Federal judge orders Caldwell County to hold bail hearings in public

A federal judge has ordered Caldwell County to hold public bail hearings in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of officials there allowing only people arrested and on-duty magistrates to attend such proceedings.

The Texas Tribune, the Caldwell/Hays Examiner and advocacy organization Mano Amiga filed the suit last year, claiming Caldwell County has violated their “First Amendment right of access to judicial proceedings and Plaintiffs’ Fourteenth Amendment right to procedural due process.”

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and in a preliminary injunction ordered defendant Caldwell County to open bail hearings, or magistrations, by March 4.