Harris County Reform Work | Texas Criminal Justice Coalition

The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition (TCJC) works in Harris County (Houston) to push for a fairer justice system. Harris County jails about 8,000 people on any given day, most of whom have not been convicted. TCJC works on bail reform, alternatives to jail, and youth justice. They offer 'Know Your Rights' trainings, build community coalitions, and advocate with local and state organizations for change.

Harris County (Houston) is Texas’ largest county, as well as the state’s largest driver of people into local- and state-level incarceration. The county jail holds approximately 8,000 people on any given day, the majority of whom are legally innocent, awaiting trial; prosecutorial practices and an inadequate treatment infrastructure further push people into the justice system. Youth, too, have historically been failed by local practices, including over-policing in schools. TCJC began making strategic strides in Harris County in 2011, but we formally expanded our office to the Houston area in 2014, hiring Jay Jenkins as our Harris County Project Attorney. For over six years, Jay has worked to build coalitions and advocate for change in the local justice system, addressing issues like bail reform, alternatives to incarceration, youth justice, and more. Fighting for Community Reconciliation From 2011-2013, TCJC undertook an effort to build a working unity among Black and Immigrant communities in Houston, resulting in groups sharing stories of injustices, providing words of encouragement to each other’s communities, and standing in solidarity on pressing struggles – including at the Janitor’s Strike for a living wage, in efforts opposing privatization of the county jail, and by addressing the death toll of the Mexican Drug War during the Caravan for Peace’s stop in Houston. TCJC ultimately released a report – read more Fighting for Community Reconciliation From 2011-2013, TCJC undertook an effort to build a working unity among Black and Immigrant communities in Houston, resulting in groups sharing stories of injustices, providing words of encouragement to each other’s communities, and standing in solidarity on pressing struggles – including at the Janitor’s Strike for a living wage, in efforts opposing privatization of the county jail, and by addressing the death toll of the Mexican Drug War during the Caravan for Peace’s stop in Houston. TCJC ultimately released a report – Harris County Communities: A Call for True Collaboration – Restoring Community Trust and Improving Public Safety – and held a town hall and panel discussion to build on the recommendations. Participating in Local Coalition Advocacy TCJC helped the Texas Organizing Project (TOP) draft the policy platform for Right2Justice, including the issues of youth justice and bail reform, and we have participated or co-sponsored various symposiums. Providing “Know Your Rights” Trainings TCJC collaborated with the Harris County Public Defender’s Office to provide interactive “Know Your Rights” presentations about police encounters and justice system involvement. We have conducted dozens of presentations, including during resident meetings at public housing complexes, at churches, in schools, and with other young people. Fighting for Bail Reform & Judicial Accountability ADVOCACY WITH STATE AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: From 2015-2016, TCJC was invited to sit on a state-level advisory group to assist a standing committee of the Texas Judicial Council, which issued recommendations for Texas courts on enhancing public safety and social outcomes when making pretrial release decisions. Separately, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and John Jay College of Crim…read more Fighting for Bail Reform & Judicial Accountability ADVOCACY WITH STATE AND NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: From 2015-2016, TCJC was invited to sit on a state-level advisory group to assist a standing committee of the Texas Judicial Council, which issued recommendations for Texas courts on enhancing public safety and social outcomes when making pretrial release decisions. Separately, the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and John Jay College of Criminal Justice invited input into the development of a national pretrial research agenda that will be considered for future funding by the Foundation. TCJC submitted recommendations specific to the costs of commercial bail vs. pretrial release systems, and presumptive release on unsecured bond. Ultimately, TCJC was the only state group invited to submit recommendations from the field, alongside five national groups. WORK ON TRANSITION TEAMS: Jay advocated for bail reform on the transition teams of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, and Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, specifically around greater use of personal bonds or an amount below the bail schedule. SUPPORT FOR LITIGATION AGAINST THE COUNTY: TCJC was supportive of the federal civil lawsuit filed against Harris County in 2016 for its unjust bail schedule. We provided the Civil Rights Corps (CRC) with data and other intelligence-gathering on the ground, and, in response to an op-ed by Michael Kubosh, a Houston City Councilman and bail bondsman, TCJC co-authored an op-ed with TOP about the current bail system promoting profit over justice. The federal lawsuit, which was formally settled in late 