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Slow bureaucracy boosting Harris jail crowding; bill would institutionalize delays

A bill by Rep. Debbie Riddle  that's up tomorrow in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee would extend the stay of misdemeanor defendants booked into the county jail from a maximum of 24 to 36 hours until they receive a probable cause hearing. According to the fiscal note, "Harris County reported that the county has difficulty meeting the 24-hour probable cause hearing deadline in some cases, generally due to the computers of law enforcement agencies being down or a large volume of traffic through the county systems which slows the necessary preparation of paperwork. Therefore, the bill is anticipated to save the county some time and effort for the extension to 36 hours. In addition, the Harris County District Clerk, District Attorney, and other impacted offices would likely experience a cost savings by a reduced number of extension requests that would otherwise have to be prepared and recorded...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on March 14, 2011 (boomark / email).