San Antonio lawyers early verdict on virtual trials: Let s keep them
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From her courtroom, state District Judge Mary Lou Alvarez talks with a group of judges and court officers on Zoom last week about Bexar County’s ongoing experiment with virtual jury trials.Lisa Krantz /Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
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State District Judge Mary Lou Alvarez attends a debrief on Zoom with judges, attorneys and jurors following the conclusion of Bexar County’s fifth virtual jury trial earlier this month.Lisa Krantz /Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
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State District Judge Mary Lou Alvarez attends a debrief on Zoom with judges, attorneys and jurors following the conclusion of Bexar County’s fifth virtual jury trial earlier this month.Lisa Krantz /Staff photographerShow MoreShow Less
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Former Bexar County Precinct 2 constable to be tried on perjury charge first after judge rules to sever offenses
Michelle Barrientes Vela, former captain indicted on combined 10 counts in Jan. 2020
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Barrientes Vela makes a court appearance in late February 2020.
SAN ANTONIO – Former Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela will first go to trial on an aggravated perjury charge after a state district judge this week granted a motion to sever the offenses against her.
The motion, granted by Judge Ron Rangel, will also apply to Barrientes Vela’s co-defendant, former Precinct 2 Capt. Marc D. Garcia.
The resign-to-run law stipulates that elected officials who announce plans to run for another office with more than 13 months left in their current term forfeit their seat.
Sheriff making changes at the Bexar County jail to address court case backlog
Virtual hearings to increase within the jail
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SAN ANTONIO – When Administrative Judge Ron Rangel reached out to members of the criminal justice system in San Antonio for help to address the 66% drop in the increase of cases awaiting trial as a result of a backlog created by a moratorium on jury service, it didn’t take long for the sheriff to respond.
”We’re going to make sure that the jail is not the reason for that backlog”, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said Thursday.
He said he is making additional space available in order so that more virtual hearings can be conducted at the jail.
The limitation of having only remote hearings in Bexar County District and County Court at Law courtrooms due to the pandemic has resulted in what Local Administrative Judge Ron Rangel said is “an alarming backlog in the justice system.”