2019, increases access to personal bonds for approximately 85% of misdemeanor defendants. Jay is now assisting the individuals selected to serve as the Federal Monitor over the settlement, specifically by serving on the Community Working Group for the Monitor Team, which is advising the Team as it oversees the county’s compliance with the consent decree over the next seven years. We separately worked with TOP and CRC to request and review videos of magistration hearings, finding damning video of judges mistreating defendants. Publication of those videos led Texas Senator John Whitmire to file complaints with the Texas Commission on Judicial Standards against three of Harris County’s five criminal magistrates for failing to issue personal bonds for indigent defendants, or even inquire about their indigency status. This, in turn, shed light on a longstanding practice wherein criminal and district court judges were directing magistrates to deny no-cash bail to all newly arrested defendants, in violation of state judicial conduct rules. SUPPORT FOR LITIGATION AGAINST THE CITY: TCJC also supported a 2016 lawsuit filed by the Civil Rights Corps against the City of Houston. This suit was bolstered by jail booking data – captured by TCJC and our partners, resulting in plaintiff identification – that showed a lag between arrest/booking and the probable cause hearing. (While provision of the hearing may be the responsibility of the County, the City is liable for holding people for more than 48 hours without the hearing.) In 2018, a U.S. District Judge found that city officials intentionally destroyed evidence, which Jay called “an extraordinary ruling” against the city. This lawsuit remains ongoing. CALLING ATTENTION TO PRETRIAL NUMBERS: Since January 2020, TCJC and TOP have been issuing weekly pretrial reports to illustrate how Harris County’s felony judges are jailing thousands of people prior to trial simply because they cannot afford the money bail required for their release. The reports provide the daily average number of people detained prior to trial on each judge’s docket, and they highlight the hefty cost of pretrial detention to Harris County’s taxpayers. TCJC has been especially vocal about pretrial release in light of COVID-19, sharing data on the limited releases permitted by Harris County district court judges – who have left more than 6,000 people in jail awaiting trial – and pointing out the significantly high infection rates in the Harris County Jail compared to other locations. HOLDING JUDGES ACCOUNTABLE: Beginning in September 2020, TCJC and researchers at Harvard University have been releasing individualized scorecards for some of Harris County’s felony judges, pointing to pretrial detention rates and racial disparities. Additionally, TCJC and Restoring Justice launched a series of monthly reports in September, showing the (sometimes low to nonexistent) rates at which Harris County district judges are assigning indigent defendants to the Public Defender’s Office, instead relying on private attorneys. Opposing Prosecutor Expansion TCJC continually fights to reduce the overall front-end push of people into the justice system, including through fewer prosecutions. In February 2019, DA Kim Ogg asked the Harris County Commissioners for $20 million for 102 new prosecutors, claiming that additional prosecutors would help reduce high attorney caseloads and provide more opportunities for diversion. TCJC and TOP opposed the DA’s budgetary request, highlighting concerns with redirecting money fro…read more Opposing Prosecutor Expansion TCJC continually fights to reduce the overall front-end push of people into the justice system, including through fewer prosecutions. In February 2019, DA Kim Ogg asked the Harris County Commissioners for $20 million for 102 new prosecutors, claiming that additional prosecutors would help reduce high attorney caseloads and provide more opportunities for diversion. TCJC and TOP opposed the DA’s budgetary request, highlighting concerns with redirecting money from needed services, like mental health and substance use treatment. Jay also testified in opposition at the Commissioner’s Court hearing, emphasizing the DA’s mandate of high bail requests in misdemeanor cases, arguing that prosecutorial policies annually ensnare thousands of people and put the immigrant community at risk, and recommending the more effective strategy of refusing to prosecute low-level charges. Ultimately, the Commissioners voted 4-1 to reject the request. Later in 2019, TCJC and 9 partners again opposed DA Ogg’s request for $7.4 million for 58 additional prosecutors through a letter to commissioners. Commissioners ultimately provided less funding than requested, limiting the number of new prosecutors. Promoting Alternatives to Incarceration EARLY SUPPORT FOR DIVERSIONS: We have long fought to reduce the Harris County Jail population through advocacy for diversion programs (recommendations issued in 2012) and legislative testimony specific to safely right-sizing the jail’s population (provided to the House County Affairs Committee in 2014). Furthermore, we hav…read more Promoting Alternatives to Incarceration EARLY SUPPORT FOR DIVERSIONS: We have long fought to reduce the Harris County Jail population through advocacy for diversion programs (recommendations issued in 2012) and legislative testimony specific to safely right-sizing the jail’s population (provided to the House County Affairs Committee in 