I was arrested in Austin or Travis County. What happens in the first 72 hours, and how does bail work here?

Travis County's process moves quickly and leans toward release for lower-level offenses: Booking and magistration: You'll be processed (the downtown Travis County Jail, or the Del Valle Correctional Complex) and brought before a magistrate — typically within 24 hours for misdemeanors, 48 for felonies — for the Article 15.17 hearing: rights warnings, probable-cause review, bail setting, and appointed-counsel screening. In family-violence arrests, an emergency protective order (31–91 days) usually issues automatically, barring contact and often excluding you from your home — violating it is a new crime even if the other person invites contact. What to say: Only two sentences matter — "I am not answering questions" and "I want a lawyer." Say them clearly, then stop talking: to police, to cellmates, and on jail phones (every call is recorded and prosecutors listen; logistics only). Don't discuss facts with family; don't contact the complainant; don't post about anything. Bail — Travis County's reform posture: Travis County has been a leader in moving away from cash bail. Through Pretrial Services and personal-bond practice, many defendants — especially for nonviolent and lower-level offenses — are released on personal bonds (no money, with conditions) after a risk assessment, rather than held on cash they can't pay. Where cash or surety bail is set, options are cash bond (refundable minus fees), a bondsman (nonrefundable ~10% premium), or a personal bond with conditions (check-ins, GPS, interlock for DWI, no-contact for family violence). If bail is set beyond reach, counsel files a bond-reduction motion or habeas writ under art. 17.15 — courts must consider ability to pay. Getting counsel: Tell the magistrate you want appointed counsel — Travis County uses the Capital Area Private Defender Service (managed assigned counsel) and the Travis County Public Defender's Office; screening looks at income and assets, and posting bond doesn't automatically disqualify you. If you hire, interview for actual trial experience in the Blackwell-Thurman courthouse, a written fee agreement, and a concrete first-30-days plan (evidence preservation, bond terms, grand-jury strategy on felonies). First settings: Misdemeanors (prosecuted by the County Attorney) get dates within weeks; felonies (the District Attorney) proceed toward grand jury, where counsel can sometimes present a defense packet seeking a no-bill. Evidence clocks run now — APD body-cam, 911 audio, scene and business video, and witness memories are all fresher this week than any week after. Show up to every setting; a missed date means bond forfeiture, a warrant, and a self-inflicted second case.

What diversion and alternative programs can keep a Travis County case off my record?

Travis County has one of Texas's most developed diversion systems, and its reform-minded prosecutors use it broadly: Pretrial diversion (best outcome short of outright dismissal): The District Attorney and County Attorney operate pretrial-diversion programs in which prosecution is suspended while you complete conditions (supervision, classes, community service, counseling, restitution); successful completion ends in DISMISSAL — and a diversion dismissal preserves expunction eligibility, so the arrest itself can later be erased. First-time and nonviolent charges are the core, but Travis County's criteria are relatively generous; ask about eligibility in every case. Marijuana and low-level offenses: Following Texas hemp-law changes and local policy, small-quantity marijuana possession is frequently declined, cite-and-released, or diverted rather than prosecuted — no plea should be entered on a charge the county wasn't going to pursue. Other low-level, poverty-related, and homelessness-related offenses are also handled through declination and diversion under recent policy. Specialty courts: The Travis County Veterans Court (service-connected issues, VA linkage — a strong fit given the region's veteran population), drug courts and DWI courts, and a mental-health court combine intensive supervision with treatment and typically reward completion with dismissal or reduced outcomes. The Public Defender's mental-health unit and diversion track serve defendants whose charges stem from mental illness. Deferred adjudication (art. 42A.101): You plead guilty, the judge defers a finding, and you complete supervision; success means no conviction, and many offenses later qualify for an order of nondisclosure sealing the record. Cautions: it counts as a conviction for immigration and many licensing purposes; violation exposes you to the FULL punishment range; and (except Class C) it's never expungeable — sealing is the ceiling. First-DWI deferred (available since 2019, BAC deferred adjudication > probation > jail plea — then overlay YOUR collaterals (immigration status, professional license, security clearance, CDL, student-disciplinary exposure, firearm rights). A deal that looks minor in court can be major at the licensing board, the USCIS interview, or the campus Title IX office; make your lawyer walk the map before you sign.

