Jail inspection reports citing Texas county jails for noncompliance with minimum jail standards often reveal specific areas negatively affecting inmates. Such is the case with a notice of noncompliance issued to Nueces County Jail in June 2022.

Nueces County Jail at 901 Leopard St, Corpus Christi, TX 78401

Three of five minimum jail standards Nueces County Jail was cited for in a jail inspection report dated June 21-23, 2022, are often associated with overcrowding. The inspector with the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) who issued this report to Nueces County Jail specifically mentions overpopulation in the notes related two of those three notices of noncompliance.

Rule §259.138(a)-Holding Cells.

Rule §259.138(a)-Holding Cells. This minimum jail standard specifies how holding cells must be built. The portion of the standard that Nueces County Jail was cited for involved the specification that inmates shall not be held in a holding cell for longer than 48 hours.

• On the dates of inspection, it was determined that multiple inmates were held in holding cells for longer than 48 hours.

Rule §259.138(3)-Holding Cells-Cell Size.

Rule §259.138(3)-Holding Cells-Cell Size. The size of the cell shall be determined by the anticipated maximum number of inmates to be confined in the space at any one time. Cells shall be constructed to house from 1 to 24 inmates, and the capacity shall be determined by the amount of seating provided and posted at the exterior of the cell.

See Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, and this ongoing series. In the next segment, find out the notes left by the inspector about noncompliance with Rule §259.138(3).

Providing assistance to inmates in local county and municipal Texas jails is the purpose of this website. The information on this site is intended as a resource for prisoners but suggesting that any entity or individual has participated in misdeeds is never an intention.

–Guest Contributor