Busy Times in Criminal Court

Things are about to get hectic in Bexar County district criminal courts as judges try to resolve thousands of pending felony cases, the Express-News reports:

Beginning March 2, and for the following three weeks, nearly 3,000 felony cases ranging from allegations of welfare fraud to capital murder will be called into their courts of origin, and defendants will be given a final chance to plead or otherwise reach a resolution.

The remaining cases will go to trial in any given court at some point between March 23 and April 17 — a four-week period in which all district courts will suspend their regular trial dockets and work to purge the most stubborn cases. Inspired by a similar effort in Tarrant County, Judge Raymond Angelini of the 187th Judicial District Court said he's cautiously optimistic.

Why all the rush? The folks at the courthouse want to start using a new system to manage felony cases, but they have to take care of the current backlog first.