Pretrial Services Department coming into clarity

A Pretrial Services Department, including a Public Defender Office (PDO), appears in the cards for Hays County in the near future.

Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission Co-Chairs and commissioner Lon Shell and Debbie Ingalsbe indicated during their meeting Wednesday that they would be working toward grant opportunities to fund such an endeavor, including the Texas Indigent Defense Commission’s PDO grant application, due May 7.

Pretrial Services and Indigent Defense Subcommittee Co-Chair Lisa Pacheco presented a basic framework for a Pretrial Services Department that would be separate from the Community Supervision and Corrections, or Adult Probation Department.