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  • Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano Letter To County Attorney Delia Garza

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    Austin Sanders
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    On March 8, 2021, ACM Rey Arellano wrote to Travis County Attorney Delia Garza and Sheriff Sally Hernandez outlining concerns with Garza's implementation of a new arrest review policy, which occurred March 1.

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    Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano letter to County Attorney Delia Garza

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    On March 8, 2021, ACM Rey Arellano wrote to Travis County Attorney Delia Garza and Sheriff Sally Hernandez outlining concerns with Garza's implementation of a new arrest review policy, which occurred March 1.

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    76 views2 pages

    Assistant City Manager Rey Arellano Letter To County Attorney Delia Garza

    Uploaded by

    Austin Sanders
    On March 8, 2021, ACM Rey Arellano wrote to Travis County Attorney Delia Garza and Sheriff Sally Hernandez outlining concerns with Garza's implementation of a new arrest review policy, which occurred March 1.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    City of Austin

    City Manager’s Office


    P.O. Box 1088, Austin, TX 78767
    (512) 974-2200, Fax (512) 974-2833

    Rey Arellano, Assistant City Manager


    [email protected]

    SENT VIA EMAIL

    March 8, 2021

    Delia Garza
    Travis County Attorney
    314 West 11th Street
    Room 300
    Austin, TX 78701

    Sherriff Sally Hernandez


    Travis County Sheriff’s Office
    PO Box 1748, Austin, Texas 78767

    Re: Changes in handling misdemeanor arrests

    Dear County Attorney Garza and Sheriff Hernandez:

    I write regarding the recent changes to the process your offices have implemented for handling and
    reviewing misdemeanor arrests in Travis County. In particular, I am concerned about recent
    communications from the Travis County Sherriff’s Office (TCSO) that all probable cause (PC)
    affidavits must be presented to TCSO officials in the jail before the arresting officer or agency
    presents the PC affidavit to a magistrate. Moreover, I have learned that an on-call Travis County
    Attorney will review these PC affidavits after presentation to TCSO, and the prosecutor may choose
    to reject the charges prior to their presentation to a magistrate. In short, this new process permits
    prosecutors to reject charges even before officers are able to take the person arrested before a
    magistrate.

    I understand that these changes have been made for reasons that include reducing the burden on
    courts and keeping people with low level offenses out of jail. These reasons are consistent with City
    Council policy goals as well. However, these changes have been implemented without any
    consultation with the Austin Police Department or City management. These changes should have
    been brought forward and discussed as part of the Coordinating Committee established by section 12
    of the Interlocal Cooperation Agreement between Travis County and the City of Austin for Booking
    and Related Services. One of the chief purposes of the Interlocal Agreement is for the TCSO to
    keep custody of APD arrestees until they can be brought before a magistrate. The Interlocal
    Agreement does not require all PC affidavits to be held by TCSO before being presented to a
    magistrate, nor does it contemplate that prosecutors will review and reject PC affidavits prior to
    magistration. While it is not entirely clear to me at this time how these new processes will be
    implemented, they have the potential to fundamentally disrupt the Interlocal Agreement, which
    requires the County to receive, hold, and house all city prisoners tendered by APD and accepted by
    the TCSO.

    The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act.
    Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request.
    I also believe that these changes undermine the ability of APD (or TCSO officers who have custody
    of the arrestee) to fulfill their obligations under Article 14.06 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As
    you know, article 14.06 obligates the officer making a warrantless arrest or the person having custody
    of the arrested person to bring that arrested person before a magistrate. In turn, the magistrate is
    required to provide that person with the necessary admonishments under article 15.17. See Tex.
    Atty. Gen. Op. GA-0426. Texas law does not require prosecutors to review charges prior to
    magistration, nor does it assign them a specific role in the process of presenting arrestees for
    magistration.

    Accordingly, I am requesting these changes be suspended until a meeting can be convened pursuant
    to the Interlocal to discuss how best to achieve our common interests.

    Sincerely,

    Rey Arellano
    Assistant City Manager

    xc: Spencer Cronk, City Manager


    Chief Brian Manley, Austin Police Chief
    Anne Morgan, City Attorney

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