Harris County spends millions on defense in Jocelyn Nungaray case
Harris County was on track to pay $95 million for court-appointed defense, and the Nungaray case turned that bill into a public flashpoint before any trial date was set.
Harris County was on track to pay $95 million by the end of October 2023 to private attorneys representing low-income defendants, about $35 million more than budgeted. That same indigent-defense system now sits behind the costly defense work in the Jocelyn Nungaray capital murder case, where the county is paying for lawyers.
Texas law requires the spending. The Texas Constitution, state statutes and Harris County’s district-court indigent-defense plan require counsel for people accused of crimes that could lead to incarceration when they cannot afford a lawyer. The county’s plan, effective Feb. 4, 2026, requires qualified representation for indigent defendants, and the Texas Indigent Defense Commission requires county plans to spell out attorney qualifications, appointment procedures and fee schedules.
The money comes from Harris County, and Commissioners Court approves the budget. Harris County also funds the Public Defender’s Office, while some projects have received grants from the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and Houston Endowment. Even with that structure, the county has continued to rely heavily on private court-appointed lawyers. Harris County spent $60 million on court-appointed lawyers with big caseloads, and one private attorney received just over $1 million in a year, according to a Houston Chronicle investigation.
In June 2025, defense attorneys for Franklin Peña asked Judge Josh Hill to hold former Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg in contempt after she discussed previously unreleased evidence in a TV interview. Prosecutors and defense lawyers later sought a more tailored gag order, and Hill issued an amended order covering extrajudicial statements. Hill’s amended order was updated June 18, 2025, in State of Texas vs. Franklin Pena in the 232nd Judicial District Court.
The underlying case dates to June 2024, when 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray was killed in north Houston. Peña and Jose Martinez-Rangel were charged with capital murder, and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office will seek the death penalty. By June 2025, both men still awaited trial one year after the killing.
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