Crittenden County Detention Center Criminal Court Process
Criminal Court Process for Crittenden County Arkansas
The Criminal Court Process in Crittenden County
Crittenden County faces Memphis across the Mississippi River, and two interstates, I-40 and I-55, meet in West Memphis before crossing into Tennessee. That location gives the county a busy criminal docket for a Delta county of its size. The county seat is Marion, where the Crittenden County Circuit Court hears felonies at the Crittenden County Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Marion, AR 72364. The Circuit Clerk’s number is (870) 739-3248. Crittenden belongs to the Second Judicial Circuit, along with Clay, Craighead, Greene, Mississippi and Poinsett, six counties in all. Juvenile cases go to the circuit court’s juvenile division, and district court appeals are retried from scratch in circuit court. Our bail guide explains what comes next.
Misdemeanor, traffic and preliminary felony matters go to the Crittenden County District Court, which holds court in several cities. The West Memphis department, the largest, can be reached at (870) 732-7560, with the district judge’s office at 317 W. Tyler Avenue, West Memphis, AR 72301. The Marion department is at 14 Military Road, Marion, AR 72364, (870) 739-5411, and smaller departments serve Earle, Gilmore, Jericho and Turrell. The elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District, who also covers Craighead and the four other circuit counties, prosecutes felonies and state misdemeanors here. People too poor to hire a lawyer can get a public defender from the Second District office, which the state pays for through its Public Defender Commission.
Crittenden County’s federal cases are heard in the Delta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Court for that division is held in Helena-West Helena, but the Helena office is not staffed, so filings and records are handled by the clerk in Little Rock at the federal courthouse in Little Rock (clerk’s office in Room A-149 at 600 W. Capitol Avenue), (501) 604-5351. State charges come from laws the Arkansas legislature wrote, and the district prosecutor brings them in Marion or West Memphis. Charges under acts of Congress belong to the U.S. Attorney, typically when interstate commerce or a federal interest is involved. Here that tends to mean drugs or guns moved on I-40 and I-55, stolen goods hauled over from Tennessee, bank robbery, or crimes on federal land like the Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge near Turrell. Because Memphis is in a different federal district, a crime planned in Tennessee and carried out in Arkansas can also raise questions about which court will hear it.
Open a category below for a typical path through court.
- West Memphis and Marion misdemeanors: small thefts, first DWI, battery, trespass
- Crittenden felony docket: burglary, felony theft, drug delivery, felony DWI
- Crittenden County violent offenses: capital murder, murder, rape, aggravated robbery
- Crittenden County courts: addresses and phones
- Who handles warrants in Crittenden County?
- When a Crittenden County case goes federal
- Finding someone held from Crittenden County
- ICE detainers and where Crittenden County detainees go
1. West Memphis and Marion misdemeanors: small thefts, first DWI, battery, trespass
Citations and arrests that reach district court come from West Memphis and Marion police, the small-town forces, sheriff’s deputies and state troopers. Anyone jailed has to see a judge promptly, and state rules start from the idea that most people can go home on a promise to come back. A money bond may be covered in cash or by a state-licensed bondsman.
The penalty limit for an Arkansas misdemeanor turns on its class. Class A carries a year in jail and a $2,500 fine at the most, Class B up to 90 days and a $1,000 fine, and Class C up to 30 days and a $500 fine. Third-degree battery and stealing $1,000 or less in property are both Class A misdemeanors. Criminal trespass is Class B or Class C. A first DWI means at least 24 hours and at most one year in jail, a fine of $150 to $1,000, and suspension of the driver’s license, typically with an ignition interlock required for a restricted permit.
There are no jury trials in district court, so the judge decides guilt. After a conviction there, the defendant gets 30 days to appeal to circuit court and start over with a new trial, jury included. Still, most local misdemeanors close with a plea deal, usually fines, probation, a suspended sentence or community service.
A child or teenager under 18 accused of a misdemeanor is generally handled in the juvenile division of the Crittenden County Circuit Court. For many first offenses, prosecutors and intake staff offer diversion. A youth who pays back losses, does service hours or goes to counseling can skip a delinquency finding. Juvenile traffic cases may remain in district court.
2. Crittenden felony docket: burglary, felony theft, drug delivery, felony DWI
Under the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure, a judge must decide within 48 hours whether there was reasonable cause for a felony arrest made without a warrant. At the first appearance, the judge reads the charge, sets bond and handles appointment of counsel. Asking for a public defender means signing a sworn statement of income, and a judge may have someone who can pay a little chip in.
In most felonies the prosecutor files a charging paper called an information in Marion, since Arkansas rarely calls grand juries. The defendant is then arraigned, and the case proceeds through discovery, plea negotiations and pretrial motions. Rule 28.1 sets a 12-month deadline for trial, not counting periods that the rules exclude, such as delays requested by the defense. A felony jury in Arkansas has 12 members and, after a guilty verdict, ordinarily recommends the sentence as well.
