RON RANGEL JUDGE, 379" JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT. CADENA-REEVES JUSTICE CENTER 300 DOLOROSA, SUITE 4.129 SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78205 Phone: (210) 338-2911 October 26, 2023 Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai Bexar County Courthouse 101 W. Nueva San Antonio, Texas 78205 RE: Bexar County Criminal Justice System Analysis Dear Judge Sakai, You asked for feedback regarding public safety concerns within both Bexar County and the City of San Antonio's eriminal justice system. To that end, I've discussed these matters with representatives of various stakeholders. includi the Judiciary. District Attorney's Office, law enforcement ager |. the San Antonio Criminal Defense Bar, Pre-Trial Services. the District Clerk's Office, and concerned citizens and community activists. As such, I've compiled the following recommendations for consideration and further discussion, At the outset, | want 10 emphasize that this issue has been mischaracterized by some as a “bail issue". [t is not. Bail amounts set for violent offenses have remained stable over the past 5 to 7 years. Further, Bexar County Magistrates have been. setting average bail amounts for homicide charges at double the amount listed on prior bail schedules. Recent statutory provisions further restrict the circumstances in which individuals may be released. particularly when they are charged with a violent crime. Ww. the highly publicized police officer shootings last month triggering these current ongoing discussions were not perpetrated by “repeat violent offenders released on bail.” As with all challenges within the criminal justice system, there is no single solution to these violent episodes. | recommend a holistic approach, analyzing every stage within the criminal justice process. and the functions of every partner within that system. The following points have been narrowed down to a list format. trates (both County and City ‘+ All law enforcement agencies should transport arrested persons directly to the Justice Page 1 of 6Intake Assessment Annex (JIAA). Arrestees initially taken to city judges duplication in processing fall law enforcement agencies were to bring arrestees to JIAA the time it takes for an individual arrested in Bexar County to move through the booking process and be evaluated saving an additional 6 hours of time, Experienced prosecutors at the JIAA intake facility would be better equipped to minimize the need for corrections in charging documents, Investments in additional training for prosecutors involved in the initial intake process would serve to further educate them on surrounding issues. Leveraging the remote magistration sy pandemie, Would allow experienced prosecutors to appear at magistration hearings remotely uses & Bonds In April 2022, the Texas Office of Court Administration launched the Public Safety Report System (PSRS). a statewide database, This system must be reviewed by a judge prior to assessing bail. PSRS aids magistrates in determining bond amounts based on an offender's criminal history. The PSRS initiative is a result of the SB 6 jail reform bill. now a part of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which curtails magistrates’ discretion in granting personal izance (PR) bonds to violent offenders and restricts certain offenders from being released on bail Bexar County magistrates have fully embraced the requirement imposed on all magistrates setting bail. ‘The PSRS system itself is a powerful tool but it is only as good as the data that is captured. Clerks need to continue to be diligent in entering data to avoid errors. The Office of Court Administration has announced the first round of enhancements by API which are due to be implemented early next year and will help to reduce data errors. Standardized risk assessment tools in the bond-setting process need to be re-evaluated to determine whether the perceived inherent biases still persist or if it is possible to expand these assessment tools in the bond process. District Attorney Retention of experienced prosecutors continues to be an issue for the DA's Otfice. leading to mounting pre-indictment caseloads. The DA has temporarily reassigned prosecutors from the trial division to focus on reviewing files for indictment. This strategic move has resulted in a notable inerease in nber of indictments filed in recent weeks This shift in resources will eventually lead to staffing challenges for trials at the court level. potentially delaying proceedings. The DA has also restructured the intake process. assigning cases to prosecutors based on the nature of the offense rather than the court. Additionally. the focus remains on indicting felony jail cases to prevent the release of felony offenders for lack of an ment Page 2 of 6The impact of technology on case evaluation has exponentially inereased the use of digital evidence since 2014 Changes in the discovery rules resulting from the Michael Morton Act, have resulted in an unprecedented