The Brazos County Public Defender’s Office reported continued expansion of its services June 23 at Commissioners Court, highlighting new specialized divisions while the department continues to deal with staffing shortages.
Chief Public Defender Nathan Wood updated commissioners on the office’s juvenile and mental health defense divisions, both of which were recently created with funding support from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission.
The office is now handling hundreds of active cases while working to fill multiple attorney vacancies.
The overview
According to Wood, the Public Defender’s Office currently has 612 active clients. Over the current quarter, the office accepted 192 new cases and resolved 215 cases. These numbers exclude juvenile and mental health divisions.
The office also reported it is now handling about half of new juvenile appointments through its newly created juvenile division.
A separate mental health division is providing representation to defendants with severe mental illness, including those detained without consistent access to medication or treatment.
Growing challenges
Despite the expansion of services, the office reported four attorney vacancies out of 10 total attorney positions.
Wood told commissioners that recruitment and retention remain ongoing challenges, particularly in competing with private law firms and other government agencies across Texas.
He emphasized the office has not been fully staffed since the new divisions were created and asked commissioners to take that into consideration as the county has recently completed its employee compensation and benefits study.
What else?
Wood described the Public Defender’s Office’s approach as “holistic defense,” connecting clients with more than 100 community services for housing, mental health care, substance use treatment and other support services.
He said the goal is to address underlying issues that contribute to repeat cases with the criminal justice system, not just courtroom representation.
Also on the agenda
- Juvenile Services update: Linda Ricketson, director of the department, reported 81 juvenile intakes in May, including four from outside of the county, and noted 148 currently under field supervision. She also reported $82,000 in revenue from housing out-of-county juveniles over a three-month period.
- Pre-audit results: Ricketson reported passing a compliance audit with strong results, exceeding standards in nine of 34 categories reviewed.
- County AI policy adoption: Commissioners approved a new countywide artificial intelligence policy, allowing county departments to use the technology with rules and expectations. The policy aims to ensure human oversight remains in place for decision-making and data handling, among other functions.
- Forensic lab technician: A salary was approved for a lab technician at the new medical examiner’s office. The technician will be hired at the rate of $28.26 per hour. The position was approved at the court’s June 9 meeting.
Get involved
Commissioners Court will meet again at 10 a.m. July 7 at the Brazos County Administration Building.