I'm a UT or Austin-area college student facing charges. How do the criminal case and campus discipline interact?

Students face two parallel proceedings that can each hurt the other, and coordinating them is essential: Two separate systems: A criminal charge (in the County or District Courts) and a campus-disciplinary/Title IX proceeding (at the University of Texas or your college) run on independent tracks, with different rules, standards of proof, and timelines. The school does not wait for the criminal case, and its lower "preponderance" standard means you can be disciplined — suspended or expelled — even if the criminal case is dismissed or you're acquitted. The danger of talking: Anything you say in the campus process — to an investigator, in a hearing, in a written statement — can be obtained and used in the criminal case. Students routinely damage their criminal defense by "explaining" to a dean or Title IX investigator without realizing prosecutors can subpoena those statements. Do not participate in campus proceedings without coordinating with your criminal defense lawyer, and consider a separate student-conduct advisor/attorney (Texas law gives students the right to an attorney-advisor in disciplinary proceedings at public institutions). Common student cases in Travis County: alcohol offenses (MIP/public intoxication — often eligible for quick diversion or deferred that avoids a record), fake IDs, drug possession (marijuana frequently declined/diverted; other drugs more serious, with immigration and financial-aid consequences), DWI, theft, assault (including the Sixth Street/West Campus nightlife context), and Title IX sexual-misconduct allegations (where the campus and criminal processes are most fraught). Collateral consequences that hit students hardest: a drug CONVICTION can affect federal financial aid; immigration status is at risk for international students (an F-1 student can lose status over an arrest or certain dispositions — Padilla advice and coordination with an immigration attorney are critical); professional-school and licensing applications (law, medicine, nursing) ask about arrests and dispositions; and a disciplinary record or transcript notation can follow you to graduate school and employment. The strategy: get a criminal defense lawyer immediately, coordinate (or retain a separate advisor) for the campus process, prioritize diversion/deferred outcomes that preserve expunction or nondisclosure eligibility, protect immigration status for international students, and be strategic about the sequence and content of any campus statement. UT's and the colleges' processes have real deadlines — but so does your criminal case, and the criminal exposure usually governs how you handle the campus one.

I'm not a US citizen and I got arrested in Travis County. What do I need to know before any plea?

That the plea, not the arrest, usually determines whether you can stay — and that even in a reform-minded county, state law feeds the jail into immigration enforcement: The SB4 reality: Although Travis County has resisted aggressive ICE cooperation, Texas SB4 requires honoring ICE detainers, and the jail screens bookings against DHS databases. Assume ICE may learn of any arrest. Posting criminal bond with a detainer in place can transfer you into ICE custody — decide bond strategy with BOTH a criminal and an immigration lawyer. Padilla is your shield: your defense lawyer must give accurate, specific advice about immigration consequences before a plea. If your lawyer can't map it, insist on a crimmigration consult before signing anything — Austin's tech and university communities include many noncitizens (H-1B, F-1, green-card holders) for whom this is the central issue. The traps, ranked: - Any drug offense: near-total toxicity — deportability AND inadmissibility, and Texas deferred adjudication COUNTS as a conviction for immigration. Fight for declination/diversion/dismissal or an immigration-neutral plea; note that Travis County's frequent marijuana declination is far safer than any plea. - The 365-day trap: theft, assault, and other offenses become AGGRAVATED FELONIES (mandatory detention, near-certain removal, permanent bars) with a sentence of one year — even probated. 364 days is a different universe; sentence length is negotiable. - Crimes involving moral turpitude: theft, fraud, some assaults — timing and sentence determine effect. - Family-violence findings: an independent deportability ground that also poisons discretionary relief. - DWI: a simple first DWI isn't itself deportable, but it damages DACA, naturalization good-moral-character, and discretionary relief. Status-specific stakes: green-card holders can lose residency and naturalization eligibility; H-1B and other visa holders and F-1 students can lose status from arrests alone; DACA recipients risk renewal; undocumented defendants' records control immigration bond and relief eligibility. Sign nothing in detention — stipulated removal and voluntary-departure papers waive hearings you may win. Family should use the ICE locator (locator.ice.gov) and gather ties evidence (tax returns, leases, US-citizen children's documents, employment records). Get both lawyers talking before any plea — criminal counsel plus an immigration specialist. Austin has an active immigration bar and university-affiliated resources; the rule that saves people is simple: no plea until the immigration math is done.

