From time to time, most recently here, I’ve noted the abysmal condition and chronically overcrowded nature of the Harris County Jail. It is shameful that we allow the Harris County Commissioners to continue to tolerate this mess.
As Scott Henson has noted on his fine series on the problems with the Harris County Jail, one of the main reasons why the jail is overcrowded is that local judges assess jail time to low-risk persons who have been convicted of victimless or petty crimes.
With that backdrop, this Chronicle article reports that State District Judge Brian Rains of the 176th District Criminal Court was recently recused from the case of a teenager accused of possessing a small amount of cocaine and marijuana because Rains requires jail time for any defendant convicted of a drug offense, no matter how inconsequential. Rains’ stance is so far out of kilter that the district attorney’s prosecutor did not even bother to oppose the recusal. The vice president of the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association speculates in the article that the recusal of Rains in this case will prompt many similar recusal motions.
I’m sure Rains’ “tough” stance on requiring jail time for all drug offenders plays well on the campaign trail. But it sure stinks as a matter of justice and Harris County jail administration. Here’s hoping that the local criminal defense bar continues to recuse him in drug cases and that a political opponent emerges to call him out on the short-sighted nature of his policy.