Travis County, ACLU settle criminal court counsel case

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Travis County has signed a settlement agreement that ensures every person arrested and facing incarceration in the county is provided with an attorney at their first criminal court appearance.

The executed settlement agreement resolves a federal class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas last year on behalf of people jailed in Travis County without access to counsel. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, ACLU and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP filed the lawsuit in April 2024. The settlement was signed December 12. 

“This settlement agreement ensures that everyone arrested and facing jail time in Travis County will now have a lawyer when they first appear in front of a judge, regardless of their ability to afford one,” said Savannah Kumar, staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas. 

“This is both a constitutional right and a matter of basic dignity. People who cannot afford to purchase their freedom by posting bail often face the devastating consequences of losing their jobs, housing, and custody of their children. Now, people who are arrested will have a lawyer by their side to advocate for fair release conditions and preserve their rights.”

For years, people in Travis County who could not afford a lawyer were required to attend their first appearance in court without legal representation. 

The ACLU maintains that at the hearings magistrate judges frequently asked questions about facts related to their alleged crimes, such as relationships with witnesses and other details that could later jeopardize people’s cases. Without an attorney present, individuals were left to navigate an unfamiliar legal process on their own.

“This agreement affirms what the Constitution has always required: No one should stand alone before a judge when their liberty is at stake without a lawyer by their side,” said Brandon Buskey, director of the ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project. 

“Guaranteeing counsel at first appearance upholds the core values of due process and fairness that define our justice system. For our plaintiffs, and every person who enters a Travis County courtroom in the future, this settlement ensures that justice will no longer depend on whether someone can afford a lawyer.”

The ACLU previously has secured court orders requiring counsel at first appearance in Galveston County, Texas, and Alamance County, North Carolina; and has asserted similar arguments in litigation pending in Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah.

The signing comes after the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to approve the settlement in November.