Bexar County commissioners approved a $6.4 million budget amendment Tuesday that will fund 32 new attorney positions in the Bexar County Public Defender's Office, bringing total attorney headcount to 97 — enough, officials say, to begin accepting misdemeanor cases for the first time in the office's history.
Background
Texas is one of the few states where public defender systems are administered by individual counties rather than by a statewide agency. Bexar County's office has operated at roughly 70 percent capacity for the past three years, relying heavily on appointed private counsel to fill the gap.