How do I clear a Travis County arrest or conviction from my record?

Two instruments with very different power, and Travis County offers real help with both: Expunction (Ch. 55) — destruction: erases the arrest and everything after it, and you may lawfully deny it happened. Qualifying endings: acquittal at trial; dismissal WITHOUT court-ordered community supervision (Class C deferred disposition is fine; Class A/B deferred adjudication is NOT); completion of a pretrial-diversion program (a big category in Travis County given its broad diversion use); charges never filed once the limitations period runs (or earlier by prosecutor agreement); no-bills; pardons and actual-innocence findings. If you completed a Travis County diversion program and never followed up, you may be sitting on an expungeable arrest right now. Nondisclosure (Gov't Code Ch. 411, Subch. E-1) — sealing: for successfully completed deferred adjudications and, since the 2015–2017 reforms, certain convictions — including qualifying first-offense DWI (BAC <0.15, no crash injuring others) after a 2–5 year wait (shorter with interlock compliance). Sealed records vanish from private background checks (employers, landlords) but remain visible to law enforcement, prosecutors, and a statutory list of licensing agencies (nursing, teaching, etc.). Disqualifiers: family-violence findings, sex offenses, trafficking, stalking, and any new conviction during the waiting period. Waiting periods: immediate for many nonviolent deferreds; 2 years for qualifying misdemeanor convictions; 5 for felony deferreds and DWI convictions. What neither reaches: convictions outside the nondisclosure categories, family-violence dispositions, and offenses statute excludes — for those, pardons (rare), judicial clemency at probation completion (art. 42A.701, ask at the time), and time. Process: petition through the Travis County District Clerk (512-854-9457) — expunctions as civil suits in district court, nondisclosures in the court that handled the offense. Filing costs a few hundred dollars (fee waivers available); the prosecuting office reviews and often agrees when eligibility is clean; orders take weeks to months, after which you send certified copies to private background-check companies still reporting the record. Free/low-cost help: Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (512-374-2700), Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (512-476-5550), UT School of Law clinics, and periodic expunction clinics; the Public Defender and CAPDS can advise on eligibility. Avoid paid "record-clearing" mills — the eligibility analysis IS the service, and a wrongly filed petition wastes money and can complicate a proper one. Why now: Austin's tech, healthcare, university, and government employers all run background checks; an expunged or sealed record turns a permanent obstacle into a non-issue, and if you completed diversion or deferred years ago, you may already qualify today.

Criminal Defense in Travis County, Texas

Criminal cases in Travis County are prosecuted by two offices — the Travis County District Attorney (509 W. 11th St., Austin TX 78701; 512-854-9400) handles felonies and family-violence cases, while the Travis County Attorney (512-854-9415) prosecutes misdemeanors — and are heard at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center (509 W. 11th St., Austin TX 78701), which houses the felony district courts and the County Courts at Law. Arrests flow from the Austin Police Department, the Travis County Sheriff's Office (which operates the Travis County Jail downtown and the Correctional Complex in Del Valle), the University of Texas and other campus police, and state agencies including DPS and the Capitol police. Travis County's prosecutorial culture is among the most reform-minded in Texas — recent District Attorneys have adopted policies declining or diverting many low-level offenses, expanding diversion, and emphasizing alternatives to incarceration — which shapes charging, plea offers, and diversion eligibility in ways that differ markedly from more punitive Texas counties. Texas penalty ranges still apply: Class C misdemeanors (fine-only) through Class B (to 180 days) and Class A (to 1 year county jail), then state jail felonies (180 days–2 years), third-degree (2–10 years), second-degree (2–20), first-degree (5–99 or life), with habitual-offender enhancements available.

