WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Williamson County District Attorney said he’s become stricter on the cases he’ll take to court during the pandemic, often rejecting cases like drug offenses to save resources for more serious crimes.

In a magistrate order directed to the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, Assistant District Attorney Michael Davis explains:

“At this time, we are declining the charge due to the emergency declaration imposed in Williamson County and the use of judicial resources,” the order writes. “Upon the removal of emergency status, you could then submit all reports, supplements and usual documentation to the District Attorney’s Office Intake Division for consideration of charges at that time.”

Shawn Dick, who prosecutes felonies in Williamson County, said he won’t unnecessarily put county residents at risk to serve grand jury duty if he doesn’t think the crime calls for them to leave their homes. And with limited jail space due to new COVID-19 procedures, his team decides on a case-by-case basis if the crime has the evidence to hold up in court.

“We look at certain cases and say, ‘Is this really the kind of case right now that we want to reserve our jail space for?” Dick said. “Murders, rapes, robberies and burglaries. That’s where I think that we should be focusing our resources in the DA’s office.”

In Travis County, the cases are also reviewed daily for merit.

“The Travis County District Attorney’s Office reviews cases on an individual basis. We do not have a blanket prohibition on the filing of certain types of cases,” a representative of office said.

In 2019, the Williamson County District Attorney filed more than 2,700 criminal cases to the court. Nearly half of those were drug related, Dick reported.