The Harris County Commissioners Court voted 3-1 to request that state lawmakers create five additional district courts. Commissioner Rodney Ellis voted no and County Judge Lina Hidalgo abstained.
The vote followed a tense discussion about the cost and process of establishing the new courts. Civil district courts process cases such as injury claims, housing disputes, and child custody negotiations.
Several judges from various county courts attended the meeting and provided rough estimates on what it would cost to operate the new courts. Yet questions remain about where the new courts would be located and how to fund them.
“It is in the best interest of the citizens of Harris County that they be provided with an effective and efficient judicial system. Harris County District Courts need relief. The delays in trials are putting victims at greater risk,” wrote District Courts Administrator Richard Woods in the request.
The initial petition to commissioners court requested 9 new courts. However, the motion submitted by Commissioner Lesley Briones and approved by the commissioners asked legislators for only five: an additional two civil courts, a family court, and a juvenile court were not included in the motion.
Milton Rahman, executive director of the county’s engineering department, told the commissioners that finding space for the new courts downtown would not be easy. He added that court ceiling height requirements increased the difficulty in finding appropriate facilities.
Judge Angela Graves-Harrington, who presides over the 246th District Court, said more courts may “pay for itself” as commissioners discussed the costs. “The more civil courts you have to get these cases to get [to] their resolution more efficiently, fairly, and faster, the more money that the county will have in tax revenues paid,” Graves-Harrington said.
In order to create new courts, Texas lawmakers must approve corresponding legislation and the governor must sign it. County officials would then have to fund the construction and operation of the new courts.
Ellis voted against the measure, saying that the request for the creation of new courts should have happened a long time ago. He said that in his experience, legislators would be hard pressed to approve new courts without concrete funding or logistical details.
“I don’t think it’s a good look,” Ellis said.
However, Briones said the need for additional courts is great.
“We shouldn’t have people in Harris County waiting five years after they’ve been injured in a car accident,” she said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”
Harris County judges have been advocating for the creation of new non-felony courts. The National Center for State Courts concluded in a 2023 report that 42 new courts were needed in Harris County.
