Texas Senate approves SJR 5 to let judges deny bail in limited violent-offense cases

The Texas Senate voted to advance SJR 5, a proposed constitutional amendment that would authorize judges or magistrates to deny bail in limited circumstances for people accused of certain violent offenses, final passage coming after a series of roll-call votes that suspended normal rules and sent the measure to the ballot. On final passage the Senate recorded 28 ayes and 2 nays.

Authoring the measure on the floor, Senator Joan Huffman, said the proposal would expand Article I of the Texas Constitution to permit denial of bail for people accused of specified violent offenses, including first-degree felonies involving aggravated assault with a weapon, violent offenses as defined in the constitution, or continuous trafficking of persons. "Since January 2021 ... there has been at least 162 homicide cases filed in Harris County, Texas for defendants released on 1 or more bonds at the time of a new murder offense," Huffman said, arguing the change would give local officials an additional discretionary tool to protect the public. Huffman read a victim statement into the record, quoting Paul Castro: "our current bail bond system rewards violent offenders ... with freedom while cursing victims' families with fear and worry."

The resolution requires a judge or magistrate, before denying bail, to "determine by clear and…