Salary: $150,100.00 - $180,000.00 Annually
Location : Austin, TX
Job Type: Full Time
Job Number: 25-10163
Department: Criminal Courts
Opening Date: 08/14/2025
Closing Date: 8/28/2025 11:59 PM Central

Job Summary
Presides over magistration, as well as hearings and other matters referred by District Judges, primarily regarding criminal cases. This position will be working in Travis County's new Counsel at First Appearance (CAFA) program, which will be a 24-hour operation starting October 1, 2025. Travis County provides defense attorneys to arrested persons during the magistration process and prosecution attends magistration to give their input on new cases. As a part of CAFA, this position will be expected to be available in the evenings, weekends, and holidays on a rotation basis, but is primarily for the "C" shift, which is overnight from 11 pm to 6 am. During the C shift, no CAFA defense attorneys or prosecutors will be present, but the position will be required to review warrants presented by law enforcement, private attorneys approaching for bonds, and emergency magistrations in unique situations. This position will also regularly fill in for daytime or evening regular CAFA shifts with counsel and magistration proceedings.
The start date for this position is October 1st, 2025.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Handling criminal cases and other low-level offenses, like traffic violations
• Issuing arrest warrants, search warrants and civil or criminal summonses
• Setting bail, bond or other release conditions for accused parties in criminal cases
• Holding preliminary hearings for certain cases
• Presiding over examination hearings after evaluating evidence
• Administering oaths to witnesses, suspects and attorneys
• Developing reports and recommendations for higher court judges in upcoming cases
• Issuing emergency protective orders
• Preparing dockets and subpoenas for court
• Reminding defendants of their rights
• Accepting pleas
• Processing and accepting payments of bonds
• Uploading filings, orders and notices into an electronic case management system
• Handling post-trial matters like international prisoner transfers or habeas corpus hearings
• Presiding over jury selection for trials
• Presiding over arraignments
• Serving on court committees

Minimum Requirements
J. D./LL.B. from an accredited law school and must have been a practicing lawyer or judge, or both, for the five (5) years preceding the appointment as a Criminal Magistrate Judge, during which time law license cannot have been revoked, suspended, or subject to a probated suspension. Must be a resident of the State of Texas and Travis County for two (2) years preceding the appointment. Licensed to practice law in the State of Texas for at least five (5) years.

Preferred:
Knowledge and experience as an attorney or judge in magistration process and criminal law generally. Have been a practicing lawyer or judge, or both, for the eight (8) years preceding the appointment as a Magistrate Judge, during which time law license cannot have been revoked, suspended, or subject to a probated suspension.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• Criminal Law as an attorney or judge.
• Constitutional, statutory and case law and rules relating to judicial procedures, rules of evidence and operations of Travis County District Courts.
• Management principles and practices.
• Area of law assigned.
• Business English, grammar, punctuation.
• Microsoft Office Suite software.

Skill in:

• Problem solving and decision-making.
• Analyzing and appraising facts, policies, procedures, and legal precedents in area of specialty.
• Both verbal and written communication, including presentations.

Ability to:

• Conduct legal research and analysis, both manually and electronically.
• Motivate, train, supervise and evaluate staff.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Handle stressful court environment and client/customer contact for extended periods of time.

Work Environment & Other Information
This job description is intended to be generic in nature. It is not necessarily an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The essential duties, functions and responsibilities and overtime eligibility may vary based on the specific tasks assigned to the position.

Hours: Varies depending on assignments, but will regularly work nights, holidays, and weekends

Department: Criminal Courts

Location: Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center

Criminal & Employment Background Check Required
Benefits
Employment at Travis County comes with a full array of benefits. We offer comprehensive health insurance, a no-cost, on-site Health and Wellness clinic, longevity pay, paid vacations, sick time and personal holidays, not to mention an industry competitive salary structure and a friendly, stable work environment.
FY2025 Travis County Benefit Guide

In this valuable you will find benefit summaries, eligibility requirements, costs, contact numbers and addresses as well as other general information on the benefits available to Travis County Employees and Retirees.

Credit Union
Employees may join the Travis County Credit Union which offers low-interest loans, savings plans through payroll deduction, safe deposit boxes and other benefits.

Deferred Compensation
Employees may enroll in a tax- free sheltered investment plan through payroll deduction.

Direct Deposit
Employees may sign up for direct bank deposit.

Employee Assistance Program
Travis County provides a confidential counseling and referral service free of charge to county employees and their family.

Employee Organizations
Membership in the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Union is available through payroll deduction.

Employee Health & Wellness Clinic
Employees may access the clinic for a variety of wellness program and health care services with no co-pay, no deductible and no co-insurance costs.

Holidays
An average of eleven paid holidays are designated by the Travis County Commissioners Court at the beginning of each fiscal year.

Insurance
Employees may select from four plans: an Exclusive Physician Organization (EPO), Choice Plus Preferred Physician Organization (PPO), Consumer Choice or a High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings Account (HSA). All four options include a Pharmacy Plan. Travis County's current policy is to pay 100% of the employee's health insurance premium for the Consumer Choice and HDHP. Employees will pay a premium for both the EPO and PPO. Other insurance benefits include $50,000 Basic Life and AD&D paid by the County.

The following benefits are employee paid:

• Dental
• Vision
• Supplemental Life, AD&D
• Dependent Life
• Short Term Disability
• Long Term Disability
• Long Term Care

New employees are covered on the first day of the month following 28 calendar days of employment.

Longevity
Longevity pay is paid for each year completed after three years of continuous service. Peace Officers in a law enforcement activity, whose job requires state peace officer certification, receive pay after one year of certification.

On the regular payday on or after the employee's fourth and subsequent adjusted service dates, he or she receives a single payment for the previous year.

Parking
A limited number of assigned parking spaces are available to employees in the Courthouse Complex.

Personal Holidays
Regular, full-time employees are eligible for up to three paid personal holidays each calendar year. Part-time employees shall be granted personal holidays on a prorated basis. New employees earn personal holidays for the calendar year in which he/she begins employment, based on the month in which employment begins:

January - March

3 personal holidays
April - June

2 personal holidays

July - September

1 personal holiday
October - December

None

New employees are eligible to take personal holidays after 90 days of employment.
Retirement
Travis County is a member of the Texas County & District Retirement System with mandatory participation by certain classes of employees. Seven percent (7%) of the gross salary is deducted each pay period. An employee is fully vested after eight years of service. Benefits are prorated for part-time employees.

Sick Leave
Regular employees earn sick leave at a rate of eight hours per month with unlimited accrual during employment. Part-time employees earn sick leave on a pro-rated basis.

Parental Leave
Each Full-time Paid Parental Leave Eligible (PPL) Employee is entitled to a total of 320 hours of Paid Parental Leave in a 12 month period. Paid Parental Leave for Part-time PPL Eligible Employees is prorated based on the number of hours that they are regularly scheduled to work.

Tuition Refund
Certain classes of full-time employees may receive reimbursement for fees associated with pre-approved, job related course work completed satisfactorily.

Vacation
Based on years of county service, regular, full-time employees earn vacation time at the following rates:

0 to 5 years

4.0 hours per pay period

6 to 10 years

4.5 hours per pay period

11 to 15 years

5.0 hours per pay period

16 to 20 years

5.5 hours per pay period

21 plus years

6.0 hours per pay period

Part-time employees earn vacation leave on a pro-rated basis.
Workers' Compensation
The county provides all employees workers' compensation coverage with benefits in accordance with state statute, if the employee sustains an injury out of, or in the course of work.