Criminal justice advocates want Travis County to grow program offering lawyers at bail hearings
Local advocacy organizations came together Tuesday to urge Travis County officials to provide public updates about its implementation of counsel at first appearance.
Someone arrested in Travis County is not provided a lawyer during magistration, the hearing in which a municipal judge sets bail and jail release conditions. Counsel at first appearance, or CAFA, has long been sought by local officials and Austin defense attorneys, though plans to institute the initiative languished after a short-lived 2022 pilot program was canceled due to a sheriff's office staffing shortage.
