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A standing order of the Travis County District and County Court at Law criminal judges appointing the Public Defender, the Office of First Defense, and CAPDS attorneys to represent defendants at first appearance (counsel at first appearance) in criminal cases.
Applies to the appointment of counsel at first appearance (magistration) in criminal cases in Travis County. Procedural information only; not legal advice.
[Running header: Docusign Envelope ID: 6DE58303-E294-4382-9CE8-D2B20DAB906C] [Letterhead: County of Travis, State of Texas, with an engraving of the courthouse] D-1-GN-61-121012 C-1-CR-11-100054 STANDING ORDER APPOINTING PUBLIC DEFENDER, OFFICE OF FIRST DEFENSE, AND CAPDS ATTORNEYS FOR MAGISTRATION The District and County Court at Law Judges trying criminal cases in Travis County hereby express their support for counsel at first appearance (CAFA) in criminal cases. In an effort to effectively provide that counsel, the Judges appoint the Public Defender, the Office of First Defense, and CAPDS to represent all consenting persons arrested and brought to the Travis County Jail during County approved CAFA shifts for the limited purpose of advocating bail issues at any hearing before a Magistrate pursuant to Tex. Code Crim. P. Art. 15.17. Representation under this appointment does not extend beyond the conclusion of the Art. 15.17 hearing unless a further, separate Order is issued in any individual case. The Public Defender, Office of First Defense, and CAPDS may divide the cases as their capacity allows and may delegate these duties to an Assistant Public Defender, Office of First Defense counsel, and CAPDS assigned panel attorneys to perform their duties pursuant to this Order. To the best extent possible, the Criminal Courts will prioritize appointing the Public Defender's Office to cases they have handled at magistration, but not every person represented at magistration will qualify for their representation, such as persons who are ineligible financially to receive appointed counsel, or cases where conflicts may be discovered later. Cases handled by CAPDS or the Office of First Defense at magistration may be appointed to either CAPDS or the Public Defender's Office after magistration, if the case qualifies for appointment. Our previous Standing Orders granting discovery prior to determination of bail, pretrial release, or any conditions thereof apply to this appointment for representation, and the Judges order the Travis County Sheriff's Office and Pretrial Services to share relevant information pertaining to the arrested persons with their counsel appointed for magistration. This Standing Order supersedes and replaces the previous Standing Order Appointing Public Defender and CAPDS Attorneys for Magistration (effective May 22, 2024), which is hereby rescinded. Signed the 13th day of February, 2025, [DocuSigned] JUDGE CLIFF BROWN, Presiding Judge of the Criminal Courts, 147TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE DAYNA BLAZEY, 167TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE KAREN SAGE, 299TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE CHANTAL ELDRIDGE, 331ST District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE JULIE KOCUREK, 390TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE BRANDY MUELLER, 403RD District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE TAMARA NEEDLES, 427TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE BRAD URRUTIA, 450TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE SELENA ALVARENGA, 460TH District Court [DocuSigned] JUDGE BIANCA GARCIA, County Court at Law #3 [DocuSigned] JUDGE DIMPLE MALHOTRA, County Court at Law #4 [DocuSigned] JUDGE MARY ANN ESPIRITU, County Court at Law #5 [DocuSigned] JUDGE DENISE HERNÁNDEZ, County Court at Law #6 [DocuSigned] JUDGE EILSABETH EARLE, County Court at Law #7 [DocuSigned] JUDGE CARLOS BARRERA, County Court at Law #8 [DocuSigned] JUDGE KIM WILLIAMS, County Court at Law #9
[Running header: Docusign Envelope ID: 6DE58303-E294-4382-9CE8-D2B20DAB906C] [Letterhead: County of Travis, State of Texas, with an engraving of the courthouse] D-1-GN-61-121012 C-1-CR-11-100054 STANDING ORDER APPOINTING PUBLIC DEFENDER, OFFICE OF FIRST DEFENSE, AND CAPDS ATTORNEYS FOR MAGISTRATION The District and County Court at Law Judges trying criminal cases in Travis County hereby express th
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-09-06 from the TOPICs custody scan (text layer read). County-wide criminal order; bound to Travis County (criminal/indigent defense). [TRANSCRIBED BY EYE 2026-09-21 (corpus-0920 P12): every page of the registered file (sha256 a7e401b1bb6d..., 2 page(s), digital layer that failed the machine checks; text taken from the layer and corrected word by word from the page) read against the rendered file; verbatim, source typos kept, stamps/signatures bracketed; the earlier abstract replaced by the full instrument; confidence high. benchpath-tx-corpus0920-p12-2026-09-21]
9 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-10.
6 verbatim requirements from 4th Circuit Administrative Order 1997-13.