A Guide to Bexar County's Justice System: Upcoming guest, Nico LaHood

If you're unfamiliar with the processes and general happenings of the local justice system, it's likely that you're also unfamiliar with our upcoming guest, Nicholas "Nico" LaHood, former Bexar County District Attorney and one of the founding Attorneys of LaHood Norton Law Group. In our interview with Nico LaHood, we'll discuss much of his career in both politics and his current role with LaHood Norton Law Group. Beforehand, however, we'd like to give you a bit of context in the form of a brief guide to the Bexar County justice system. Understanding your local criminal justice system is important for a number of reasons, not the least of which being that knowledge is power. Should you ever find yourself engaging with law enforcement, court hearings, or any other Bexar County law professionals, understanding the system they operate under is key to protecting your rights. For our purposes, though, this walkthrough of the Bexar County criminal justice system will provide you a knowledge base when watching our upcoming interview!

To begin, it's imperative to identify the basal structure of the system before discussing the sociological context. When thinking about our local justice system, it should not be viewed as a single entity, but rather a number of working parts, each with their own administration, managements, and training. The institutions that make up these "working parts" include the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, Magistrate and Municipal Courts, Bexar County Jail and pretrial services, the Public Defender's Office, and private defense attorneys.

A District Attorney is not only a prosecuting attorney, but also a politician and public servant. What is meant by this is that, in rudimentary terms, a DA represents both the government and their constituents in criminal cases (National District Attorneys Association). As a prosecuting attorney, a DA---on behalf of the government---presents evidence in court, questions witnesses, argues cases, negotiates plea bargains, and reviews investigations while deciding how to move forward regarding the criminal charges of a defendant.

A municipal court, in the most fundamental of understandings, is the lowest court system in the United States being that its jurisdiction is a municipality, city, or county. Our local municipal court, which typically only handles criminal cases categorized as Class C misdemeanors, is also directly involved in processing arrested individuals through the San Antonio Detention Center. By comparison, our Central Magistrate Office/Court processes all arrests in Bexar County in which criminal charges are Class B or higher (Bexar County, “Central Magistrate Division | Bexar County, TX - Official Website”).

Bexar County has two detention centers, the Bexar County Juvenile Jail and the Bexar County Adult Detention Center. We'll be focusing on the adult detention center---or Bexar County Jail---which is managed and operated by the Bexar County Sheriff's Department. The Bexar County Adult Detention Center not only houses inmates awaiting trial, it also is responsible for processing and booking detainees, delivering adequate medical care to inmates, facilitating visitation services, and providing rehabilitation and reeducation for offenders (Bexar County Jail). While detained, before a defendant faces trial, the Bexar County Pretrial Services Office offers a number of pretrial services with the goal to "promote positive defendant change through effective programs and services." (Bexar County, “Pretrial Services | Bexar County, TX - Official Website”). The most notable of these services is the office's authority to interview and investigate a defendant who qualifies for Personal Recognizance Bonds. A PR Bond is a legal agreement in which a defendant can be released from custody before they stand trial as long as they agree to appear later in court. The Pretrial Services Office will then provide judicial officers with any information to aid in the officer's determination of whether an eligible defendant will receive a PR Bond or not.

Finally, we have the Bexar County Public Defender's Office. Different from court-appointed attorneys, public defenders are not private professionals, but they work under Bexar County (Bexar County, “Public Defender’s Office | Bexar County, TX - Official Website”). The Bexar County Public Defender's Office is appointed to an indigent detainee---someone who cannot afford legal representation---by the Bexar County Jail Magistrate, a County Judge, or a District Judge.

To put these pieces together in a linear way, the criminal justice system in motion would look something like this:

The San Antonio Police Department or another law enforcement agency with jurisdiction in SA/Bexar County believes they have sufficient cause to make an arrest, either witnessing the crime directly (meaning no warrant is needed), or collecting enough reasonable evidence to procure an arrest warrant. Once an individual suspected of a crime is detained, they will be brought to Bexar County Jail for booking. Here, personal information is recorded, fingerprints are taken, and a mugshot of the accused is captured. The accused will remain in Bexar County Jail until a court determines bail or other release conditions. Before a defendant's trial, depending on the nature of the alleged crime, they may be released on bail or a PR Bond. Within a reasonable amount of time within being detained, the accused will appear at a criminal arraignment---a court hearing in which they are informed of all charges against them. At this arraignment, the defendant, advised by any defense team they may have, will make a plea of guilty, not guilty, or no contest (a no contest plea means the defense neither disputes nor admits to the charges). If the case then goes to trial, prosecution and defense will present their arguments before a judge and jury, followed by either a sentencing or release of the accused (Rush Gransee).

Throughout the entirety of all aforementioned processes, a defense attorney is likely to be involved with the accused individual. We have already discussed the Public Defender's Office, but directly opposite this department are local, private defense attorneys. Enter here law groups like LaHood Norton, one of the San Antonio area's most prestigious firms. In fact, LaHood Norton Law Group was named the best criminal defense firm in the city earlier this year by The San Antonio Current (San Antonio Living). Additionally, Nico LaHood himself has also been named one of the best criminal defense lawyers not only in the city, but the state as well, even having received national recognition.

In our upcoming episode, we'll discuss exactly how LaHood came to be a community leader, and more specifically on LaHood Norton Law Group and his focus in criminal defense.

Sources:

Bexar County. “Central Magistrate Division | Bexar County, TX - Official Website.” Bexar.org, 2024, www.bexar.org/3699/Central-Magistrate. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Bexar County. “Pretrial Services | Bexar County, TX - Official Website.” Www.bexar.org, www.bexar.org/3086/Pretrial-Services/pretrial/.

Bexar County. “Public Defender’s Office | Bexar County, TX - Official Website.” Bexar.org, 2024, www.bexar.org/1041/Public-Defenders-Office.

Bexar County Jail. “About Jail.” My WordPress, 15 Oct. 2024, bexarcountyjails.org/about-jail/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

National District Attorneys Association. “What Is a DA - National District Attorneys Association.” Ndaa.org, 2025, www.ndaa.org/what-is-a-da. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

Rush Gransee. “Understanding the San Antonio, TX Criminal Justice System: A Beginner’s Guide.” Southtexaslawfirm.com, 2025, southtexaslawfirm.com/understanding-the-san-antonio-tx-criminal-justice-system-a-beginners-guide/. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.

San Antonio Living. “LaHood Norton Law Group Named Best Criminal Defense Firm in San Antonio.” WOAI, 13 Aug. 2025, news4sanantonio.com/sa-living/lahood-norton-law-group-named-best-criminal-defense-firm-in-san-antonio. Accessed 17 Sept. 2025.