EDINBURG, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Hidalgo County District Attorney Toribio “Terry” Palacios says a years-long case backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may finally be winding down, as more cases are now making their way to trial.

Palacios told ValleyCentral that his office is seeing a significant shift in how quickly cases are moving through the court system, helping to ease jail overcrowding and bring swifter justice to victims.

“These cabinets were full of files and now we are at a point where we have only some old jail cases, some no bills, but at one time all these were full,” said Palacios.

At the height of the pandemic, courtrooms were closed and jury trials came to a halt. As a result, thousands of criminal cases stalled, with some remaining unresolved for up to six years. But

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