2014). Furthermore, we have discussed criminalization and over-incarceration of the mentally ill – a significant problem in Harris County – with the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. SUPPORT FOR THE FIRST CHANCE INTERVENTION PROGRAM: In October 2014, then-District Attorney Devon Anderson partnered with certain law enforcement agencies to establish the First Chance Intervention Program (FCIP), a rehabilitative diversion program for people with first-time, Class B misdemeanor marijuana possession offenses. In 2015, TCJC and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy issued a report examining the FCIP and the potential societal, systemic, and financial benefits that would come with expanding the program to other offenses, including low-level theft and drug possession arrests. The Houston Chronicle followed up with an editorial echoing our arguments and citing our report. In late 2015, the District Attorney extended the FCIP to all law enforcement agencies in Harris County. Also importantly, the DA’s vocal message that marijuana is a low-level, nonviolent offense provided her with the opportunity to expand the program to first-time shoplifting arrests. RELEASE OF REFORM BLUEPRINT: In 2015, TCJC worked with partners to develop A Blueprint for Criminal Justice Policy Solutions in Harris County, which provides recommendations related to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, the bail system, alternatives to incarceration, rehabilitation services, and reentry programs. We officially released it at a town hall event sponsored by the Earl Carl Institute for Legal & Social Policy at the Thurgood Marshall School of Law and the University of Houston Law Center, where we outlined action steps that community members could take to effect change at various points in the system. Note: This blueprint served as an update to a report issued by the Justice Management Institute in 2009, which offered recommendations for reducing the jail population. Furthermore, the blueprint served as the template for the county’s successful 2016 application to the MacArthur Foundation for a Safety and Justice Challenge grant, which resulted in the county receiving $2 million over three years to reduce its average daily jail population; Jay went on to serve on multiple MacArthur grant-related committees to support Harris County’s efforts. WORK TO ADDRESS KUSH: In 2017, when the use of synthetic cannabinoids (kush) was making alarming headlines in Houston, we teamed with the Baker Institute to co-author a report recommending decriminalization of kush possession and use, and diversion of individuals to the Houston Recovery Center. Following the report, the City’s use of the Homeless Outreach Team to divert these individuals (a recommendation from the report) helped address the underlying issues of homelessness and substance use in a more humane way. RELEASE OF REPORT ON TREATMENT NEEDS: In 2019, TCJC and the Baker Institute released a report analyzing the availability of substance abuse treatment services in Harris County. Our findings were based in large part on surveys and in-person interviews of treatment providers. We found gaps in care in treatment, insufficient standards of care and limited outcome tracking, and challenges in the county’s ability to effectively connect people charged with drug offenses to drug treatment and other services – both due to insufficient community resources and the inherent inability of the justice system to handle people with unaddressed needs. Seeking Better Outcomes for Kids ADDRESSING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE: We have been working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline in Harris County. We have analyzed data on students impacted by school policing, which has revealed stark racial disparities and troubling spending ratios on law enforcement compared to dropout prevention, college readiness, and parent and community engagement combined. We also released a read more Seeking Better Outcomes for Kids ADDRESSING THE SCHOOL-TO-PRISON PIPELINE: We have been working to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline in Harris County. We have analyzed data on students impacted by school policing, which has revealed stark racial disparities and troubling spending ratios on law enforcement compared to dropout prevention, college readiness, and parent and community engagement combined. We also released a report on school policing with ONE Houston and the ACLU of Texas, and we joined in co-hosting a “Teach-In” to get community input. We are currently working with area school districts to promote restorative strategies that keep kids in the classroom and on a productive path. SUPPORT FOR “RAISE THE AGE”: TCJC has joined with a coalition of Houston-area faith leaders and other advocates to support “Raise the Age” – which would increase the age of adult court jurisdiction from 17 to 18, and treat kids like kids. Texas remains one of three states left to raise the age. SUPPORT FOR DUAL-STATUS YOUTH: Jay serves on the Steering Committee and Oversight Committee of the Harris County Youth Collective, which works to support kids in both the youth justice system and child welfare system. Building Transparency Through Our Harris County Data Dashboard Our Harris County data dashboard, which we launched in 2018, puts data on disparities in Harris County’s justice system right at your fingertips to hold leaders accountable. The dashboard, created with