Harris County courts say new juvenile district court is 'crucial' with crime rising among youth

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- Violent crimes among juveniles are on the rise, and Harris County court administrators are ringing the alarm that they need help.

Court leaders are now pushing for an additional juvenile district court.

"Starting with at least one court is a crucial thing for Harris County," retired Harris County Juvenile District Court Judge Mike Schneider said.

Schneider served on the bench for 13 years in the Harris County Juvenile District Courts before retiring a few years ago. He says the need has been there for years.

"It's still growing. It's one of the fastest-growing major countries in the country. There's no way that even the best judges can do their best without that critical resource of having more time," Schneider said.

The three juvenile courts in Harris County were established 50 years ago, and no new ones have been created since.

District court leaders say that juvenile murder and capital murder filings have increased by 261% since 2019.

The rise in violent juvenile crime is something ABC13 has been covering for years as county prosecutors have told Eyewitness News they had seen a surge of aggravated robberies, gun cases, and murders, among other crimes.

"Keep in mind that unlike other juvenile courts in Harris County, they're responsible for an entire CPS docket as well, and those cases need more time as well to be done properly," Schneider said.

Juvenile criminal defense attorneys ABC13 spoke to said they believe this is a good thing. They hope the talk about a new court will attract more prosecutors, which means cases will be looked at faster.

That, of course, costs money.

At this point, it's unclear how much it would be to add another juvenile district court.

The request for one juvenile district court and eight other district courts, including civil courts, will be discussed on Thursday during commissioners court.

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