While Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the backlog may be gone, he acknowledged that the work is far from over.
Tuesday, March 17, 2026 11:38PMFor years, a growing case backlog slowed down justice in Harris County. It caused some cases to drag on for years. Now, District Attorney Sean Teare said they've turned a corner.
He announced on Tuesday that the backlog is gone. ABC13 has reported extensively on the backlog of cases, which increased after Hurricane Harvey and got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. "The victims and the survivors and their families were waiting years and years," Teare said. "It was the accused as well. Their cases would pend for years." According to data from the DA's office, the total number of active criminal cases is currently lower than it was a few years before the pandemic. When it comes to how long it takes for a case to get to trial or be dismissed, Teare said 83% of cases are now resolved within less than a year. But still, thousands of those cases are taking longer than a year to make it through the court system, with some being dismissed altogether. "We were not only dismissing cases that absolutely needed to go," Teare said. "We were sending people to prison at a much higher rate than the former administration." After ABC13 looked closer at the numbers, it was discovered that of all the cases disposed of in 2025, 64% were dismissed.ABC13 recently reported on a situation where, after nearly three years, a murder charge was dismissed right before trial due to insufficient evidence. "I read that story and it just it's heartbreaking every single time," Teare said. "Dismissals on trial day have plummeted, but it, quite frankly, should be zero. That's something that we've got to know before we set a case for trial." Teare credited the improved backlog to hiring more prosecutors and having more of them involved during the intake process, where they can help make sure cases have enough evidence."We're moving in the right direction, and we have successfully gotten back to where we were," Teare said.
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