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Your Cedar Park Criminal Defense Attorney
Being arrested in Cedar Park means the case lands in one of Williamson County’s criminal courts almost immediately: District Court for a felony, County Court at Law for a Class A or B misdemeanor, and which one applies shapes everything that follows. The specific classification a charge falls into, and what that means for sentencing and bail, is covered further down this page. Working through these distinctions early, rather than after a hearing has already happened, is usually the more effective approach.
Getting Released Before Trial: Bail in Cedar Park, Texas
A magistrate setting bail in Texas has to do more than consult a bond schedule: the Damon Allen Act’s factors, meaning offense severity, ability to pay, victim and community safety, and criminal history including prior failures to appear, all have to be considered before bail is set or a personal bond is granted. The public safety report system created alongside the Damon Allen Act gives the magistrate access to a defendant’s criminal history and any family-violence record before that decision is made, not afterward. Before any of this happens, Article 15.17 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires a magistration hearing within 48 hours of arrest, the point where the charges are formally read, the right to counsel is explained, and a magistrate first sets bail conditions. Because Williamson County’s population exceeds 250,000, the Fair Defense Act (Code of Criminal Procedure Article 1.051) requires a court to appoint counsel for an indigent defendant within 1 working day of the request, not the longer 3-day window smaller counties get.
Sentencing Ranges in Cedar Park, Texas Criminal Cases
Under Penal Code Chapter 12, a state jail felony carries 180 days to 2 years in state jail; a third-degree felony carries 2 to 10 years; a second-degree felony carries 2 to 20 years; and a first-degree felony carries 5 to 99 years or life, and each felony tier also carries up to a $10,000 fine. Below the felony tiers, a Class A misdemeanor tops out at a year in county jail and a $4,000 fine, Class B at 180 days and $2,000, and Class C is fine-only, up to $500, with no jail time at all. DWI has its own escalation path under Penal Code Chapter 49, separate from the general classification ladder above: a first offense is a Class B misdemeanor (3 to 180 days, up to $2,000) unless the BAC is 0.15 or higher, which bumps it to a Class A; a second offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a mandatory minimum 30 days; a third is a third-degree felony. A DWI with a passenger under 15 in the vehicle is charged as a state jail felony under §49.045 regardless of whether it’s a first offense.
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How Texas Grades Assault, Theft, and Drug Possession Charges
A simple assault charge under §22.01 isn’t always the same offense: threatening someone or making offensive contact can be a fine-only Class C misdemeanor, while causing bodily injury is usually charged as a Class A misdemeanor, and certain victim categories, such as a public servant, a family member, or someone in a dating relationship, can push it to a felony instead. The dollar amount alleged to have been taken is what actually determines a theft charge’s severity under §31.03: misdemeanor tiers run from under $100 (Class C) to under $2,500 (Class A), while felony tiers start at $2,500 (state jail felony) and climb to $300,000 or more (first-degree felony). A drug possession charge’s severity turns on the specific substance’s penalty group and the weight alleged: Penalty Group 1 substances under §481.115 start at a state jail felony below 1 gram and climb from there, while marijuana, classified separately under §481.121 and not folded into the Penalty Group ladder, starts as a Class B misdemeanor under 2 ounces and doesn’t reach felony territory until 4 ounces.
What Texas Actually Offers: Expunction or Nondisclosure
Expunction (Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A, which replaced the former Chapter 55 on January 1, 2025) is not available for a conviction or for successfully completed deferred adjudication; that’s what an order of nondisclosure, under Government Code Chapter 411, is actually for. Certain offenses are permanently excluded from nondisclosure no matter how the case resolved, including any offense involving family violence and most sex offenses.
Williamson County's Courts and Jail
Williamson County’s District Courts and its four County Courts at Law are both housed at the Williamson County Justice Center at 405 MLK Street in Georgetown, the county seat, with the Round Rock Jail serving as the county’s primary detention facility for arrests made anywhere in the county, including Round Rock itself.
Nearby cities we also cover: criminal defense attorneys serving Austin, criminal defense representation from Killeen, Georgetown criminal defense attorneys.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is bail set after an arrest in Williamson County?
A magistrate has to individually weigh the offense, the defendant’s ability to pay, public safety, and criminal history under the Damon Allen Act (CCP Art. 17.15), not apply a fixed bail schedule.
Does county population really affect the appointment deadline?
Williamson County falls above the Fair Defense Act’s 250,000-population line, so the appointment clock is 1 working day, the faster of the two statutory tiers.
How much can a DWI actually cost in jail time?
A first DWI is typically a Class B misdemeanor (3 to 180 days) unless the BAC is 0.15 or higher (Class A, up to a year); a second offense is a Class A misdemeanor with a mandatory 30-day minimum; a third is a third-degree felony.
Is marijuana possession charged the same as other drug possession?
No, marijuana is classified separately under Health & Safety Code §481.121, not under the Penalty Group ladder other drugs fall under: under 2 ounces is a Class B misdemeanor, while a Penalty Group 1 substance like cocaine can already be a state jail felony at under 1 gram.
Is an ALR suspension the same length as a DWI conviction’s license suspension?
No, they’re separate and can run for different lengths: an ALR suspension from refusing or failing a breath/blood test typically runs 90 days to 2 years depending on prior history, while a suspension following an actual DWI conviction is set separately under Transportation Code §524.
Is there a waiting period before petitioning for a nondisclosure order?
Yes, and it varies by offense: some misdemeanors qualify immediately after successfully completing deferred adjudication, while others (and most felonies) require a 2 or 5-year waiting period under Government Code Chapter 411 before the petition can be filed.
What You Do Next Matters
A criminal charge in Cedar Park runs on real deadlines from day one, not a flexible timeline that waits for anyone to catch up.
