Commissioners snub Ogg’s prosecutor pitch
Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday rejected Kim Ogg’s request for 102 new prosecutors, a stinging public defeat for the first-term Democratic district attorney by members of her own party.
The rejection appeared even more pointed a little later when the court voted to nearly double the budget for the county public defender’s office, the most significant investment in that office’s nine-year history.
It also came less than 24 hours after a former assistant district attorney filed paperwork to challenge Ogg in next year’s primary, a sign criminal justice reformers may have lost patience with the self-described progressive after helping elect her in 2016.
The three Democratic mem-
bers — commissioners Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia and County Judge Lina Hidalgo — supported increasing the district attorney’s budget by 7 percent, in line with increases for other county departments. Ogg had asked for a 31 percent increase, which would grow her prosecutor corps by a third and include 42 additional support staff.
“This is not the only way, and certainly not the most cost-effective way to decrease prosecutor caseloads,” Hidalgo said.
The Republican commissioners, Steve Radack and Jack Cagle, said last week they were swayed by Ogg’s pitch and agreed more prosecutors are needed to reduce workloads and process cases more quickly. The pair were unusually taciturn during the two-hour discussion, an acknowledgment they lacked support.
In an effort to compromise, Cagle proposed providing funding for 25 prosecutors. The three Democrats said no. The final 41 vote— Cagle was a ‘yes’ only because he said Ogg needs a budget — also directed the county to hire consultants to study how to make the criminal justice system more efficient.
A parade of prosecutors spoke of unrealistic caseloads that leave them overextended, unable to properly serve defendants, find witnesses and protect victims. Heather Marshall, a junior felony prosecutor, described working 70 hours weekly and said her caseload has more than doubled since moving to Houston from the district attorney’s office in Queens County, N.Y.
Nathan Beedle, who leads the misdemeanor division, invited court members to shadow his prosecutors in court to gain a better understanding of their reality.
“If they were to work seven days straight, working 24 hours a day, they could not get all their tasks done,” Beedle said.
Ogg, who did not attend the court meeting, issued a statement after the vote.
“We will continue to fight every day to ensure that justice is done in every case for every crime victim, every defendant and the community,” she said. “Harris County must have a district attorney’s office with sufficient resources to ensure that all cases are resolved fairly and in a timely manner.”
Audia Jones, the former prosecutor who on Monday filed paperwork to challenge Ogg, spoke against the proposal. Jones said she left the district attorney’s office in December in part because she said Ogg’s administration has been too reluctant to offer jail diversion to defendants of color, in contrast with their white counterparts.
She said temporary court closures caused by Hurricane Harvey are not a driver of increasing caseloads, as Ogg contends, but rather are a result of her administration’s policies.
The discussion over the public defender’s budget fell along the same party lines. Chief Public Defender Alex Bunin requested a 91 percent increase, since the new criminal court judges have said they wish to hire fewer private attorneys for indigent defendants.
“This office that has been touted, and we are very proud of, only handles 8 percent of cases,” Ellis said. “I hope this will lead our judges — particularly our new judges — to use the public defender’s office more.”
Cagle proposed giving the same 7 percent increase the court approved for the district attorney, but was overruled by his Democratic colleagues. The final vote was 3 to 2, along party lines.
The budget boost was a remarkable change of fortune for Bunin, who eight months ago was sparring with commissioners who accused him of leaking juvenile records to a team of lawyers challenging Harris County’s cash bail system. At a heated meeting in June, court members considered firing him.
After a wave election that swept Hidalgo and Garcia into office, Bunin now will have the funding to hire 60 new attorneys and support staff.
“I appreciate the support of Commissioners Court in expanding the public defender’s office,” Bunin said.
The court approved the public defender and district attorney budgets along with those of the entire county, including a 15 percent increase for the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, and an extra $2.5 million for the county library system to purchase new books and materials.
The $3.07 billion approved general fund budget marks the first time the county spending plan has eclipsed $3 billion.
Court members also approved the budgets of the Harris County Flood Control District, at $120 million, and Harris Health System, the county hospital district, at $1.55 billion. Each of those has its own property tax rate, which is set by Commissioners Court.