After four days of hearings last week, a judge dismissed about 370 criminal cases in El Paso because of prosecutorial delays. The El Paso Public Defender’s Office, which sought the dismissals, says this is just the beginning: It has more than 1,000 additional cases eligible to be dismissed and plans to file new motions soon.

Between Aug. 15-18, the El Paso Public Defender’s Office requested about 390 dismissals under a section of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure that requires prosecutors to seek indictments within 180 days of arrest. About 20 of those requests were withdrawn; the rest were granted.

El Paso Matters