Research shows having a lawyer present often reduces bail amounts. The county will provide lawyers for a limited time on Tuesday and Thursday. It has tried to roll out a program for years.
After years of back-and-forth, Travis County is taking a small step to provide lawyers for low-income people accused of crimes.
A program known as"counsel at first appearance" started in a limited capacity Tuesday, with the county providing lawyers at the downtown court this week to defendants who can't afford legal representation. The county said lawyers would be available at pre-trial hearings from 2–10 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.
The two shifts represent a fraction of the nearly 1,100 pre-trial hearings conducted downtown at the county's Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center in a given year.has shown having an attorney when charges are read often reduces bail amounts and that defendants were more willing to comply with a judge’s orders, reducing the time spent in jail.has shown a sizable share of people in Texas jails are low-income and are awaiting trial because they can’t afford bond to get out.
Next month, mentally ill individuals accused of committing minor crimes will be “diverted” to a new 25-bed facility instead of jail cells in Travis County.For years, the county has been trying to give defendants access to lawyers at their first hearings in jail. Staffing shortages and, now, privacy concerns may kill that effort.The pilot program was part of a study to examine the benefit of providing legal counsel to people immediately after their arrest.
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