From arrest to courtroom: how a criminal case actually moves through Travis County

You will see words like booking, magistration, bond, and indictment in our coverage constantly. This guide explains what each one actually means, in plain language, so any story on this site makes sense on the first read.

When someone is arrested in Travis County, they are booked: photographed, fingerprinted, and entered into the county system. Within roughly 48 hours they see a magistrate, a judicial officer who informs them of the charges and sets conditions of release. Bond is the financial guarantee that a person will return to court. Posting bond is not an admission of anything; it is how the system releases people who have not been convicted.

For felony cases, a grand jury then decides whether enough evidence exists for the case to proceed. If it does, the grand jury returns an indictment. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. It means a case will move forward, and the accused remains presumed innocent unless and until a court says otherwise. Many cases never get that far: charges can be reduced, declined, or dismissed at several points along the way.

That last part is why we update our coverage as cases resolve. An arrest is the beginning of a story, not the end, and a story that stops at the booking photo is not journalism. When a case we covered is dropped, dismissed, or resolved, the story gets updated, and removals are always free.