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The Downtown Austin Community Court is a new model of the current-day Municipal Court. Its goal is to improve the community's quality of life and public order through effective and creative sentencing of misdemeanor offenders. The Court provides offenders with the means and encouragement to discontinue their criminal behavior, whether through treatment, community restitution for the harm caused the community, or by incarcerating the truly unrepentant.
Who will be impacted?
- Individuals, other than juveniles, who commit Class C misdemeanor, public order offenses such as public intoxication, possession of drug paraphernalia, disorderly conduct, simple assault, and aggressive panhandling.
- Municipal Court judges, prosecutors, police officers, social service providers, court personnel and criminal justice professionals overseeing the day-to-day operation of the court.
- Community and non-profit organizations participating as supervisors for Community Service Restitution workers, participating with the court advisory committees, and/or offering services on site which will contribute to the success of the offender.
- Downtown community stakeholders, including residents, business owners, district police officers, service providers and other city entities. They identify the types of projects that will assist with returning the community to its pre-offense condition and communicate these needs to the court.
What kind of offenses does the court adjudicate?
- Public order offenses committed within Downtown, East Austin, and the West Campus areas. Click here to see a detailed map of the jurisdiction.
- Community Court initially focused on the downtown area; 44% of public order offenses committed in Austin occured in this area.
- After successfully handling the downtown area, the city added East Austin and the West Campus area to the Community Court's jurisdiction.
- Annual projected caseload for the Court: approximately 5,500.
Where is the court located?
- With its focus on the downtown area, the Downtown Austin Community Court is housed close to the Municipal Court Complex at 719 E. 6th Street.
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