DALLAS – A Dallas County Commissioner is questioning how effective county judges have been in handling their cases.
A lack of data on felony court dispositions is also holding up more than a million in grant money.
What we know:
During a Commissioner’s Court meeting on Tuesday, Commissioner John Wiley Price announced that he’s filed a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Standards because he believes some felony court judges aren’t doing all that they can to clear cases.
He also asked for the same monthly disposition data for criminal justice cases that commissioners receive for misdemeanor cases.
What they’re saying:
“This ain’t about picking on the judges. This is about whether or not people are performing,” he said. “Dallas County judges have become increasingly ineffective, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars due to slow case clearance, repeat case passing, poorly structured, or even completely empty daily docket, and shifting accountability.”
Price pointed to the midnight jail population on Tuesday – 7,032. He called it a challenge because the jail is now at about 94% capacity.
Dig deeper:
Assistant County Administrator Charles Reid told Price that the county has been struggling with data conversion to a new software system.
That system was put in place about two years ago, which is roughly the same time the data on felony court dispositions stopped.
Because the disposition of cases goes in a report to the state, and because Dallas County hasn’t provided that information in at least two years, the state is holding up the release of $1.5 million in grants.
“It’s my understanding that there’s a commitment from the district clerk’s office to have that effort finished by Nov. 1 of this year, so that we could then make the required report,” Reid said. “As soon as we make those reports, they should release the funds.”
What’s next:
Price wants the state to get the information that he’s been unable to get. He also wants to see which judges are and aren’t performing.
“We’ve got some good judges in Dallas County, but dagumit, I’m not going to sit idly by and watch those judges be tainted with these others,” he said.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Tuesday’s Dallas County Commissioner’s Court meeting.
Dallas County Commissioners CourtDallas CountyCrime and Public Safety