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Second Amended General Order Regarding Procedures for Bail Hearings and Pre-Trial Release — Fort Bend County. The operative requirements are quoted verbatim from the governing document (registered/posted 04/22/2026); the document in custody is the controlling text.
Texas > Fort Bend County > District and County Courts (criminal)
No arrestee may be held in pre-trial confinement solely because the arrestee cannot afford to post bail. Due process in pretrial-detention proceedings requires (1) an inquiry into the arrestee's ability to pay, with notice and an opportunity to be heard; (2) consideration of alternative conditions of release, with findings on the record explaining why no alternative suffices; and (3) representation by counsel. … In addition to the Judicial Officer and Bailiffs, counsel from the Fort Bend County Public Defender's Office, counsel from the District Attorney's Office, and a representative of the Indigent Defense Coordinator's Office must be present at all bail and pretrial-release hearings. … A magistrate shall review probable cause for every warrantless arrest per Art. 17.033: a misdemeanor arrestee must be released on bond not exceeding $5,000 not later than the 24th hour after arrest if probable cause has not been determined (on personal bond if unable to post); a felony arrestee must be released on bond not exceeding $10,000 not later than the 48th hour absent a probable-cause determination; the State may obtain a postponement of release of up to 72 hours. … Every arrestee shall receive an individualized initial pre-trial release and bail hearing as soon as practical — generally within 24 hours and no later than 48 hours after arrest — with all admonishments required by Art. 15.17; the Sheriff's Office shall prepare a Public Safety Report under Art. 17.022 for each arrestee, which the Judicial Officer must review before making any bail decision. … A magistrate appointed under Chapter 54 may not release on bail a felony defendant who was on felony bail, parole, or supervision at the time of the offense, who has two prior felony convictions with TDCJ time served, who is subject to an immigration detainer, or who is charged with murder, capital murder, aggravated kidnapping, or aggravated sexual assault. … Only a district judge may reduce a bond set by another district judge (Art. 17.092). An electronic record shall be made of every bail hearing, and written findings filed with the appropriate clerk. … Bail and conditions of release shall be the least restrictive reasonably necessary to prevent willful non-appearance and to ensure the safety of the victim, law enforcement, and the community, supported by written findings. No person arrested for a Class B misdemeanor or higher may be released before appearing before the Judicial Officer and consideration of the Public Safety Report. … Absent a compelling government interest, a misdemeanor arrestee facing unaffordable secured bail is presumptively entitled to release on personal bond unless the Judicial Officer makes on-the-record findings of extraordinary circumstances or a Code of Criminal Procedure prohibition applies. Before secured money bail may be required, the arrestee shall provide a sworn financial affidavit and be given the opportunity to be heard; orders requiring secured money bail must contain substantive findings on the record capable of review. Arrestees at or below 125% of the federal poverty line may not be assessed personal-bond fees, pretrial-supervision fees, electronic-monitoring fees, or ignition-interlock costs, and no arrestee may be kept in jail for inability to pay a fee or cost of a condition of release. … An arrestee who remains in jail after the individualized hearing is entitled to an adversarial bail-review hearing before a District Judge, County Court at Law Judge, or Associate Judge upon a filed and served defense motion, held no earlier than 72 hours after service. Approved by a vote of the Fort Bend County Judges April 8, 2026; filed April 21, 2026; signed by all ten District Judges and all six County Court at Law Judges.
Reviewer note: Operative provisions transcribed verbatim by vision-read of the registered scanned document (rasterized at 170 dpi and read page-by-page this session); the registered document (sha256 c8fcea606c47…) is the controlling text. Full paragraph-by-paragraph read retained in fb-transcripts/2941-bail-order.md.
Tenth (10th) Court of Appeals — Standing Order No. 1, as registered in the statewide TOPICs local-rules registry (posted 01/01/2023). The operative requirements are quoted verbatim; the registered document is the controlling text.
Tenth (10th) Court of Appeals — Standing Order No. 2, as registered in the statewide TOPICs local-rules registry (posted 01/01/2023). The operative requirements are quoted verbatim; the registered document is the controlling text.