If you entered a courtroom in Travis County for an initial bail hearing early last year, chances are it seemed like a one-on-one between an inmate and a judge. Today, defense attorneys and prosecutors fill the room.
Following local advocates’ criticism about defendants going without legal counsel at initial hearings, and then spurred on by a lawsuit filed from the ACLU accusing the county of unconstitutional behavior, officials did a test run of the Counsel at First Appearance program for two days in April 2024.
Now, the program operates seven days a week, nearly 20 hours a day.
Prior to the implementation of CAFA, the first interaction between an arrested individual and defense counsel generally took place post-first appearance, meaning they were forced to make uninformed legal decisions in front of a judge as their bail conditions were initially decided.
“That [first] appearance sets the tone for how things are going to move through the end of the case,” said Adeola Ogunkeyede, chief public defender at the Travis County Public Defender’s Office.
From 6am to 11pm, attorneys from the Capital Area Private Defender Service, the Travis County Public Defender’s Office, and the Office of First Defense show up to argue for their clients’ bail, release conditions, and other case-resolving factors.
However, arrested individuals with overnight hearings are still left without CAFA. The county expects to be able to have all hearings during the currently staffed shifts by the next phase of the program in October, Ogunkeyede said.
In addition to expanding the program’s operating hours, Ogunkeyede said CAFA is working to reduce pre-hearing holding time to under 24 hours, despite federal standards being 48 hours.
Not only does spending more than one day in jail increase risk of rearrest by 24%, it jeopardizes arrestees’ livelihoods by destabilizing employment, housing, and health, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
“The more disruptive that arrest is, the harder it is for somebody to get resettled back into a rhythm and a routine that even allows them to even come to court and appear,” Ogunkeyede said.
“The more disruptive that arrest is, the harder it is for somebody to get resettled back into a rhythm and a routine that even allows them to even come to court and appear.” – Chief Public Defender Adeola Ogunkeyede
The program has also offered the Travis County District Attorney’s Office early insight into the facts of the case, enabling increased and faster victim protection, especially in high-risk cases such as domestic violence where protective orders are common.
District Attorney José Garza said he is hoping the next phase of CAFA will begin incorporating prosecutors’ recommendations for pretrial diversion programs, resolving cases at their initial hearings and developing more efficient mechanisms for rejecting cases.
When the program initially launched in 2022, it was held in the Travis County Sheriff’s Office central booking facility before being abandoned after nine days due to lack of resources, staff, and up-to-date technology.
While the sheriff’s office is still experiencing staffing shortages, they added several officers to fulfill CAFA’s security and transportation needs since the program is now held in the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center.
“As we have gotten more resources and collaborative efforts and changed our technology, we’re actually getting more efficient than we were,” Captain Maria Velasquez said.
CAFA is still in its pilot phase and has yet to find a permanent home – and that issue depends on whether the county develops a new central booking facility. But attorneys say it’s already making a difference.
“All this is a result of a couple of years of full justice system meetings and discussions that have gotten us to this point,” the district attorney said. “The part that has been the most rewarding is for the county to acknowledge that we can do better, that there is a right outcome, and for everybody to just continue to push through until we get there.”
Editor’s Note Thursday, August 7, 7:57pm: This story has been updated. A previous version incorrectly stated that the county planned to staff overnight hearings with defense attorneys by October; the county plans by October to ensure all recently arrested individuals have a hearing with a defense attorney during the current operating hours.
This article appears in August 8 • 2025.