inundation of digital data which places a significant burden on prosecutors, leaving them with minimal time for effective pre-trial preparation ‘The DA's office has made etforts to recruit more prosecutors, offering commitment letters to prospective attorneys pending licensing and has improved minimum salaries. The DA could consider establishing a triage team to focus on recruitment and enhancement of the intern program, Justice Intake and Assessment Annex The lack of processing individuals by proxy or in absentia is costing more time to release defendants when release is warranted and pulls detention officers away trom the ADC the case of injury of an arrested person requiring medical treatment at a local hospital The paper driven process currently utilized to book arrestees creates ongoing issues stich as physical documents being lost. The implementation of Tyler Odyssey should streamline paper processes. Adult Detention Center The current issue in the Adult Detention Center (ADC) is not jail overerowding but a detention personnel issue. Efforts to recruit needed detention personnel should continue to avoid the overtime conditions for current detention officers. Difficulty in recruitment persists in Bexar County. as well as other major Texas counties. Processes developed to reduce the number of individuals erroneously released from the ADC. increase the time to release an individual from custody. and do not appear to reduce erroneous releases significantly. The arrival of transferees to JIAA in groups of 12-20 individuals adds si workload of County employees at JAA, causing a cascade of problems for JIAA intake. Confusion of original paperwork upon arrival from the City Processing Facility continues to be problematic An influx of arrestees in groups prevents Public Defenders from thoroughly accessing and reviewing financial data of those arrestees to be able to effectively and efficiently make informed assessments on bonds for those individuals they are representin: There are costs associated with the housing and transportation of those arrestees to JIA. that would be better utilized in other parts of the system, for instance mental health initiatives or improving the JIAA facility so that it is deemed more fit for direct transport. dudiciary The judiciary’ has made progress in reducing the backlog of pending caseloads, achieving levels lower than those observed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Page 3 of 6© With the help of County funding, the County Courts at Law have successfully reduced the backlog of family violence cases and other cases. © Felony courts must sustain lower caseloads while recognizing that the DA's office is allocating additional resources to address pending cases awaiting indietment + The resources previously dedicated to reducing backlogs of family violence cases can be reallocated to the District Courts as the number of indietments starts to rise. + Funding for the Felony Mental Health Pre-Trial Diversion Court initiative needs to be dedicated to reduce recidivism, the court is currently at risk of losing all funding and support + The courts need to maintain the commitment to prioritizing jail cases and eases that have been pending for over a year. * Courts need to continue to refine and adhere to Impact Court Guidelines, to ensure the court is targeting appropriate cases. * Communication between the judiciary and the assigned DA’s is fundamental to comprehending the specific challenges faced by prosecutors. + The Judiciary continue to focus on competency cases and has incentivized clinicians to conduct evaluations at the ADC to fill a gap created which is causing delays. © The courts will implement a thorough review process for requests for competency evaluations to assess whether threshold requirements have been met. © Courts will disseminate best practices to clinicians contracted by the County who conduct competency evaluations of individuals accused of a crime. which can ultimately reduce delays in competency evaluations. + Pre-trial Services can reduce unwarranted requests for Personal Recognizance Bonds which will assist the courts in focusing only on those individuals that are eligible and ensure efficiency in the process. Serutinizing those cases eligible for PR Bonds prior to submission to the courts will prevent potential ethical pitfalls for the judiciary + Private vendors monitoring GPS devices are not 24/7 operations. As a result, any violations occurring on weekends or after hours will not be reported until the next business day. This delay prevents the timely notification of GPS violations to vietims and PTS officers. Bexar County Crime Lab + Delays in obtaining reports trom the Crime Lab prevent both prosecutors and defense attomeys from evaluating low-level drug cases for possible early resolution, + Personnel demands need to be met to ensure efficient turnaround testing times to reduce, rather than lengthen, the time it takes to get lab results which will align with the increasing demands of law