4th Court Proposed To Address Jail Overpopulation
By: Brooke Chavez
Updated: July 23, 2009
The Lubbock County Jail is full to capacity and the majority of those inmates are awaiting trial. To combat the overpopulation, a 4th court has been proposed. The plan includes adding 3 additional prosecutors, 2 investigators and a legal assistant. The team would work under Judge Underwood, who would preside over 2 courts. County officials say the additional 4th court would speed up justice not only for the defendant, but also the victims and the community. Director of Court Administration, David Slayton says, "if you're an individual who is waiting on restitution or you're a defendant or the defendant's family who has that defendant in jail or if you're the community, we feel like if justice is delayed then justice is in effect denied and so its really important for us to have these cases moving through the court effectively." The Lubbock County Commissioners court will now review the plan and decide whether or not to fund the new court. If adopted the court would begin work as early as this October.
