
- Hidalgo County
- Harris County
- sheriff
- judges
- prosecutors
- defense attorneys
- Dallas County Commissioner
- bond reduction hearings
- federal court ruling 
- low level crimes
- defendants
- district attorney
- public safety
- civil rights
- grand juries
- indictment
- arrests
- jury trials