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Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 continues most cases to Aug. 5; judge raises one bond to $4,000
Summary
During a virtual status docket, the presiding judge continued the majority of matters to a follow-up status on Aug. 5, set one defendant's bond at $4,000, and recorded several pleas and pretrial intervention (PTI) steps in progress.
The presiding judge in Fort Bend County Court at Law No. 1 presided over a virtual status docket in which most cases were continued to a follow-up status conference on Aug. 5 and one defendant’s bond was raised to $4,000, the court said.
The docket matters matter to case progression and defendants’ pretrial status: the judge set the higher bond for one defendant after defense counsel reported the client was not present and unavailable, several defense attorneys reported receiving discovery or offers and working toward pleas, and at least one defendant accepted a pretrial intervention offer.
Most of the docket consisted of routine status updates and scheduling. Defense counsel told the court they were preparing plea packages, seeking license reinstatements or assembling mitigation materials. “Mister Vasquez is completing a mitigation packet for a potential PTI entry. So he’s in the process of getting that together now,” Mr. Hurd, defense counsel for Christian Guadalupe Vasquez, told the court. The judge set the next status date for many matters as Aug. 5 and instructed counsel to contact the court coordinator, Sarah, to obtain plea-setting dates when an offer is accepted.
The judge issued one immediate decision when a defendant who was reportedly not present could not be located by defense counsel. “Your new bond is set at $4,000 for your client. You’re free to go,” the presiding judge said, ordering the higher bond and releasing the defendant under the new conditions.
In another matter, defense counsel reported accepting a pretrial intervention offer in a retail-theft case. “There is a free offer of the retail theft PTI, and defense has accepted,” Mr. Tang, defense counsel, said; the court told counsel to work with the district attorney’s office to set a date for the defendant to enter the program.
Several hearings were passed because attorneys or clients were not present; in at least one case the court scheduled an in-person docket on June 10 at 9 a.m. in addition to the Aug. 5 virtual status settings. Prosecutors and defense counsel repeatedly reported exchanging discovery and offers, with multiple postponements to allow time for plea negotiations, discovery review and license-reinstatement steps.
The court concluded the docket after noting the outstanding items and reiterating that defendants must appear at the listed follow-up dates unless otherwise notified.
