Texas Federal Court Denies Motion to Order County to Release Felony Defendants

Good news for public safety in Harris County.  The United Stated District Court for the Southern District of Texas denied multiple requests to order the county to release inmates.  Just a little over a week ago, Harris County was preparing to release approximately one half of the people in the county jail because of concerns about COVID-19.  To give "cover" to the local elected officials, the plaintiffs in a dormant suit filed multiple requests for preliminary injunctions asking a federal judge in Houston to order the county to release defendants.  The county never even filed a response opposing the motion.  

The Governor showed his displease by issuing a bail executive order GA-13 that attempted to strike a balance between release and public safety.  Additionally, the plaintiffs filed a motion to intervene in the case.  The Attorney General and the Governor alleged that since no elected official in Harris County would defend the law, they should be allowed to intervene and do so.  They were allowed to intervene.

The Governor and the Attorney General were the only groups willing to stand up to the plaintiffs and the other social justice warriors in Harris County.  But for their actions, it is clear that the county would have been ordered to release these defendants.

With the only opposition from the Governor and the Attorney General, the trial court has denied the motions for preliminary injunctions.  The court's opinion reads, in part:

After careful consideration of the motions, the State intervenors’ responses, the parties’ arguments in the many teleconferences, the applicable law, the views of the interested nonparties, the sparse record, and the court’s limited authority, the court denies the plaintiffs’ motions for temporary restraining orders. The court is not issuing any definitive ruling on the merits. That comes later, on a fuller record.

 

This is neither an easy nor good solution. It is simply the best one this court can devise from the law and the facts that constrain its authority. The good news, however, is that it reflects the commendable, though still halting, progress made by the parties and interested nonparties in safely reducing the Harris County Jail population during this dangerous time.

Congratulations to the Governor and the Attorney General.

To see a copy of the court's Memorandum Opinon CLICK HERE.