Texans for Lawsuit Reform

Through political action, legal, academic and market research, and grassroots initiatives, TLR fights for common-sense reforms that keep Texas open for business.

  • About TLR
    • Our Mission
    • Our Team
    • Timeline of Reforms
  • Videos
  • Issues
  • Resource Center
    • Special Reports
    • In the News
    • Press Releases
    • The Advocate
    • TLR Blog: For the Record
  • Get Involved
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Donate
  • Stay Informed
In the News

Nearly 300 Texas defendants were released after a computer glitch delayed hearings

NPR, April 1, 2022

HOUSTON — Nearly 300 Houston-area defendants were ordered released after a computer glitch prevented them from getting an initial court hearing within the time period required by state law, according to officials.

The computer system that is used by all law enforcement agencies in Harris County, where Houston is located, to file charges with prosecutors crashed on March 24 and was down for about a couple of days, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Under Texas law, defendants are generally not to be held for processing for more than 24 hours in misdemeanor cases and 48 hours in felony cases. The glitch prevented defendants from appearing before a magistrate judge for a probable cause hearing within these time periods.

The public defender’s office filed motions to have the defendants released because they weren’t appearing before magistrate judges within the required time period. The motions were granted. Most of the defendants released had been arrested on nonviolent charges.

In a letter to local law enforcement agencies, the district attorney’s office said that officers will need to refile charges and some individuals might need to be rearrested. It’s unclear how many cases will need to be refiled.

The Houston Chronicle reported the outage happened after a required system update and that Rick Noriega of Harris County Universal Services, the agency that handles technical issues for the county, described the outage as “minimal.”

Officials say this was the fifth time the system had crashed since August.

“The safety of the public, security of our criminal justice system and efficiency of our courts demand that the county give Universal Services the resources to fix this and ensure it never happens again,” said Dane Schiller, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office.

Follow us on Facebook

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

24 hours ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

The Dallas County DA argued a judge’s impartiality could reasonably be questioned after she lowered a defendant’s bail considerably while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors, and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings. Read and share: bit.ly/3lfQMzM ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from cases

bit.ly

Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero. A Dallas County judge who faced public scrutiny for lowering a murder suspect’s ...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 2
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 1

Comment on Facebook

Tar And Feather

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

2 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley joined the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Legal Reform’s podcast to discuss nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry and what legislators can do to ensure that excessive lawsuits don't shut down this vital industry. Listen and share: bit.ly/3wjgKJ9 #trucking #lawsuit #LegalNews #courts ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Nuclear Verdicts Create Litigation "Vortex" for Trucking Industry

bit.ly

In this episode of Cause for Action, Nathan Morris, senior vice president, legal reform advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, is joined by Lee Parsley, the general couns...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

2 days ago

Texans for Lawsuit Reform

TLR General Counsel Lee Parsley joined the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform podcast to discuss nuclear verdicts in the trucking industry and what legislators can do to ensure that excessive lawsuits don't shut down this vital industry. Listen and share: bit.ly/3wjgKJ9 ... See MoreSee Less

Link thumbnail

Nuclear Verdicts Create Litigation "Vortex" for Trucking Industry

bit.ly

In this episode of Cause for Action, Nathan Morris, senior vice president, legal reform advocacy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, is joined by Lee Parsley, the general couns...
View on Facebook
·Share

Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Linked InShare by Email

  • Likes: 0
  • Shares: 1
  • Comments: 0

Comment on Facebook


Follow us on Twitter

lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
18h 1527046564635721728

Want to make a difference in the fight against lawsuit abuse? Join the TLR team today! #stoplawsuitabuse

Get Involved

Texans for Lawsuit Reform has thousands of supporters from across Texas who are committed to a fair and balanced civil justice system.

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1527046564635721728Retweet on Twitter 1527046564635721728Like on Twitter 1527046564635721728Twitter 1527046564635721728
lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
24h 1526956133377789952

The Dallas County DA argued a judge’s impartiality could be questioned after she lowered a defendant’s bail while his defense lawyer is one of her top campaign contributors and then raised his bail after media reports about her rulings. Read & RT:

Dallas judge under scrutiny for bail rulings recuses herself from cases

Judge Chika Anyiam, of Criminal District Court 7, recused herself Monday from 10 felony cases against Julio Guerrero. A Dallas County judge who faced ...

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1526956133377789952Retweet on Twitter 15269561333777899521Like on Twitter 1526956133377789952Twitter 1526956133377789952
lawsuitreform avatarTLR@lawsuitreform·
17 May 1526684119077371904

TLR is working to make the Texas legal system fair, efficient, and accessible for all. Learn more: #tortreform

About - Texans for Lawsuit Reform

TLR's objective is to restore litigation to its traditional and appropriate role in our society. A lawsuit takes a heavy emotional and financial toll ...

bit.ly

Reply on Twitter 1526684119077371904Retweet on Twitter 1526684119077371904Like on Twitter 1526684119077371904Twitter 1526684119077371904

Texans for Lawsuit Reform
1701 Brun Street
Houston, Texas 77019

Ph. 713-963-9363
  • About TLR
  • Our Mission
  • Our Team
  • Timeline of Reforms
  • Videos
  • Issues
  • Resource Center
  • For the Record
  • Special Reports
  • In the News
  • Press Releases
  • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Get Involved
  • Invite a TLR Speaker
  • Donate
  • Stay Informed
  • Contact TLR

Copyright © 2022 · Texans for Lawsuit Reform. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 · Texans for Lawsuit Reform.
All rights reserved.
Privacy Policy