enforcement ~Out-of-county warrant cases are by law afforded just 10 days to establish probable cause for arrests. Unfortunately. due to the current turnaround times for laboratory reports requirement often goes unmet, resulting in release to individuals facing these warrants. Page 4 of 6Accomplishments * Reopening Lines of Communication: The collaborative efforts of SAPD. the Court system, and the DA's office to reestablish communication channels, including the appointment of dedicated points of contact within their respective leadership teams will be instrumental in highlighting cases that need additional scrutiny. This step has greatly improved coordination and cooperation among these key stakeholders, + Enhanced Police Reporting: SAPD's commitment to include relevant information on police reports for consideration by magistrates when assessing bond or bond conditions. ‘This proactive approach ensures that key details are readily available during the decision- making process. © Digital Evidence Solutions: The DA's Office initiative to tackle the challenges related to digital evidence by seeking funding from the County for Evidence.com, a system already in use by SAPD and BCSO. This request is strongly endorsed by the judiciary and promises to streamline the handling of digital evidence. ‘© Restructuring Intake and Indictment Focus: The DA's decision to restructure its Intake Department and prioritize the indictment of arrest cases to prevent delay’ leading to unnecessary releases. This strategy helps maintain publie safety and improves case management. + Recruiting Young Attorneys: The proactive measures taken by the DA's Office to attract young prospective attorneys by extending commitment letters pending bar results. This effort ensures a fresh influs of legal talent to contribute to the improvement of the criminal justice system. * Improved Civil Warrants Process: The constables’ concerted efforts to enhance the civil warrants process by fostering effective communication with clerks responsible for handling warrants. The development of a standard operating procedure to be shared among all constables further streamlines the execution of civil warrants. ‘© Acquisition of the Technical Training and Assistance grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance by the Judiciary to evaluate the Sixth Amendment processes in the County will evaluate best practices and provide insight as to how the County can ensure the protection of the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel for all its citizens. © Grant award from Office of Court Administration ARPA funds to support the Impact Courts with 3 staff positions and the subsequent application for a supplemental award for additional prosecutors to complete the court team. * Securing grant funding for the Managed Assigned Counsel program will continue to improve the quality of indigent defense services in the County. This will be especially true as Tyler Odyssey is implemented on the criminal side so the MAC can more efficiently support panel attorneys. These collaborative and innovative efforts show the commitment of our criminal justice partners to enhance our system. promote efficiency. and ensure the security of our entire community In conclusion, it is important to recognize that the challenges within the criminal justice system are not solely the fault of one component: rather. the challenges stem from a complex interplay of factors. To foster meaningful change. it is imperative that we prioritize enhanced communication among law enforcement stakeholders and strike a more equitable balance Page 5 of 6between rehabilitation and reform and the principles of punishment and retribution. To that end, | call on the Commissioners to continue to support the efforts of all etiminal justice partners when presented to the Court. By expediting the acquisition of the necessary platforms for the DA to effectively manage digital data, reallocating resources like Impact Courts, and continuing to review County salaries to ensure recruitment efforts by stakeholders are competitive with other jurisdictions, the Commissioners will see overall improvements in the system. The criminal justice system is inherently multifaceted, comprised of numerous interconnected elements. The issues highlighted in this letter serve as reminders of the areas ‘where improvement is both possible and necessary. Addressing these concems is crucial for restoring and maintaining public confidence in the system, Change within the intricate realm of the criminal justice system may not manifest instantly, but with a steadfast commitment, ant improvements will emerge. Moreover, itis vital for law enforcement officials to present a united front and refra from public disputes and blame, as such conduct only further erodes the publie's trust in the ystem. By working collaboratively and collectively, we ean strive for a criminal justice system that ensures justice. fairness. and accountability for al. Sigeerely. ML Ron Rangel Page 6 of 6