AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Four weeks into being sworn into office, Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza on Friday announced a number of new policies he'll be implementing beginning February 1 in an effort to "reimagine our criminal justice system."
The new policies are spelled out in an open letter to the community released Friday by Garza's office.
"There is much work ahead of us," Garza said in an accompanying statement. "But together, we will continue to build a criminal justice system that treats people equally and keeps our community safe."
The new policies Garza says will go into effect Monday include:
Violent Crimes. COVID-19 has limited grand jury proceedings across the county since March. In the last two weeks, grand jurors have returned more than 55 indictments on violent offenses. Garza says his office will focus on triaging the remaining case backlog to focus on violent offenses that pose a threat to public safety.
Diversion. Garza aims to expand pre-trial diversion programs to increase the number of people who are eligible, as opposed to only those who "had hired an attorney and could afford to pay the fees associated with their diversion."
Bail. While the DA's office does not set bail, Garza says prosecutors will use a new set of criteria to recommend bail to judges. "Anyone who poses a future risk of harm to our community or a risk of a flight that cannot be addressed by conditions other than pre-trial incarceration should remain in custody," Garza said.
Victim Services. The DA's office has hired a new victim-witness counselor and moved the team under new supervision to help reduce the team's caseload, which currently stands at about 800 people each.
Conviction Integrity. The DA's office has a new conviction integrity team lead, and lawyers will begin a thorough and careful review of past convictions. "Over the last two decades, our community has learned hard lessons about the factors that can lead to wrongful convictions," Garza writes. "We have a duty to ensure that no person who is innocent or is entitled to a new trial due to a wrongful conviction is forgotten in prison."
Civil Rights. Garza says one of the most important jobs of the DA's office is to "work with law enforcement to keep our community safe." The DA's office will be reviewing officer conduct in situations where that conduct calls into question the integrity of any case they have previously handled, and creating a "do not call to testify" list.
Sentencing. Garza says any prosecutor who believes that a sentence longer than 20 years is appropriate will need to seek approval. "This office believes that all people are capable of change," Garza writes, "and that we must use data to ensure that we are asking for sentences consistent with when we know that a person’s criminogenic risk has been greatly reduced."
Powerful Actors. Garza says a unit formerly known as "special prosecutions" will now focus on Public Integrity and Complex Crimes. The unit will not only focus on elected officials who have committed crimes, but will also investigate and prosecute cases of wage theft, unsafe work conditions rising to criminal conduct, and landlords who have criminally taken advantage of tenants.
Drugs. Garza says his office will continue the practice of his predecessor, not prosecuting people who are in possession of a state jail amount of drugs. Prosecutions of the sale of small amounts of drugs will also be ended, unless there is a threat to public safety or violent conduct.
Magistration. Garza says his office, along with that of the County Attorney, aims to begin an arrest review process as soon as possible in the magistration process. "This will save time and money for the county, and potentially wasted days in jail," Garza writes, "if we can review cases before a person sees a magistrate, and I look forward to working with criminal justice stakeholders to make this happen."