Indigent defense in Travis County runs through the Capital Area Private Defender Service (CAPDS) — a managed-assigned-counsel system that appoints and oversees qualified private attorneys — together with the Travis County Public Defender's Office, established in 2020 to provide institutional defense with specialized units. Request appointed counsel at magistration and at every setting until resolved; eligibility turns on income, assets, and charge seriousness, and posting bond does not by itself disqualify you. Bail follows Texas Code of Criminal Procedure art. 17.15 (bail may not be an instrument of oppression; ability to pay must be considered), and Travis County has been a leader in bail reform — using personal-bond releases through Pretrial Services for many defendants who cannot afford cash bail, with risk assessment and conditions (check-ins, GPS, interlock for DWI, no-contact in family-violence cases) rather than money as the default for lower-level offenses. Bond-reduction motions and writs address amounts set beyond reach. Two warnings apply to every Travis County arrestee: jail calls are recorded and prosecutors pull them (discuss logistics only), and family-violence bond conditions bar any contact with the protected person, even invited contact. Invoke your rights clearly — "I am not answering questions and I want a lawyer" ends questioning; anything less invites the interview that becomes the State's best exhibit.

Most cases resolve through negotiation, and Travis County's diversion architecture is among the most developed in Texas. The offices operate and support pretrial diversion programs whose completion ends in dismissal (preserving expunction eligibility), a mental-health public-defender and diversion track, and a robust set of specialty courts: the Travis County Veterans Court (a natural fit given the region's veteran population), multiple drug-court and DWI-court dockets, a mental-health court, and programs addressing homelessness and low-level offenses. Marijuana enforcement has been sharply curtailed — following state hemp-law changes and local policy, small-quantity possession cases are frequently declined or cite-and-released rather than prosecuted. Statutory tools follow: deferred adjudication (art. 42A.101 — a plea without a finding of guilt; successful completion avoids conviction and often supports a later order of nondisclosure, but it counts as a conviction for immigration and many licensing purposes, and violation exposes the full punishment range), straight probation, and negotiated reductions. Felonies must be indicted by a grand jury, and defense packets seeking no-bills or reduced charges are a live practice — Texas's robust self-defense and stand-your-ground law, insufficient-evidence cases, and over-charged offenses are where they work. Trial remains the backstop, and before Travis County's educated, historically defense-receptive juries, credible trial preparation is genuine leverage in plea negotiations.

Collateral consequences deserve equal attention. Immigration: Travis County's foreign-born population is large and internationally sourced (the tech workforce, the university, and established immigrant communities), and although Travis County has resisted aggressive cooperation with ICE, Texas's SB4 requires honoring detainers and the jail screens bookings — so a noncitizen arrested for even a minor offense should assume ICE may learn of it, and Padilla v. Kentucky obligates defense counsel to give accurate immigration advice before any plea. Drug convictions (deferred adjudication included, for immigration purposes), aggravated-felony sentence math (365 vs. 364 days), crimes involving moral turpitude, and family-violence findings each carry distinct removal consequences that competent counsel structures around. Professional and status consequences: the tech and healthcare workforce holds licenses and, in some roles, security clearances that arrests and dispositions can jeopardize; nurses, physicians, teachers, lawyers, and CDL holders face board-reporting rules; students at UT and the region's colleges face Title IX and campus-disciplinary proceedings that run parallel to (and can be complicated by) the criminal case; and family-violence findings carry the federal firearm disability (18 U.S.C. §922(g)(9)). The rule: no plea, however minor it looks, before the collateral map is drawn.

Record relief afterward is often available and worth pursuing in a hiring market thick with background checks. Expunction (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ch. 55) erases arrests that ended in acquittal, dismissal (including after diversion completion), no-billed or never-filed charges after limitations run, and certain pardons — an expunged arrest can be lawfully denied. Orders of nondisclosure (Tex. Gov't Code Ch. 411, Subch. E-1) seal successfully completed deferred adjudications and some convictions — including qualifying first-offense DWIs after waiting periods with interlock compliance — from public checks while remaining visible to law enforcement and licensing boards; waiting periods run from immediate to five years. Petitions are filed through the Travis County District Clerk (512-854-9457), with the prosecuting office entitled to review. Texas RioGrande Legal Aid (512-374-2700), Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas (512-476-5550), the University of Texas School of Law clinics, and periodic expunction clinics handle petitions at low or no cost, and the Travis County Public Defender and CAPDS can advise on eligibility. Post-conviction, Article 11.07 writs address ineffective assistance and new evidence, and Travis County's prosecutors have supported conviction-integrity review. For victims and families navigating the same building, the DA's and County Attorney's victim-services units, SAFE (512-267-7233), and Crime Victims' Compensation through the Texas AG coordinate protection and services — the courthouse serves both directions of every case.

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