PBT- Testifying Before The Texas House Interim Committee Regarding the Implementation of SB6
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On October 12, 2022, the Texas House Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform conducted a hearing on the implementation of SB6. The hearing was for invited testimony only.
Bronson Tucker who is the Curriculum Director for the Justice Training Center identified two issues that might need to be tweaked in SB6. First, dealt with the issue of warrants regarding when is a bond amount placed on a warrant mandatory vs discretionary. Second, he identified an issue regarding article 27.02 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure which applies to the situation where a defendant has a current felony case pending and then is arrested on a new felony case and is supposed to go back to the original judge to be magistrated when the two cases are pending in the same county.
Testimony of Ken W. Good on behalf of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas.
Our Resources:
Find the failure to appear rate for any misdemeanor court in Harris County for any date over the last two years at "HarrisCountyCourt Watch.com". (Year to date for 2022, the average is over 80% of the people set on the docket fail to appear for court and are not being held accountable.
In 2020, 2021, Harris County misdemeanor courts dismissed approximately 72% of all misdemeanor cases disposed according to data reported from Harris County to the State of Texas (according to the Houston Police Officers Union). See report by CLICKING HERE.
In August 2022, according to the report released from on the Harris County District Clerk's website, over 90% of the misdemeanor cases disposed were dismissed.
Are these actions a sign that the Criminal Justice System is in collapse or is it a sign that Harris County's elected officials are intentionally de-criminalizing misdemeanor crime? Neither conclusion is good. Harris County remains ground zero for Criminal Justice Reform. Wasn't decriminalization tried in California and was the result to say it lightly "bad." Why would any Texan think this was a good idea in Texas?
Other Testimony-
Testimony of Sheriff Hawthorne from Chambers County- CLICK HERE. Sheriff Hawthorne begins by agreeing with comments by PBT representative Ken W. Good.
Excerpt of testimony of Kevin Lawrence, Executive Director, Texas Municipal Police Association explaining the ramifications of decriminalizing misdemeanor crime- CLICK HERE.
Related:
Reformers continue to tout Harris County as the model for bail reform that should be implemented across the country. Yes you read that right. This is not a joke. Reforms want to do to the rest of the country what they did to Harris County.
Linda Lois Traylor, born August 17, 1947 in Houston, TX, passed away on August 21, 2025 after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 78. Linda was a beloved matriarch, a successful business owner for over 40 years, and a woman with a work ethic like no other. Tough but fair, she lived life with strength, humor, and generosity. Her quick wit and legendary joke-telling could light up any room. She believed in working hard and playing hard. She found joy in fishing and glamping by the lakes in her RV, as well as trips to the casino with friends. Cooking was her love language, and her southern-style dishes were cherished by all who gathered at her table. She entered and won many cooking contests, but her greatest reward was sharing meals with family and friends. Above all, Linda’s greatest pride and joy was her family. She survives and is deeply cherished by her children, David Yokem, Tammie Little and Michael Yokem. Her grandchildren Cody Yokem and wife Sarah, Brandon Little and wife Ti...
On a winter afternoon nine months into the pandemic, Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg held a Zoom meeting with felony judges and prosecutors to discuss the backlog of cases caused by COVID-19 shutdowns at the downtown Houston courthouse. But the backlog wasn’t the only issue to come up that day. For years, the Democratic DA had been publicly criticizing local judges who set what she deemed insufficiently high bonds for defendants accused of violent crimes. Now her office would deliver a direct warning. First assistant district attorney David Mitcham, Ogg’s top lieutenant, informed the judges that there would be a “reckoning” if they didn’t start setting higher bonds. “My reaction was like, ‘Wow, that was bold,’ ” said Joe Vinas, the president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association, who was on the call representing the criminal defense bar. “One of the judges asked if Mitcham was threatening him.” Many in Houston’s legal community have thought back to that moment...
The Minnesota nonprofit is shifting its focus away from directly posting pretrial bail and bonds for criminal suspects. The decision will go into place on June 1. The nonprofit was founded in 2016, and following the death of George Floyd in 2020, the group received $42 million in donations from all over the world. Since then, the group has supported thousands of people by investing $33.2 million directly into “freeing people from cages and resourcing organizations in the fight for racial justice.” * * * * The organization said they can’t sustain bailing and bonding their way out of the “harmful systems of pretrial detention and immigration detention,” and need to utilize their resources to push for positive change. The executive director of Minnesota Freedom Fund, Elizer Darris, released the following statement: “Today, Minnesota Freedom Fund announced a strategic shift away from paying pretrial bails and immigration bonds . . . " To see more CLICK HERE .
HB 2697- This bill amended article 17.19 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Article 17.19 authorizes a surety or bail bondsman to file a request for a warrant with the magistrate or the trial court based upon some action on the part of the defendant. The existing statute required the surety or bail bondsman to give notice of the request to the defense attorney if the defendant was represented by counsel. That notice must comply with Rule 21a of the Texas Rules of Civil Procedure. Further, the statute requires that the affidavit set out certain matters regarding the defendant including the reason why a warrant is needed. Section 17.19 states that if the request for a warrant meets the statutory requirements the trial court or magistrate must or shall issue a warrant of arrest for the defendant. If the trial court refuses to issue a warrant, then the surety or bail bondsman has an affirmative defense to any subsequent failure to appear...
This is big. The Fifth Circuit has issued an en banc opinion in the Dallas Federal litigation called Daves v. Dallas County. The opinion was issued yesterday. This is a huge opinion that addresses three issues. Listen to our podcast to learn more. Also available on: Apple Podcasts- CLICK HERE Spotify- CLICK HERE Google Podcasts- CLICK HERE Podcast Index- CLICK HERE Amazon Music- CLICK HERE Stitcher- CLICK HERE iHeart- CLICK HERE TuneIn + Alexa CLICK HERE Po...
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