Caseload Limits
Photo: Wally Gobetz
House BILL 414 was left in subcommittee.
A caseload limit bill was filed by Rep. Collier for the second session in a row, but didn’t move at all.
Providing those accused of crimes with capable legal counsel improves the effectiveness of the entire criminal legal system. We won't stop with Harris County - we are continuing this effort to the legislative session of Texas. Authored by Texas Representative Nicole Collier, HB 414 was filed for the 2023 Texas legislative session, but left pending in the subcommittee. We’ll keep pushing for this vital and easy change. Watch our video in support of this bill.
PEOPLE’S SIXTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS ARE BEING VIOLATED IN HARRIS COUNTY EVERY DAY.
For decades, Harris County has not limited the caseloads for court-appointed attorneys, overloading attorneys with hundreds of cases, made worse by campaign contributions in a "pay for play system." The result is extremely low quality of defense - no visits, no investigation, no research, no plan, no hope. Now, we have a chance to limit the caseloads of each court-appointed attorney.
The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees you an attorney, even if you cannot afford one. But merely having a lawyer assigned to your case isn’t enough. To ensure that you aren’t railroaded by the criminal legal system, you need a skilled and compassionate lawyer - one who will meet with you and spend time on your case. A lawyer who will fight for you. It's time to limit the number of cases court-appointed attorneys receive.
Photo: Patrick Keller
The problem: System of court-appointed Attorneys
Data from 2019 shows that 81% of people charged with crimes in Texas are indigent, meaning that they’re too poor to afford an attorney, so they receive either a public defender or a court-appointed attorney. In Harris County, the public defender's office provides zealous, holistic representation, but handled only 5% of these cases. Our reporting tracked a policy push to increase that % of appointments to the PDO. See below for that series or click here.
Read Maurice’s story
In 2015, I was arrested and sat in jail awaiting trial. Since I couldn’t afford an attorney, I received a court-appointed lawyer. But I sat in jail on bond I couldn’t pay without a visit from my attorney for 12 months. That attorney had 325 other cases the year she took my case – more than double state recommendations…
Photo:: Patrick Keller
Harris County Indigent Appointment Report Series
We are partnering with Texas Criminal Justice Coalition on a monthly report series showing the rates at which Harris County district judges are assigning indigent defendants to the Public Defender’s Office (PDO), which has the capacity to receive up to 20% of all district court indigent defendants. Many judges are opting to appoint private attorneys to such cases – despite research showing that such attorneys are less effective than the PDO, and that they exceed maximum recommended caseload limits. The reports draw from Harris County’s New Indigent Defense dashboard.
Find the reports here.