In many Texas counties, the county jail has become a de facto mental institution housing mentally ill inmates awaiting due process without their medications and/or life-sustaining therapies. Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) operates nine state hospitals and one residential youth center, all located across the state, for people with mental health issues. If a judge … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Mentally Incompetent Inmates
Feature Story
Waller County Courthouse
Waller County celebrated the completion and grand opening of its new $43 million, four-story courthouse on Nov. 8, 2025. Historical elements of the county’s 1894 Victorian-style courthouse were incorporated into the modern design, fulfilling the vision of embracing the future while honoring the past. Waller County broke ground on the new state-of-the-art courthouse in March … [Read more...] about Waller County Courthouse
Key Concept: Posting Commissioners Court Agenda Items
According to CJCAT Senior General Counsel Jim Allison, AG Opinion JM-63 held that “the Commissioners Court controls the preparation of the agenda.” However, AG Opinion DM-473 affirmed that “each member of a County Commissioners Court may place items on the agenda...” Regarding deadlines for submitting agenda items for consideration, Allison offered the following: “Although … [Read more...] about Key Concept: Posting Commissioners Court Agenda Items
Resolution Spotlight: Juvenile Funding
County governments provided approximately 73 percent of the total funding for juvenile probation departments in FY 2024, according to the 2025 Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) Rider Report to the Governor and Legislative Budget Board. This percentage has historically been as high as 75 percent, confirmed Windy Johnson, program manager for the Conference of Urban … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Juvenile Funding
Webb County Courthouse
Alfred Giles used a combination of Renaissance Revival and Romanesque styles to fashion the current Webb County Courthouse, completed in 1909. This National Register Property, initially valued at $60,000, was restored in the late 1990s for $3.275 million. Webb County, organized in 1848, was christened in honor of James Webb, leader of the Republic of Texas and secretary of … [Read more...] about Webb County Courthouse