Life at the Galveston County Criminal Justice Center

Yesterday, I headed down to Galveston for their morning docket.

I had a pleasant drive down, going against the flow of traffic.

I was running a little late for docket, and my client called me on the drive down to say that he was running even later than I was -- a mortal sin in Harris County.

I pulled into the parking lot of the Galveston Courthouse, where there was ample (and completely free) parking within fifty yards of the front door of the building.

There were no lines to get in the building and going through the metal detectors and security probably took less than a minute.  The security screeners were polite and friendly.

There were no lines at the elevator, which was open and waiting the second I cleared security.

I went up to court and learned that they had already called docket.  I explained to the court coordinator that my client was running late.  She didn't even ask why.  She just told me to let me know when my client got there and it wouldn't be any problem.

I talked to the prosecutor and told her my client was running late.  No problem.  She made me an offer and handed me his file to review.  She just wanted me to let her know when he got there.

The court was hearing a civil jury trial, so we got shuffled out of the courtroom and to the back hallway, outside of chambers to finish the morning business.  A few minutes later, the coordinator let me know my client had shown up and was kind enough to escort him back to where I was so we could discuss the case with the prosecutor.

The prosecutor was very nice and listened to my version of events and told me she agreed that we needed to listen to a 911 tape before deciding what an appropriate punishment recommendation might be.  She even pointed out some potential weaknesses in the case that she saw, before I brought them to her attention.  My client explained a side fact of the case to her, and she was polite and friendly to him as she listened.

We agreed that the case needed to be reset, so I talked to the coordinator again.  She suggested a day and asked if it worked for me.  I told her it did and she said "Okay, see you then."

"Do I need to sign a reset?" I asked.

"Nope," she smiled.  "We're all grown ups around here.  We figure you can remember."

My client and I walked out the front door, no more than thirty minutes after my arrival.

All I can say is "Wow".  I love Galveston.

I loved it even more when I came back to the Harris County CJC elevator bank and was greeted with this: