Travis County blocks defenders; ACLU says that's unconstitutional
An ACLU report on Travis County bail hearings includes this illustration, which depicts,"an uncounseled person attempting to virtually communicate with a judge by talking to a computer screen through the meal tray slot in a cell."If you’re arrested in Travis County , you’ll soon find yourself before a judge. In that hearing, the judge will decide whether there was enough reason to arrest you in the first place, and if there was, how much you’ll have to pay to get out of jail.
Travis County hasn’t allowed defenders into these initial bail hearings for a long time. And for years, the sheriff, county commissioners, public defenders, and judges have all been in agreement that providing detainees with Counsel at First Appearance would be an improvement. The road to, but now an ACLU lawsuit could kick the county into gear. In it, the attorneys argue that denying people counsel at these initial bail hearings violates their constitutional rights.was arrested April 9.
In some cases, the ACLU observed judges talking to detained people who were still in holding cells via Zoom. In these cases, people would be"kneeling or contorting their bodies to maintain view of the screen" through the meal tray slot in the cell door, the report said.
On one Thursday during the ACLU’s observation period, a judge told a detainee they likely wouldn’t see a court-appointed attorney for four or five days. “ can get you out on bond for free. If you need to get out before Monday or Tuesday, then the going rate to get out of jail is 5-10% of the bond amount, so in your case it would be $750 and $1,500.”“People can lose their jobs, people scramble to arrange for child care – and we're inflicting this unnecessary suffering.
The suit makes three main arguments: First, they allege Travis County is violating the Sixth Amendment right to counsel – they argue first appearances are a critical stage in the criminal justice process, so that Sixth Amendment right should kick in.
Bail CAFA Counsel At First Appearance Travis County Trisha Trigilio
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