TCJE in the News

Why a Dallas County Jail inmate who was quarantined, not freed, says ‘they do everything backwards’

In April, as the coronavirus pandemic was beginning to swell across North Texas, Harry Jacobs was booked into the Dallas County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Jacobs, 22, was offered probation and scheduled to leave jail June 19 to formally accept his plea deal in a courtroom. But he didn’t make it home until 13 days later, the result of administrative breakdowns regarding his quarantine status that have the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and the judge in the case pointing fingers about who’s to blame.

Read the rest of this article from the Dallas...

Why Some San Antonio Students Want An End To School Policing

When Marsha Madrigal was in middle school, she thought it was normal to see her classmates in handcuffs. But she knows now that not all schools have a significant police presence, and the odds of seeing your classmates arrested go up if you are Black, like she is.

Read the rest of this article from Texas Public Radio.

Juvenile Detentions Fall During COVID-19, Especially for Minorities

Arrests that land young people in the Texas juvenile-justice system have dropped since the coronavirus pandemic began, mirroring a national trend, according to a new analysis by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Alycia Castillo is a youth-justice policy analyst for the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition and said the closure of schools because of COVID-19 is likely responsible, because many kids are arrested for classroom violations.

Read the rest of this article from Public News Service.

Remembering Reginald Moore, the Activist Who Uncovered Sugar Land’s Dark Past

When I first met him in 2016, Reginald Moore was deeply frustrated. The retired longshoreman had spent much of the previous two decades trying—without much success—to bring attention to the brutal convict leasing system that flourished in Fort Bend County in the second half of the nineteenth century.

Read the rest of this article from Texas Monthly.

Counting on state’s funding promise, San Antonio ISD approves budget

San Antonio Independent School District trustees Monday approved a $636 million budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, counting on a promise from the state education commissioner that funding rules released Tuesday would keep the district whole and assuming flat enrollment based on registration rates.

Read the rest of this article from the San Antonio Express-News. 

San Antonio ISD says ‘No’ to call for the elimination of district’s police department

Study Shows Elected Judges Appoint Lawyers Who Donated to Their Campaigns

A recent study shows that when appointing attorneys to represent indigent clients, elected judges in Harris County (Houston) were far more likely to choose lawyers who had donated to their campaigns. In these “pay to play” cases, the study further found that defendants were more likely to end up in prison or jail, and received longer sentences on average.

Read the rest of this press release here.

Austin school board OKs $1.65 billion budget amid calls to divert district police funds

The Austin school board early Tuesday morning approved a $1.65 million budget, which dips heavily into district reserves to cover a $47.6 million shortfall. The 2020-21 budget sets aside spending $33 million in coronavirus-related expenses, including technology for remote learning, training materials and personal protective equipment.

Read the rest of this article from the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.

Groups Call For Austin ISD To Shift Money From Policing In Schools To Building Community

As the school board finalizes its FY2021 budget, racial justice advocates are calling on the Austin Independent School District to move money away from policing. The Austin Justice Coalition and other groups are asking the board to divest from what they consider "excessive funding" for school police departments – that includes not filling vacancies or increasing the number of school resource officers.

Read the rest of this article from KUT.

State prisons remain a hot spot for COVID-19 in Texas

Prisons and jails have returned the highest coronavirus case positivity rate in the state of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott said at a news conference this week. The number of positive prison cases has increased by 568% since May 1.

Read the rest of this article from KVUE.