AUSTIN, Texas – The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, the ACLU, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP announced the approval of a settlement agreement in their lawsuit against Travis County that will provide people who are arrested and facing punishment with incarceration in Travis County with an attorney at their first criminal court appearance.
The announcement comes after the Travis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to approve the settlement Tuesday. The parties will now work together to execute the final written agreement. The executed settlement agreement will resolve a federal class action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas last year on behalf of people jailed in Travis County without access to counsel.
The following statement can be attributed to Savannah Kumar (she/they), staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas:
"We are deeply encouraged that the Travis County Commissioners Court has voted unanimously to approve the settlement agreement, which will provide people arrested and facing jail time in Travis County with an attorney at their first criminal court appearance. We look forward to working with the county to execute the final written agreement."
The following statement can be attributed to Alfredo Reyes Jr. (he/they), organizer at VOCAL-TX:
"Providing an attorney at first appearance is a huge step in the right direction and means fewer unhoused people will have to go through what I did when I got arrested. Having an attorney from the very beginning will give folks a much better chance to keep their jobs and their housing and maintain their health care. We are excited to have this formalized in a signed settlement agreement soon.”
Access our analysis of criminal court hearings in Travis County and the problems faced by people without legal representation here: https://www.aclutx.org/sites/default/files/aclutx_-_detention_hearings_without_lawyers.pdf
Access the original lawsuit announcement here: https://www.aclutx.org/en/press-releases/aclu-texas-partners-sue-travis-county-over-denying-right-legal-counsel
