Brazos County Public Defenders talk future growth during oversight meeting
BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – After more than 300 cases in eight months, the Brazos County Public Defenders Office is setting its sights on the future.
The Public Defender’s Oversight Board met Monday to discuss the office’s third-quarter progress. Expansion was a central topic of conversation, and Chief Public Defender Nathan Wood says growth is on the horizon. The office plans to expand its services into outlying counties within the Brazos Valley.
“Even in a county our size our courts struggle to have enough attorneys who are qualified to handle some of the more aggravated cases that are filed in our courts,” said Wood. “That problem is even more pronounced and difficult to address in rural counties.”
County Judge Duane Peters says any expansion will take hard work, but he’s pleased with the progress the new office made during the past eight months.
“It’s gonna take some space and certainly some good attorneys to do that,” he said.
The Public Defender’s Office currently employs four attorneys but has the capacity for six. As the office plans how to grow their legal and social service resources, Wood says they’re on the hunt for defense lawyers with expertise in mental health and will apply for a mental health defender grant to make this happen.
”Specialize in some certain areas, such as where mental health intersects with the criminal justice system. That’s a very niche area of law,” Wood said.
According to Wood, these are important measures to ensure high-quality representation and allow them to help clients both in and out of the courtroom.
“Many of them have been plugged into treatment services for drug addiction and mental health issues and trauma therapy and so forth. Even after their cases get resolved by our office we continue to work with them,” he said.
The Brazos County Public Defender’s Office is entirely funded by grants from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, a state organization.
