The Potter County Commissioners Court has unanimously approved a resolution in support of Texas Senate Bill 496, a measure that would expand the jurisdiction of the Potter County Court at Law #2, allowing it to handle certain felony matters. The move is aimed at alleviating case backlogs in district courts and reducing overcrowding in the county jail.
Currently, Court at Law #2 only handles misdemeanor cases, while felony cases are the responsibility of district courts. If SB 496 is passed in the Texas Senate, the court would be authorized to conduct felony arraignments, hold pretrial hearings, and accept pleas in uncontested cases starting September 1. This shift would help district court judges focus on more complex felony trials.
Addressing a Growing Backlog
Assistant County Attorney Jackson Latimer emphasized the benefits of expanding the court’s jurisdiction, noting that district courts are currently overwhelmed with an increasing caseload.
“Another court will be able to take certain matters off of those dockets for the district court and actually alleviate some of the backlog that district court judges are experiencing,” Latimer explained.
The backlog has led to delays in case resolutions, prolonged pretrial detentions, and an overcrowded jail population. Commissioner Precinct Three John Coffee expressed concern over the number of inmates being held in the county jail who have already been convicted and are simply waiting to be transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ).
Jail Overcrowding and Delayed Transfers
According to Coffee, last Thursday’s jail roster showed 84 inmates were “paper ready,” meaning their legal processing was complete and they were awaiting pickup by the state prison system. He pointed out that the backlog in district courts has contributed to jail overcrowding, as some defendants are held longer than necessary while awaiting plea agreements or hearings.
“We have talked about adding on to this jail, building a jail. We’ve talked about all kinds of things that are going to be very expensive for our citizens,” Coffee said. “The people that are paper ready … they are state prisoners or should be state prisoners, and we’re holding these people.”
Potter County Sheriff Brian Thomas clarified that once an inmate is paper ready, the TDCJ has 45 days to pick them up. He stated that while TDCJ makes weekly transports, there is no fixed number of inmates they can take at one time, as it depends on availability and scheduling across multiple counties.
Expedited Plea Agreements Could Reduce Jail Population
By allowing the County Court at Law #2 to accept felony pleas in uncontested cases, officials believe the measure could speed up the legal process and ease jail overcrowding. Complex and violent crime trials, such as murder cases, can occupy district court schedules for weeks at a time, delaying hearings for other cases.
Sheriff Thomas believes expanding jurisdiction would be beneficial.
“So those that are ready to plea, if they can accept those pleas in the County Court at Law, heck yeah. We can get them plead … it’d help us for sure,” he said.
Unanimous Support for SB 496
The Commissioners Court unanimously approved the resolution supporting SB 496. Coffee made the motion to pass the resolution, and Commissioner Precinct Four Warren Coble, Sr. seconded it.
The bill, authored by Sen. Kevin Sparks, has been referred to the Senate Jurisprudence Committee. A companion bill, House Bill 2360, was introduced by Rep. Caroline Fairly.
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