Lawsuit: Houston holds people for days without seeing judge

HOUSTON—Two civil rights groups say Houston routinely detains people for days without seeing a judge as required by law in the latest legal challenge over the incarceration of inmates in area jails.

The same groups earlier this year filed a lawsuit accusing the Harris County bail system of unfairly keeping poor defendants arrested for minor offenses jailed because they cannot pay even nominal bail amounts. Houston is located in Harris County and the city’s detainees are eventually taken to the county jail if they don’t post bail.

The latest lawsuit, filed Monday by Washington, D.C.based Civil Rights Corps and Austin-based Texas Fair Defense Project, alleges Houston is violating people’s constitutional rights by routinely holding them for more than 48 hours without having them appear before a judge to determine whether there was probable cause for their arrest.

Records show that in July and August, Houston held hundreds of inmates in the city jail for longer than three days before transferring them to the Harris County Jail, where they appear before a judge to determine probable cause, according to the federal lawsuit.

One person arrested July 23 did not get a probable cause hearing until seven days later, and another arrested July 25 waited six days, the lawsuit said. At least 35 other people arrested in July and August waited more than four days to appear before a judge.

City spokeswoman Janice Evans declined to comment Thursday, due to the pending litigation.