Travis County Criminal Courts

If you have been arrested in Austin or anywhere in Travis County, the courthouse can feel like a maze: different courts for different charges, two separate prosecutors' offices, and a driver's-license clock running quietly in the background. This guide explains how the Travis County criminal courts actually work: where your case will be heard, who will be prosecuting it, what the local process looks like from arrest to disposition, and what diversion programs may be available. It reflects how these courts run in practice, not just what a statute says. Nothing here is legal advice or a promise about your case (every case is different), but it should help you walk in knowing what to expect.

Where your case will be heard

Which court hears your case depends entirely on the level of the charge.

Misdemeanor DWI and other Class A/B misdemeanors: County Courts at Law. Class A and Class B misdemeanors, including DWI, DWI 2nd, theft, and assault, are heard in the Travis County criminal County Courts at Law, all housed inside the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center. Travis County has seven criminal County Courts at Law, numbered 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9. Courts 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are general criminal courts that hear misdemeanor DWI cases. County Court at Law No. 4 is the designated Family Violence Court (protective orders and family-violence misdemeanors), not a general DWI docket. The county's specialty misdemeanor DWI Court docket sits in County Court at Law No. 7. (County Courts at Law Nos. 1, 2, and 10 also exist but handle civil and probate matters, not criminal cases.) The specific court assigned to an individual DWI is shown in the county's online docket search.

Felony charges: District Courts. Felony criminal matters, including felony DWI (a third or subsequent DWI, or DWI with a child passenger), are heard in Travis County's nine criminal District Courts: the 147th, 167th, 299th, 331st, 390th, 403rd, 427th, 450th, and 460th District Courts. Felony arrests are first magistrated at the county's Central Booking facility (where a magistrate reviews the charge and sets bond, generally within 48 hours of arrest) before the case proceeds in a District Court. Judicial assignments rotate with elections and appointments, so confirm the current bench for your court.

Class C, fine-only offenses: Justice of the Peace and municipal courts. Fine-only Class C matters (most traffic tickets, public intoxication, minor-in-possession, and city-ordinance violations) are not heard in the County Courts at Law. Offenses in the county outside city limits go to one of Travis County's five Justice of the Peace precinct courts. Class C offenses that occur inside Austin city limits go to the Austin Municipal Court. Smaller cities such as Pflugerville and Lakeway run their own municipal courts for citations within their limits, so which court applies depends on where the citation was issued.

Who prosecutes your case

Travis County splits prosecution between two separate offices, and which one handles your case again depends on the charge level.

Misdemeanors, including DWI: the Travis County Attorney. The County Attorney prosecutes all misdemeanors filed in Travis County, including every misdemeanor DWI, in County Courts at Law 3 through 9. The office is at 314 West 11th Street, Room 300, Austin, TX 78701 (mailing: P.O. Box 1748, Austin, TX 78767); phone (512) 854-9415. The County Attorney administers a pretrial diversion program for first-time misdemeanor DWI (described below). Written eligibility criteria are limited, and screening is handled case by case.

Felonies: the Travis County District Attorney. The District Attorney prosecutes felonies, including felony DWI. The office is in the Ronald Earle Building, 416 West 11th Street, Austin, TX 78701; phone (512) 854-9400 (Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM). Felony intake and indictment run through the office's Grand Jury/Intake Division.

How a first-offense DWI is generally handled. A first, non-aggravated misdemeanor DWI is prosecuted by the County Attorney, and for eligible first-time defendants the office's pretrial diversion program is the pathway that most often shapes the case. Whether any individual case is offered diversion, reduced, or set for trial depends on the specific facts, the defendant's record, and the evidence, and no outcome is promised. This guide describes the options that exist here; it does not predict what will happen in any particular case.

The local process, step by step

Every case is different, but a Travis County criminal case generally moves through these stages:

1. Arrest and booking. After a DWI or other arrest, you are booked into the Travis County Jail through the Sheriff's Office, which maintains the arrest and booking records.
2. Magistration. A magistrate informs you of the charges and your rights, sets bond, and imposes any bond conditions. Texas law requires this appearance without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours after arrest.
3. Bond and conditions. Bond is set at magistration rather than from a fixed public schedule. Travis County Pretrial Services screens defendants for personal-bond (PR bond) eligibility, and conditions can include no-alcohol terms, an ignition interlock device, or portable or continuous alcohol monitoring.
4. The driver's-license clock (separate track). A DWI arrest starts a second, civil case against your license. You have only 15 days from the arrest to request an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing from the Texas Department of Public Safety, or your license is automatically suspended. This proceeding is handled by the State Office of Administrative Hearings, not the criminal court. See the process below.
5. Filing and first setting. For a misdemeanor, the County Attorney files the charge and the case is set in the assigned County Court at Law. For a felony, the case is presented to a grand jury for indictment before it proceeds in a District Court. Your first setting is largely administrative: appearances, scheduling, and confirming counsel.
6. Discovery. Under the Michael Morton Act (Texas's criminal discovery statute, Code of Criminal Procedure Article 39.14), the prosecution must disclose its evidence on a timely request, making disclosure the rule rather than the exception. In DWI cases this typically includes the offense/incident report, the probable-cause affidavit, CAD dispatch records, breath or blood lab results, certified driving records, any EMS or hospital records, and dash-cam and body-cam video. Filing and exchange are handled electronically.
7. Announcement / plea dockets. Cases move through a rhythm of reset settings at which the parties announce status, exchange positions, and either continue negotiating or move toward trial.
8. Pretrial motions. Where the facts support it (and routinely in felony matters), the defense files motions such as a motion to suppress evidence, along with related trial-preparation filings.
9. Trial setting. If the case does not resolve, it is set for trial, with announcement practice governing how firmly a given trial date holds.
10. Disposition. The case concludes by dismissal, diversion, plea, or trial verdict, depending on its facts and posture.

