Tarrant County Remote Video Magistration Arlington

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

The Remote Video Magistration Program provides a mechanism for Tarrant County Magistrates to carry out initial appearance hearings for defendants in the City of Arlington who are located at the city jail facility via video conference. All documents required for the process are managed electronically. If the defendant is able to make bond, or if the magistrate finds that no probable cause exists for the arrest, the defendant is released in Arlington without ever being transported to the main Corrections Center in Fort Worth. Arlington is the pilot city for this program, which became operational in October of 2020, and the program is currently being expanded to additional cities across Tarrant County at this time. The program results in reduced costs for defendant transport and housing, as well as reducing impact and inconvenience on defendants who are released or can make bond, and ensuring more consistent legal outcomes by ensuring that Tarrant County magistrates perform all initial appearance hearings with consistent practices and principles.