Fort Bend County, Civil Rights Violation, Texas 2024

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Fort Bend County, Texas, has agreed to settle a language access and retaliation investigation by the Justice Department. The agreement comes after allegations that Fort Bend County courts discriminated against people with limited English proficiency (LEP) and retaliated against a complainant, both in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Justice Department investigation found language barriers that made it difficult for LEP individuals to meaningfully access the court system. These barriers included requirements that LEP criminal defendants use a bilingual attorney instead of a qualified interpreter in plea proceedings, and policies that resulted in higher court costs for LEP parents in child custody cases.

“People with limited English proficiency can suffer the loss of their children, homes, and fundamental rights when they face language barriers that deny meaningful access to our judicial system,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will continue fighting to ensure that courts remove barriers that deny people access to equal justice. I commend Fort Bend County for taking actions necessary to ensure language access for court users in compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.”

Fort Bend County has agreed to provide interpreter services at no cost to LEP individuals in civil and criminal cases in Fort Bend County courts. The county will also review its language access plans over the next year, develop mandatory Title VI training for Fort Bend County courts, provide Title VI retaliation training and issue public notices that explain the Title VI nondiscrimination policy and complaint process in non-English languages. The Justice Department will monitor these and other requirements for two years.

Fort Bend County will also pay damages to an LEP court user for court costs and to an individual who alleged retaliation. The amount of the damages was not specified in the press release.

The enforcement of Title VI is a top priority of the Civil Rights Division. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt, and information about limited English proficiency and Title VI is available at www.lep.gov. Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/.

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