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Residents, former judge urge Irving council to fix magistrate scheduling after case loss
Summary
Two public speakers — a nonprofit director and a former municipal judge — told the council that Irving’s magistration scheduling and post‑May‑1 policies have harmed detainees and could be violating statutory protections, pressing the council to examine alternatives and guardrails.
Two public commenters used the council podium to press Irving elected officials to reconsider how magistration is scheduled and who is seeing arrested people.
Steven Allen, executive director of The Table Irving, recounted a recent client he called “Sandy” who was arrested on outstanding Irving warrants, arrived at the Irving holding facility at about 9:20 a.m. (after the city’s 9 a.m. magistration docket) and was told she must remain in custody until the next day because she had missed the posted public docket by roughly 20 minutes. Allen said the extra time in custody cost taxpayers, consumed law‑enforcement resources and may have cost the client a new job — and asked council to reexamine whether scheduling flexibility or additional magistrate access could avoid similar harms.
Laura Anderson, who identified herself as a former Irving municipal judge and prosecutor, told council she believes a change in practice after May 1 left many arrestees without municipal magistration and characterized the shift as putting revenue over justice. Anderson said she has written officials and believes the practice may violate the Code of Criminal Procedure; she urged the council to review the policy and pointed officials to resources about magistrate duties and Department of Justice oversight examples.
Council members asked staff and the presiding judge about the posted 9 a.m. docket and whether ad hoc flexibility is legally and operationally possible; Judge Michael Acuna said providing a judge solely to await walk‑ins every day is possible but would tie up judicial time and clerical resources and could conflict with public‑access requirements for magistrate dockets. Staff said some flexibility might be arranged for exceptional cases but that systematic change would require additional judges, clerks and budgeted resources.
Councilmembers referenced the incident during the staff magistration briefing and asked staff to consider options that reduce unnecessary jail time while preserving public‑access and statutory requirements.
What residents asked for: an examination of magistration scheduling, possible use of approved online/video magistration where appropriate, and evaluation of whether the city can adopt policies that reduce avoidable extra custody for low‑level cases.
What staff said: the city posts a public 9 a.m. docket to meet statutory notice requirements; changing that practice without added judicial and clerical staffing could create legal and operational challenges. Staff has included magistration options in a broader report to council and asked for consensus to pursue an in‑house solution that would allow more local control over timing.
