To help Harris County departments more swiftly slash through court cases backlogged during the COVID-19 pandemic, commissioners unanimously voted to allocate $25 million in federal funding toward the effort on June 6.

The details

The $25 million will be allocated in fiscal year 2023-24, and the funding will come from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds.

The background

Harris County has been experiencing a backlog of court cases since courts were shut down in early 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Harris County has previously invested $39 million in reducing the court case backlog. Since January 2022, misdemeanor and felony cases in the county’s backlog have decreased by 44% and 41%, respectively, according to Harris County Commissioners Court meeting documents.

By the numbers

The funds will be used to tackle the backlog from different angles, according to a June 7 news release from Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia’s office:

• $11.2 million is being invested into disposing cases via emergency response dockets for district and county courts.
• $7.9 million will be used to aid case preparation with associate judges and support staff.
• $4.8 million has been pegged for better evidence management through technology investments and support staff.
• $1.2 million is slated for improving the case flow process and management.

Also of note

Funds will be divided among multiple county offices, including the district attorney’s office, the sheriff’s office and the Institute of Forensic Sciences. The county departments receiving the largest amount of the funds, according to meeting documents, will be:

• The district attorney’s office at $10.1 million, or 40% of funds
• The district courts at $4.6 million, or 18% of funds

Melissa Enaje contributed to this report.