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Fair Defense Act Standards and Procedures — Appointment of Counsel for Indigent Defendants, Harris County District Courts Trying Criminal Cases (as amended… — posted on the court's own website — the court-procedure tier (standing procedures, policies, and preferences the court itself publishes), distinct from the TOPICs-registered local-rules tier (TRCP 3a registration applies to local rules). Operative requirements quoted verbatim; the posted document is the controlling text.
Texas > Harris County > District Courts Trying Criminal Cases (Felony Division)
0.3 "Master List" shall mean the list of qualified attorneys who have received approval from the board of judges to be included on the graduated list that includes the First-Degree List, the Second-Degree List, the Third-Degree List and the Post-Conviction List. … The indigency standards adopted by the judges shall apply to each defendant equally, regardless of whether the defendant is in custody or out on bail. … 2.1 A judge shall consider the following criteria as incorporated by the form adopted by the board of judges in determining whether a defendant is indigent: … 2.2 The judge shall not consider whether the defendant has posted bail, except to the extent that it reflects the defendant's financial circumstances. … 2.3 All defendants on bail who are seeking court appointed counsel shall complete the approved indigency information form and may be required to respond to questions by the court. … 2.4 A defendant who has been found indigent is presumed indigent for the duration of the proceedings unless there is a material change in the defendant's financial circumstances. … 2.5.4 There shall be a presumption of indigency if: … 3.1.1 The detaining authority must present the defendant before the magistrate within 48 hours of arrest. … 3.1.2 The magistrate shall: deliver admonishments; inform the defendant of the right to counsel; record whether the defendant requested appointed counsel; and make a finding of probable cause. … See Tex. Code Crim. Pro. Art. 15.17(e). … 3.1.4 If the defendant asks that a lawyer be appointed, the magistrate shall instruct pre-trial services to assist the defendant in filling out the indigency information forms and request for appointed counsel. … The defendant's information and request for counsel shall be transmitted to the court not later than 24 hours after defendant appears before the magistrate. … Art. 15.17(a). … 3.3 If the defendant is in jail after being arrested without a warrant for a felony, and the magistrate has not determined probable cause, the defendant must be released on bond, not to exceed $10,000, not later than 48 hours after arrest. … 3.6 Prompt Appointment of Counsel. … If adversarial judicial proceedings have been initiated, and if a defendant is entitled to and requests appointed counsel, a court shall appoint counsel as soon as possible, but not later than the end of the first working day after the date on which the court receives the defendant's request for appointment of counsel. … 3.6.3 If a defendant is arrested in this county based on another county's warrant, counsel will be appointed for the defendant if, on the 11th day after the defendant is committed to the Harris County Jail, the defendant is still in this county's custody. … 3.7 Persons appearing in court without counsel shall be advised of the right to counsel and procedures for obtaining counsel. … 4.1 The judge of each court shall post in writing in the office of the Court Administrator, the method used by the court to appoint counsel to represent indigent defendants. … 4.2 An attorney assigned to a case under any method shall zealously represent a defendant until the defendant is acquitted, appeals are exhausted, or the court, after entering a finding of good cause on the record, relieves the attorney and/or replaces the attorney with other counsel. … Attorneys shall be assigned to death penalty cases at trial and on appeal from the list established by the Eleventh Judicial Administrative Region selection committee in accordance with Tex. Code Crim. P. art. … Courts shall appoint second chair as required by Tex. Code of Crim. Procedure 26.052. … 5.2 Attorneys shall be assigned to writs of habeas corpus in death penalty cases in accordance with Tex. Code Crim. P. art. …
Reviewer note: Own-site content fetched by us 2026-08-23 (Phase 5 page-denominator close; hashed custody). Operative mandatory-language provisions quoted verbatim; the full posted document is the controlling text. Filed with the District Clerk February 11, 2026 (23-page certified scan, read by vision; the provisions quoted are transcribed from the posted plan with the original section numbering, elisions are marked …, and the posted scan is the controlling text). Supersedes the 2018 edition previously published (tx-harris-os-district-criminal-fda-standards, now archived). The mandatory-language extraction below is drawn from that transcription.
18 verbatim requirements from 5th Jud. Cir., M-2018-65 — sha256-hashed 2026-07-25.
2 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1986-33A.