By Juan A. Lozano
Associated Press
HOUSTON — The top prosecutor in Texas’ most populous county is opposing parts of a proposed settlement in a federal lawsuit over the county’s bail system, which was deemed unconstitutional by a federal judge.
Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg had supported the 2016 lawsuit, which argues it is unjust that many misdemeanor defendants remain jailed because they are too poor to afford bail.
But in a court brief Thursday, Ogg says the settlement announced last month would make the prosecution of misdemeanor crimes “unnecessarily and unlawfully difficult.”
Alec Karakatsanis, an attorney with Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit that filed the lawsuit, says he doesn’t believe Ogg’s objections will derail the agreement.
A court hearing to possibly give final approval of the settlement was set for this week but was postponed until Sept. 19.