SE Houston News

HOUSTON – Duke Law professor Brandon Garrett has been appointed as the independent monitor of a bail reform settlement in Texas, a landmark settlement because it could become a national standard for cash bail reform.

Garrett is set to monitor the implementation of the O'Donnell Consent Decree in Harris County. The decree encompasses the Greater Houston area, the nation’s third-most populous city which is populated with nearly 5 million people. 

Judge Lee Rosenthal, chief judge in the U.S. District Court of the South Texas District, signed the proposal to select Garrett on March 3.

Garrett called the settlement a "landmark constitutional settlement."

“We could not be more honored to have this opportunity to serve as a monitor for this landmark constitutional settlement, and we look forward to helping the parties and the court institute lasting reform of the County’s misdemeanor pretrial system,” he said.

The O'Donnell Consent Decree settles the three-year litigation in the O'Donnell v. Harris County case, a class-action lawsuit brought in federal court after the plaintiff was arrested for driving on a suspended license. 

Court records show that O'Donnell was jailed when she couldn't afford to pay her bail, which was set at $2,500. This is a recurring problem in the Texas court system: many people can't afford to pay high bail amounts set by the judges. 

In the complaint, the plaintiffs alleged that the bail problem involved 500 people per night detained in the Harris County Jail on misdemeanor charges.

Garrett’s proposal was chosen from four finalists by the plaintiffs, judges, county and sheriff. The proposal was voted “most likely to lead to the successful and timely implementation of the decree."