More than a decade in the making, new Travis County courts facility opens amid case backlog

Travis County opens new Civil and Family Courts Facility on Guadalupe Street
(KXAN Photo/Frank Martinez)

KXAN
by: Tahera Rahman, Jaclyn Ramkissoon
Posted: Dec 2, 2022 / 01:27 PM CST

AUSTIN (KXAN) Travis County leaders are holding a dedication ceremony for the new Civil and Family Courts Facility on Guadalupe Street.

According to a county press release, the building has 25 courtrooms, including 15 jury courtrooms, six non-jury courtrooms, one child protective services courtroom, one special proceedings courtroom and two State of Texas Attorney General child support hearing rooms.

The county said it’s been working on these plans for more than a decade. Right now, most services are in the Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse, which opened in 1931. The county said it no longer meets the needs of its growing population.

Earlier this year, in-person jury trials resumed in Travis County after being halted due to a COVID-19 spike in the area. But a backlog in criminal cases continued to grow.

In February, an official with the Travis County Criminal Courts Administration said 238 jury trials were pending in the district courts, while 399 were pending in the county courts at law.