SAN ANTONIO – With few exceptions, most cases in the juvenile justice system in Bexar County are being dealt with remotely due to COVID-19 concerns.
”It’s had a huge impact on our system,” said 289th District Court Judge Carlos Quezada. ”There’s going to be a huge backlog and then, even now that we’re talking about opening up the courts, we’ll handle maybe five to six cases a day.”
Quezad’s interaction with the juveniles, which he calls his kids, isn’t limited to the courtroom.
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On Thursday morning, Quezada set up a drive-by check-in station at the Juvenile Justice Center parking lot that allowed juveniles assigned to one of three specialty courts to report in.
”You just try to talk to them and you give them your two bits of sense, whatever you learned growing up. And hopefully it sticks just a little bit so we can make an impact on their lives,” Quezada said.
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As the judge passed out pizza and soft drinks to “his kids”, he said, “Oh, I miss them. I miss all of ‘em.”