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County describes handoffs between first‑appearance counsel and continuing defenders, transfers four case manager positions to preserve continuity
Summary
Officials said CAFA representation is split roughly 50% Office of 1st Defense, 25% CapDS and 25% Public Defender; to avoid information loss between horizontal first‑appearance counsel and later attorneys, a confidential intake form and transfer of four case manager positions to CapDS were implemented.
Travis County staff told the court that CAFA representation is shared across three organizations and that preserving client information through handoffs is a priority.
"OFD and CAP DS collaborate a lot...we meet regularly, we talk about how to make this as vertical as possible so we don't lose people after Magistration," Kristin Jernigan said, describing a client intake form that confidentially travels with cases to the attorney who will represent the client after first appearance. Jernigan said four case manager positions were transferred to CapDS so case managers could stay connected to clients through the process.
Jeff Burkhart described the rough distribution of representation: OFD handles a little over 50% of first appearances, CapDS about 25% and the Public Defender Office about 25%. Staff said the public defender's vertical model (keeping the same attorney through adjudication where possible) can aid continuity but that horizontal and vertical models each have tradeoffs; the intake form and colocating case managers aim to keep client details and supports intact through handoffs.
