Seventy-nine people were arrested on UT Austin’s campus during demonstrations Monday against Israel’s war in Gaza, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office said. The most recent arrests began a second week of protests, with pro-Palestinian demonstrators again descending on the university’s south lawn. State police responded, arresting scores of protesters. Crowds attempting to block vans carrying arrested protesters […]
Travis County Attorney
Posted inCourts
A new Texas law could get prosecutors fired for not pursuing charges. Here’s how it works.
A new state law could lead to the firing of elected prosecutors who refuse to take on certain crimes like low-level pot offenses. Supporters of the law say these “rogue” prosecutors should be thrown out of office. Opponents say the law makes it difficult to effectively do the jobs prosecutors were elected to do. There […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Domestic violence task force reports milestones
Gathered to kick off its awareness month, the Austin/Travis County Domestic Violence Task Force reported important progress since the difficult days of 2020. After a record number of requests for protective orders during the pandemic – and a record number of cases pending – the court now has the fewest cases pending in recent history, […]
Posted inPublic Safety
Travis County to build diversion center aimed at reducing recidivism
The Travis County Commissioners Court passed a resolution Tuesday to create both a diversion center for mental health and substance use disorders as well as fund construction for a new central booking and intake facility. During a press briefing on the matter, commissioners highlighted the role of the diversion center in reducing recidivism and detentions […]
Posted inTravis County
Travis County launched a program to provide lawyers at the county jail. It lasted nine days.
A pilot program to provide legal representation to people in custody at the Travis County Jail had to be put on hold after just nine days because of staffing shortages. The grant-funded program was part of a Texas A&M study to examine the benefit of providing legal counsel to people accused of crimes immediately after their arrest […]
Posted inTravis County
County Attorney Garza’s first priority is public safety
Delia Garza’s life as Travis County Attorney is a lot different than when she sat on Austin’s City Council. But the one thing that has stayed consistent, she said, is that no two days look alike. Since Garza took on the role of county attorney earlier this year, she has been able to dive deep […]
Posted inTravis County
Diversion programs can reduce mass incarceration in Travis County
At Thursday’s work session, the Travis County Commissioners Court fielded discussion about the benefits of, and recent updates to, several jail diversion programs underway in Travis County. Such programs included pretrial and pre-charge diversion programs, as well as a DWI diversion program. Roughly 500 people have been accepted to the programs so far, according to […]
Posted inTravis County
County issues anti-price gouging order
Last Thursday, in partnership with the Office of the Travis County Judge, the Travis County Attorney’s Office drafted an order prohibiting price-gouging for the duration of the Texas energy crisis. At an emergency session of the Commissioners Court, County Attorney Delia Garza briefed the commissioners on the disaster order, possible penalties, enforcement policy, and public […]
Posted inElections
Garza captures county attorney post, with plans to reform criminal cases
Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza will take over the position of Travis County attorney after defeating longtime city and county attorney Laurie Eiserloh in Tuesday’s primary election. Garza captured 56.7 percent of the more than 113,000 votes cast and tabulated as of Tuesday evening. No Republican is running for the office, which means that Garza, […]
Posted inElections
Garza, Eiserloh in runoff for Travis County Attorney
Longtime county and city lawyer Laurie Eiserloh will face Council Member Delia Garza in a runoff in May to determine who will become Travis County Attorney when David Escamilla retires from the job next January. In the end, Eiserloh had 43.63 percent of the vote compared to Garza’s 38.15 percent. The other candidates in the […]
Posted inElections
City pays MPT Garza’s bar dues
The city of Austin paid Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza’s bar dues in 2018 and 2019, according to information the city provided to attorney and activist Bill Aleshire through a public information request. Garza, who announced that she would not run for reelection and is seeking the Democratic nomination for Travis County attorney, deactivated her […]
Posted inLocal Politics
Lawyer says Garza should follow city finance rules
Within hours of signing up to run in the March Democratic primary for Travis County Attorney, Delia Garza had an opponent whose name will not be appearing on the 2020 ballot. Bill Aleshire, who retired from his job as county judge at the end of 1998, sent a letter via email to Garza urging her […]