AUSTIN, Texas — The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the ACLU published today an analysis of Travis County first appearance hearings in criminal court. The report shows numerous issues with Travis County’s practice of making people face a judge without legal counsel at their first appearance hearings.
The ACLU of Texas established a court watching program where law student volunteers observed 686 magistration hearings this year from January 15 to March 15.
Court watchers observed judges frequently questioning people without counsel, including asking about immigration status, relationships with complaining witnesses, and details about alleged incidents. They also witnessed magistrate judges stop people from speaking after they potentially jeopardized their cases.
Some key findings based on observations include:
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Judges required people to pay for release from jail before trial in 66% of magistration hearings. If Travis County allowed lawyers at these hearings, they would be able to advocate for their clients’ release, including release without paying cash.
- Nearly a third of uncounseled people were observed making statements that could affect their case and be used against them later on.
- One in 10 people were observed clearly struggling to hear or to be heard by the magistrate judge — often because of virtual magistration practices.
“No one should be forced to navigate an important hearing without an attorney. Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in Travis County,” said Savannah Kumar (she/they), attorney at the ACLU of Texas. “Hundreds of hours of court watching has revealed that these criminal court hearings are unfair. Too many people cannot hear or understand what’s happening. At times, correctional officers are even communicating with the judge on an unrepresented person’s behalf. People are answering questions that could harm their cases and are being denied an attorney who could represent their interests.”
Some unrepresented people were expected to communicate with a magistrate judge through a camera pressed against a cell door or through its narrow meal tray slot.
In March, 37 organizations including the ACLU of Texas sent a letter to Travis County officials calling for immediate action to be taken to provide the constitutional right of counsel at first appearance. Travis County officials have proposed testing a two-shift pilot program later this month. However, less than 1% of people arrested in Travis County a year would be helped by the proposed program.
“Providing counsel at first appearance hearings is a common sense solution that works in communities across the country,” said Trisha Trigilio (she/her), senior staff attorney at the ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project. “The dark absurdity we’re seeing in Travis County’s hearings has a straightforward solution.”
Access the Travis County court watching analysis here: https://aclutx.org/traviscountyreport
