Local prosecutors and defense lawyers point to heavy workloads as a key factor driving the most pressing criminal justice challenges in Houston's Harris County, including a much-maligned jail, backlogged courts, and community safety, Houston Landing reports. In 2019, after an outcry from local prosecutors, the Harris County Commissioner’s Court contracted with PFM, a private consulting group, to analyze workloads at the District Attorney’s Office. “The current caseload and workload of each ... prosecutor are unsustainable,” the consultants wrote. “This yields a negative effect on staff retention and morale and impedes the ability to achieve the county’s justice and safety goals.” Yet District Attorney Kim Ogg and the Commissioner’s Court continue to wrestle over how to alleviate the burden on prosecutors. Ogg maintains that the commissioners need to increase funding dramaically for her agency, allowing her to hire more prosecutors. The commissioners have argued Ogg should operate her office more efficiently before receiving significantly more money. PFM’s consultants found Ogg’s office “must make operational improvements and add staff.” At various times, most commissioners have pushed back against Ogg’s appeals for additional prosecutors, arguing her administration’s management of finances and operations must improve.
The deluge of cases can mean justice is delayed, and even denied, in Harris County. Local lawyers said excessive prosecutor workloads are contributing to lengthy delays in resolving cases, negatively affecting defendants and crime victims. The PFM consultants found about half of Harris County misdemeanor and felony cases take more than a year to resolve. Standards developed by the National Center for State Courts say 98% of felony cases should be resolved within a year, while 98% of misdemeanor cases should be disposed of within six months. For some defendants, a drawn-out criminal case can mean more time in Harris County’s jail, which, according to Texas Commission on Jail Standards regulators, is understaffed. Defense lawyers and criminal justice advocates also are concerned that overwhelmed prosecutors are not giving enough attention to cases. The PFM consultants calculated that prosecutors spend an average of 6.6 hours working on each felony and 1.9 hours on a misdemeanor. In turn, defense lawyers worry that prosecutors could be missing important elements of a criminal case, potentially leading to stiffer or unjust punishments for defendants. Prosecutors told the consultants that heavy caseloads and long hours, issues exacerbated by the pandemic, which slowed down the justice system, ranked among their top burdens.
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