What Happens in a Travis County Arraignment?

Arraignment in Travis County Courts

Arraignment in Travis County is the formal court proceeding where the charges against you are read and you enter a plea. In the Travis County Courts at Law (misdemeanor) and District Courts (felony) at the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, an attorney will almost always enter a not guilty plea at arraignment, regardless of the ultimate defense strategy. A not guilty plea preserves all options — the case can still resolve through dismissal, plea agreement, or trial. It does not signal intent to contest the charges at trial.

What Happens Before Arraignment

Before arraignment, you will have been through magistration — where bond conditions are set by a Travis County magistrate within 24 to 48 hours of arrest. For DWI arrests, the 15-day ALR clock starts at arrest, not at arraignment. By the time arraignment occurs, we will already have filed the ALR hearing request, obtained dashcam and bodycam footage, and begun the Fourth Amendment analysis.

What the Arraignment Proceeding Involves

At arraignment, the judge or magistrate reads the formal charges as filed by the Travis County Attorney or DA’s office. The defendant, through their attorney, enters a plea. The court sets scheduling deadlines for discovery, motions, and a next court date. In misdemeanor cases, the attorney can often waive the defendant’s personal appearance at arraignment — the defendant does not need to appear in court.

After Arraignment

After arraignment, the case moves through the discovery process. The prosecution provides the defense with the police reports, dashcam and bodycam footage, breath or blood test results, and other evidence. We review everything in the file for Fourth Amendment violations, evidentiary problems, and inconsistencies between the officer’s report and the video. This review forms the basis of the suppression motion and the overall defense strategy.