WACO, Texas — Six months into his term, McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens is faced with a case backlog more than three times what was originally estimated.
When 25 News met with Tetens in January, he estimated the office was backlogged by roughly 3,000 cases. That number only included certain misdemeanor cases, not felonies. Thursday, Tetens said that number is actually closer to 10,000.
"We didn't get into this position, ten thousand backlogged cases, overnight," Tetens said.
Those cases include felonies, misdemeanors, child protective services and juvenile cases.
Since January, Tetens said his office has cleared 600 successful plea bargains.
"As you can imagine, there's still, unfortunately, people committing crimes," Tetens said.
"The grand jury is meeting right now as we speak, indicting new cases."
D.A. offices across the country are dealing with similar backlogs.
Cases in McLennan County dating back to 2017 are still waiting for a resolution.
"Not only is it important for the taxpayers, but for the victims, for the defendants themselves. Some of these folks sat in jail for years waiting to go to trial."
But can the county get back on track? Tetens explained the county opened extra courts with visiting judges. His office is hoping to hire more prosecutors in the next budget cycle.
As for the timeline for tackling the backlog, Tetens assured his office is working quickly but carefully.
"We didn't come in and just try to clean the slate and say, 'Gosh, this is overwhelming, let's just dismiss a bunch of cases.'"
Counties across the country saw their court systems delayed during the pandemic. The 2023 State of the Courts report found two-thirds of court systems report staffing shortages.
