Harris County, Texas Expands Jail-Based Competency Program In Effort To Reduce Court Backlog

On February 9, 2023, in Harris County, Texas, Judge Lina Hidalgo announced the expansion of a program to help those deemed incompetent to stand trial. A total of $645,000 was approved by the Commissioners Court to expand the capacity of the Jail-Based Competency Restoration (JBCR) program. This funding will increase the number of beds in the program from 20 beds to 50 beds, with an estimated annual participation of between 200 and 245 individuals. Because of this expansion, cases that have been prolonged by the program’s growing waitlist will be expedited. The goal is to reduce the . . .