Jeff Reichman
This fall, Houston voters will decide whether the Houston Police Department should deprioritize misdemeanor marijuana enforcement. The timing looks like a response to Ken Paxton. In 2024, he sued five Texas cities over their marijuana ordinances, citing a state law that bars cities from adopting policies that do not fully enforce drug laws. Then I … Read more
Before the eviction hearing, before the notice on the door, before the tenant even knows there’s a case, a landlord sits down and picks a judge. The choice is right there in a dropdown on efiletexas.gov: In Harris County, the location of the eviction determines the Justice of the Peace precinct. Most counties in Texas … Read more
This is a story about using AI carefully. We tested it, caught what it got wrong, and used it to go deeper in our research. This project wouldn’t happen without AI, but that doesn’t make it a model for every consulting project. I’ve been candid about my optimism and anxiety about this technology. That hasn’t … Read more
Top-down AI strategies can’t answer the questions that your team is asking. But a knowledge base can.
In the summer of 2023, Keisha missed her rent. The Maryland mom was taking care of her daughter’s life threatening illness, and the rental assistance didn’t arrive in time. The landlord filed an eviction. As soon as Keisha showed up to the courthouse, she met an attorney from Maryland Legal Aid in the hallway. Immediately, … Read more
Yesterday, in honor of National Public Defense Day, January Advisors hosted a webinar about judicial campaign donations and how they affect the appointment of indigent defense counsel. Building on pre-pandemic work of Jay Jenkins and Georgetown Law, we partnered with the Texas Center for Justice and Equity to analyze whether campaign donations are associated with … Read more
In November, voters in Maine will face a decision that will reshape how the state conducts its elections. A partisan effort to promote a voter ID ballot initiative has garnered 170,000 signatures, thrusting Maine into a national debate that has intensified over the past decade. As one of just fourteen states that don’t require voter … Read more
Browse maps of bills filed by Texas lawmakers as they come in. Updated every day!
Last month, I saw something that I can’t shake. It happened during a criminal record clearing conference in Philadelphia, in one of those law firm conference rooms with giant windows that make you feel like you’re floating above the city. We were discussing the technical aspects of record clearing. A group of about one hundred … Read more
Beginning April 21, 2023, the Harris County District Attorney’s office now requires mandatory lab testing for low level fentanyl cases of less than four grams. This policy is in place to speed up evidence processing and move cases through the system faster. Harris County is notorious for its backlog of criminal cases since Hurricane Harvey. … Read more