SAN ANTONIO - A new magistration system is coming to Bexar County to help justice reform inside the jail.
- Decision follows death of mentally ill inmate
- Defendants to appear before San Antonio magistrate
- New system takes effect May 1
Members of the Texas Organizing Project Tuesday circled outside the Bexar County Courthouse calling for justice.
"Today was accomplished that we would go with the City of San Antonio, that they would take over all magistration on May 1. They've already been doing two-thirds of the cases, this would be one-third more that they will be doing," said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.
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This decision is happening less than a week after the death of inmate Jack Michael Ule, who was homeless and arrested for trespassing. He had mental health issues and authorities say it appears he died from health complications as he waited for his hearing.
His bond was set at $500 but he couldn't afford the $50 to be released.
"Being poor should not be cause for keeping someone in jail, would you agree with that." -- Laquita Garcia with the Texas Organizing Project.
"We've got twice as many homeless people in jail today than we did four years ago because they've got a mental problem, because they can't afford to pay the bond. That's what a justice system is? No, it's not, and that's what we're trying to change and it takes a hard fight to be able to do that," Wolff said.
Now, anyone who is arrested will go before a City of San Antonio magistrate instead of having two sets of judges. This is expected to save taxpayers about $200,000 a year.
The new system is expected to be more fair because the judges are independent and will allow a full discussion to happen first.
"That's not fair to put somebody in the jail simply because they don't have the money to pay the bond. It's not fair what our judges did. It is fair what the city judges are beginning to do by allowing a good public hearing before the magistration level is set," said Wolff.
The county's magistrate judges were only budgeted through April. The new system goes into effect May 1 through January 1, 2020.
“This collaborative effort between the city and the county will improve our local criminal justice system and will eliminate redundancies and create a smoother process for all who process through the court system,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg wrote in a statement.
City judges are appointed by City Council and are reviewed every two years. The agreement also creates a cost sharing model in which the County will pay the City to process bail hearings.
Councilwoman and City Council Public Safety Committee Chairwoman Ana Sandoval released the following statement:
“Coordination and collaboration between the City and the County is critical in this area and many others so that we provide the best value to our taxpayers and the best service to our community. I am proud to see us work together to streamline bail hearings for our community."
By the terms of the agreement, the City of San Antonio will provide magistrate services 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Bexar County will provide video services and equipment for city magistrates to conduct the work remotely.
The San Antonio City Council will consider the agreement at its regularly scheduled meeting on May 2, 2019.