CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The statute of limitations to prosecute 1,000 misdemeanor cases and at least hundreds of felonies has expired in Nueces County.
6 Investigates learned Tuesday that those cases must be dismissed, or no-charged.
Last year, 6 Investigates reported Nueces County has the highest rate of dismissals in the state. It also carries thousands more cases on the docket than counties in which the District Attorney handles both misdemeanor and felony cases and are close in population to Nueces County.
And while it was not immediately clear which cases were being dismissed, multiple sources said the dismissals will help the county meet its mandatory reporting requirements.
According to documents from the Department of Public Safety, counties are required to close an average of 90 percent of cases over a five-year period either by the courts or Nueces County offices.
Courts get 30 days to finalize dispositions and then results must be reported to the DPS within five days.
If counties don’t meet the requirements, it puts future grant money from the governor's office in jeopardy.
Currently, the county has a completeness average of 88 percent.
In 2021, Nueces County was eligible for roughly $1 million of state grant money for being compliant with these reporting requirements.
