Jolie McCullough

1 week ago | elpasotimes.com | Jolie McCullough

Editor's note: Jolie McCullough reported on failures of justice in rural parts of Texas as part of The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship. It's being published in partnership with the El Paso Times. San Jacinto County prosecuted nearly 300 misdemeanor cases in 2023. In this poor region, nestled in the piney woods of East Texas, many defendants were likely eligible for a government-paid lawyer. Yet the county reported it had provided an attorney to just nine people.

2 weeks ago | rsn.org | Jolie McCullough

People in Maverick County spend months in jail waiting to be charged with minor crimes. Some are simply lost in the system. Fernando Padron was stuck in a South Texas jail cell. Accused of stealing credit cards that he used to buy diapers, a bike and other goods for his family, he had not been brought into court or spoken to a lawyer. He did not hear anything about his case for nine months. Finally, in March 2023, prosecutors charged him with a misdemeanor, and he was released.

2 weeks ago | diario.mx | Jolie McCullough

El estado cubre solo el 15 por ciento de los honorarios, y los condados difícilmente pueden absorber el resto; eso sin contar que no siempre hay abogados interesados en hacer ese trabajoEl condado de San Jacinto procesó casi 300 casos de delitos menores en 2023. En esta región pobre, enclavada en los pinares del Este de Texas, muchos acusados probablemente tenían derecho a optar a un abogado pagado por el gobierno.

2 weeks ago | mahoningmatters.com | Jolie McCullough

San Jacinto County prosecuted nearly 300 misdemeanor cases in 2023. In this poor region, nestled in the piney woods of East Texas, many defendants were likely eligible for a government-paid lawyer. Yet the county reported it had provided an attorney to just nine people. Nearly 400 miles to the northeast, Wilbarger County, too, had about 300 misdemeanors that year. It assigned counsel to 15 defendants. And on the state’s far eastern edge, Shelby County, the poorest of the three, took on 307 cases.

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Jolie McCullough |Ilana Panich-Linsman

But in about 150 rural counties, misdemeanors are tried by county judges who are primarily elected as the area's chief executive, akin to a mayor. Only about 11 percent are lawyers. They come from a variety of backgrounds: sheriff's deputies, grocery store managers, foremen at trucking companies. Most of those counties do not have hired public defenders. Instead, they pay private lawyers small fees - $311 on average in 2023 - to represent misdemeanor defendants.