MCLENNAN COUNTY, Texas — McLennan County's new district attorney, Josh Tetens, is already getting to work on his campaign promise -- unclogging the backlog of cases stuck in court and those that haven't even been filed.
The chapter of Tetens as the district attorney officially started Jan. 1, but he's having to deal with a lot of old business. He inherited the office from Barry Johnson who faced a lot of criticism from McLennan County residents.
Tetens tells 6 News he knew that there was an extensive backlog of cases, but he was shocked to see just how bad it really was in his first week on the job.
He inherited thousands of pending cases including 3,741 felonies and 3,502 misdemeanors. Tetens' biggest concern and the most surprising factor is the cases that haven't even been filed. That's more than 1,600, according to the district attorney.
"We have to do not only our due diligence as an office, but we have to be considerate of victims, witnesses, law enforcement, the taxpayers, if these folks are sitting in jail," Tetens said. "We're trying to move on those as quickly as we possibly can."
To put the unfiled cases into perspective, Jefferson County in Southeast Texas, which is similar in size to McLennan County, only has around 150 to 300 cases not filed as of Monday afternoon.
"I think the numbers kind of speak for themselves and hoping folks have patience and understanding that that we are working diligently as fast as we can to address all of these open cases and unopened cases and try to reach resolutions to save time and money," Tetens added.
Tetens has laid out a plan to address the extensive backlog. He said violent offenses and older cases are going to be the top priority for the foreseeable future. He has also instructed his team to address cases within 30 days of coming in. That work started day one.
"We did not hesitate, we hit the ground running, we were in the courtroom last, week, we met with law enforcement, victims, staff and attorneys," Tetens said.
Tetens believes the backlog comes from the previous administration not taking action on cases, that is why he has his team taking action by a deadline.
"Whether it is plea agreements, whether it is a dismissal in some cases which could be warranted, it could just be that we need some additional evidence and we reach out to law enforcement and make that request," he said.
Tetens tells me it could take hiring more people for the district attorney's office to help tackle the backlog, but that is something they're still assessing. If that is a route he thinks they should take, the county commissioners would have to approve it.
As Tetens and his office work to dwindle the backlog, he is calling on the community for support -- especially as jury summons get going for the stalled cases.
"We will not be able to address these cases, this backlog, unless we have the support of the community and that is not only outside and as a whole but also in the courtroom serving as jurors," the district attorney explained.
Tetens is also hoping to provide more resources and services to those in the criminal justice system, whether they are victims or alleged defenders.
Tetens beat out Democrat Aubrey Robertson for the role back in the November General Election, winning 69 percent of the total vote. Both candidates ran on similar platforms, promising to make the district attorney's office more efficient.