January Advisors and with support from Microsoft Cities Team, overlays data from more than 800,000 criminal court cases with demographic information to create a comprehensive view of case outcomes in Houston – including the degree to which arrests are skewed in communities of color, how bail amounts differ, and ind…read more Building Transparency Through Our Harris County Data Dashboard Our Harris County data dashboard, which we launched in 2018, puts data on disparities in Harris County’s justice system right at your fingertips to hold leaders accountable. The dashboard, created with January Advisors and with support from Microsoft Cities Team, overlays data from more than 800,000 criminal court cases with demographic information to create a comprehensive view of case outcomes in Houston – including the degree to which arrests are skewed in communities of color, how bail amounts differ, and individual judges’ sentencing decisions. This dashboard has been used to evaluate Harris County’s marijuana diversion program – finding that it was successful in reducing the number of charges filed, but unsuccessful in reducing the dramatic racial disparities in marijuana cases. Furthermore, the Justice Collaborative and economist John Pfaff used our dashboard data to analyze DA Ogg’s practices and rebut claims of progress during her request for 102 new prosecutors. Grits for Breakfast has analyzed drug and other arrest data in making the case for needed reforms. Partnering with Rice University to Build Research and Advocacy Skills Among Students Since fall 2017, Jay has partnered with Rice University in its Law Practicum program, where undergraduate students interested in legal careers get real-world, hands-on experience in justice reform advocacy by working for TCJC and gaining class credit. Additionally, Jay has worked with the University’s Center for Civic Leadership and its HART (Houston Action Research Team) program; students apply to work for TCJC and spend a semester researching a specific issue. This partnership has produced valuable research on school policing, bail reform, c…read more Partnering with Rice University to Build Research and Advocacy Skills Among Students Since fall 2017, Jay has partnered with Rice University in its Law Practicum program, where undergraduate students interested in legal careers get real-world, hands-on experience in justice reform advocacy by working for TCJC and gaining class credit. Additionally, Jay has worked with the University’s Center for Civic Leadership and its HART (Houston Action Research Team) program; students apply to work for TCJC and spend a semester researching a specific issue. This partnership has produced valuable research on school policing, bail reform, convict leasing, systemic drivers of justice system involvement, and other issues. Nearby Work: Addressing the Legacy of Convict Leasing in Sugar Land, Texas Reginald “Reggie” Moore is a former prison guard at the now-closed Central Unit in Sugar Land (Fort Bend County). He has long been vocal about the city’s use of leased convicts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2011, after the Central Unit closed, Fort Bend County acquired the land and, in 2018, construction began on a new Career and Technical Center for Fort Bend ISD. Ultimately, 95 graves were found on the si…read more Nearby Work: Addressing the Legacy of Convict Leasing in Sugar Land, Texas Reginald “Reggie” Moore is a former prison guard at the now-closed Central Unit in Sugar Land (Fort Bend County). He has long been vocal about the city’s use of leased convicts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2011, after the Central Unit closed, Fort Bend County acquired the land and, in 2018, construction began on a new Career and Technical Center for Fort Bend ISD. Ultimately, 95 graves were found on the site – victims of the convict-leasing system. Reggie and Jay have been seeking proper reburial of the bodies and historical designations. As part of our work to call national attention to this issue, we have garnered press, Reggie and Jay co-founded the Convict Leasing and Labor Project, and we collaborated with Rice University to hold a symposium in April 2019, called “Capitalism and Convict Leasing in the American South,” featuring lectures from leading national experts on the history of convict leasing. In 2020, we began holding a webinar series, called “History Exposed,” on convict leasing, its history, and its legacy. During the first webinar, which we held on Juneteenth, we showcased a new report on convict leasing, produced by Hanna Kim on behalf of the Convict Leasing and Labor Project. The second webinar discussed women in Texas prisons; the third discussed the Bullhead Camp Cemetery and a new report on the Sugar Land 95, issued by Fort Bend ISD; and the fourth webinar discussed the lasting impact that convict leasing left on our deeply punitive and racialized criminal justice system.

- Visit the TCJC website to read their research, reports, and judge scorecards - Share the weekly pretrial reports with neighbors who follow local courts or elections - Ask your school, church, or community organization to host a 'Know Your Rights' training - Follow TCJC's work on bail reform if you or someone you know is navigating the justice system - Look into local coalition partners like the Texas Organizing Project for ways to get involved - Read TCJC's Harris County Communities report to understand the history of reform efforts