Local Programs

Travis County runs several specialty dockets and diversion programs. Eligibility and outcomes below come from the county's published program materials; confirm current terms with the administering office, because criteria change.

• Pre-trial diversion (first-offense misdemeanor DWI): Travis County Attorney. A roughly one-year program for first-time misdemeanor DWI. Criteria are administered case by case and are commonly described as a first-time misdemeanor DWI with no collision, no prior alcohol or DWI history, and a lower BAC, subject to individual review. Requirements can include alcohol education, counseling, community service, check-ins, and interlock or SCRAM monitoring. Successful completion results in dismissal of the DWI, with eligibility to expunge the arrest afterward.
• Misdemeanor DWI Court: County Court at Law No. 7. A phased program (about 12 months or longer) for repeat misdemeanor DWI offenders. General eligibility: age 18+, Travis County resident, a DWI 2nd or subsequent within two years, and no violent history. Graduation follows sustained compliance and sobriety; the program materials describe graduation rather than an automatic dismissal, so confirm the completion outcome with the court.
• Felony DWI Court. For felony DWI defendants with up to two prior misdemeanor DWI convictions and no other felony convictions. On successful completion, the felony DWI is reduced to a Class A misdemeanor with probation and continued treatment. This is a reduction, not an outright dismissal.
• Drug Court / drug diversion. For possession-of-controlled-substance defendants; a four-phase treatment program plus aftercare, modeled on national drug-court standards. Successful completion supports dismissal.
• Misdemeanor Mental Health Diversion Docket. Judicially supervised pretrial diversion of 3–12 months for defendants with a diagnosed mental illness, by agreement with the State to dismiss the case after a period of treatment and stability (treatment compliance, no new arrests).
• Veterans Treatment Court. For veterans whose offense relates to a service-connected condition such as TBI, PTSD, or another mental disorder (including military sexual trauma). Voluntary; requires prosecutor consent; runs 12–24 months. The official program materials describe graduation and compliance rather than an automatic dismissal.

Driver's-license (ALR) hearings. ALR hearings are civil driver's-license proceedings held by the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH), not the criminal courts. For Travis County arrests, they are handled through SOAH's Austin operations at 300 West 15th Street, Suite 504, Austin, TX 78701; (512) 475-4993, and may be held in person or by phone or video. The hearing must be requested from DPS within 15 days of the arrest.

What makes Travis County different

A few realities of a Travis County DWI are things a local defendant would recognize immediately and an out-of-town firm can miss.

Two cases start at once, and the license case moves faster. A Travis County DWI is really two proceedings running in parallel: the criminal case in the County Court at Law and a separate administrative case over your driver's license at SOAH. The license side is easy to overlook because it has nothing to do with the criminal courthouse, yet its 15-day clock is the first hard deadline you face. Requesting the ALR hearing preserves the right to contest the suspension, and where a suspension does take effect, Texas law allows a petition for an Occupational Driver's License so a person can keep driving to work, school, and treatment (typically with SR-22 insurance and, in alcohol cases, an ignition interlock) while the criminal case is still pending. Handling the criminal case but ignoring the license track is one of the most common and costly mistakes a defendant makes.

Diversion is a live option on a first offense, and it is worth pursuing early. The County Attorney's pretrial diversion program is an established track for eligible first-time misdemeanor DWI, not a theoretical one. Because completion leads to dismissal and expunction eligibility, positioning a case for that track from the outset can matter more than any single setting. The tradeoff is a year of structured conditions, so the decision is individual, but a defendant who does not know the program exists cannot ask for it.

Felony DWI is litigated as a trial case. When a DWI is charged as a felony here, it genuinely goes to a grand jury for indictment and, if it does not resolve, to a jury. The standard early filings at that level (jury-punishment elections, motions to suppress, motions to record proceedings, and jury-shuffle requests) reflect that trial posture and the stakes of a felony exposure.

Changing lawyers mid-case is workable here. The local courts routinely process substitutions of counsel by agreed motion, so retaining new counsel after a case is already underway is a normal, accepted step, not a disruption the court holds against a defendant. If you are unhappy with how your case is being handled, switching attorneys is a practical option.

Attorneys who appear here

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Charges we defend in Travis County

We defend the full range of criminal and DWI matters in the Travis County courts, including:

• DWI: first offense
• Felony DWI
• Multiple-offense DWI (DWI 2nd and subsequent)
• Underage DWI
• Drug possession and drug charges
• Assault
• Domestic violence / family violence
• Weapons and unlawful-carry charges

External Resources

• Travis County criminal docket / case search
• Travis County District Clerk: felony case information & records
• Travis County Clerk: misdemeanor records
• Travis County Criminal Courts hub
• Travis County Attorney (misdemeanor / DWI prosecutor)
• Travis County District Attorney (felony prosecutor)
• Travis County Sheriff: arrest & booking / inmate search
• SOAH driver's-license (ALR) hearings
• Texas DPS Administrative License Revocation (ALR) program
• Austin Municipal Court (Class C offenses)

Frequently Asked Questions

Nearest Office

Our Austin office is minutes from the Travis County criminal courthouse. If you have been arrested in Travis County, call for a free case review or contact us online.

Other Courthouse Guides

• Williamson County Courthouse Guide. The criminal courts of Williamson County (Georgetown).
• Bexar County (San Antonio) Courthouse Guide. The criminal courts of Bexar County.
• Hays County Courthouse Guide. The criminal courts of Hays County (San Marcos).
• Dallas-Area Courthouse Guide. The criminal courts serving our Dallas-area clients.