Arkansas felony sentencing is graded by class. Class Y offenses carry 10 to 40 years or life, Class A 6 to 30, Class B 5 to 20, Class C 3 to 10, and Class D up to 6. Burglary of a home is residential burglary, a Class B felony; burglary of a business is commercial burglary, a Class C felony. Once stolen property is worth more than $1,000, theft is a felony. Drug delivery charges grow more serious with the kind and amount of drug, a frequent issue in interstate traffic stops here, and DWI becomes a felony on the fourth conviction within ten years. Most Crittenden County felony cases end with negotiated pleas.
Arkansas law lets prosecutors file any felony against a 16- or 17-year-old in either juvenile or adult court. Either side can request a transfer hearing, at which the judge considers the seriousness of the offense, the youth’s prior record and maturity, and whether juvenile programs could rehabilitate them. A detained juvenile must have a detention hearing within 72 hours. A youth kept in juvenile court may get probation, treatment, or a stay with the Division of Youth Services. Prosecutors can also seek Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction, which allows supervision beyond age 18 with an adult sentence held in reserve.
3. Crittenden County violent offenses: capital murder, murder, rape, aggravated robbery
The gravest violent charges move through circuit court in the same sequence as other felonies, but with stricter limits on release and harsher sentences. Under Article 2, Section 8 of the Arkansas Constitution, bail must be available except in capital cases when the proof is evident or the presumption great. As a result, a person charged with capital murder in Crittenden County can be held without bond.
Rape, first-degree murder and aggravated robbery are Class Y felonies carrying at least 10 years. Capital murder carries only death or life without parole. Starting with crimes on January 1, 2025, the Protect Arkansas Act makes people serve every day of a sentence for capital murder, rape or aggravated robbery, and 85% or more for second-degree murder. The state counted 23 condemned men in April 2026. The last execution was in 2017, and in 2025 the legislature added nitrogen hypoxia to lethal injection as an authorized method.
Victims of violent crime in Crittenden County have rights under Ark. Code 16-90-1101 and the sections after it. Victims can be told about hearings, talk with the prosecutor about plea offers, and speak at sentencing about the harm done. The Second District prosecutor’s victim-witness coordinators help victims and families follow the case and seek restitution.
Fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds can land in adult court for grave offenses such as capital or first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping and aggravated robbery, as well as first-degree battery and terroristic acts. A transfer hearing can still return the case to the juvenile side, or place it under Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction. A person who was 17 or younger when the crime happened can't receive a death sentence, and under the state’s Fair Sentencing of Minors Act of 2017, a youth convicted of capital murder can seek parole after 30 years.
4. Crittenden County courts: addresses and phones
Felonies are tried in Marion, and district court is split among six towns:
- Crittenden County Circuit Court: Crittenden County Courthouse, 100 Court Square, Marion, AR 72364, circuit clerk 870-739-3248
- District Court, West Memphis Department: 317 W. Tyler Avenue, West Memphis, AR 72301, 870-732-7560
- District Court, Marion Department: 14 Military Road, Marion, AR 72364, 870-739-5411
- District Court, Earle and Turrell Departments: 870-792-7205
- District Court, Gilmore Department: 870-343-2697
- District Court, Jericho Department: 870-739-4918
Felony trials, juvenile matters and fresh trials on town-court appeals all go to circuit court. The town departments take misdemeanors, traffic tickets and early felony hearings.
5. Who handles warrants in Crittenden County?
The sheriff's office serves warrants throughout the county, and the detention center line at 870-702-2010 can direct your question to the right deputy. You can also search Arkansas courts statewide at Search ARCourts to see circuit and district matters. If a warrant is active, a defense lawyer can usually arrange a self-surrender at the facility on Afco Road and request bond before you arrive. Felony files are kept by the Circuit Clerk in Marion, who answers at 870-739-3248. A photo ID speeds things up.
6. When a Crittenden County case goes federal
Many federal cases here start with stops on I-40 or I-55. Federal court for this county means the Delta Division of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, at the federal courthouse in Helena, 617 Walnut Street, Helena, AR 72342 (clerk questions go to Little Rock), 501-604-5351.
- The defendant first meets a magistrate judge, who explains the charges.
- A pretrial officer gives the judge a summary of the person's history.
- The government can request a hearing to keep the person jailed.
- Felony charges need a grand jury indictment before trial.
- Until trial, the Marshals Service holds federal defendants: U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.
A single arrest can lead to charges in both state and federal court, and each case runs on its own.
7. Finding someone held from Crittenden County
- Crittenden County jail: Crittenden County Inmate Search. Look up a surname for the booking date and the charges filed.
- VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Set Arkansas as the state, then search the name to see who is holding the person. Release alerts cost nothing.
- Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Search a federal prisoner by register number or full name.
- Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Enter a name or ADC number to find the prison unit.
8. ICE detainers and where Crittenden County detainees go
ICE uses a detainer to ask the jail for up to 48 more hours of custody once the person is due out. The 48 hours run straight through weekends and holidays. The county case does not go away.
Arkansas cases fall under the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360, and many detainees are moved to Louisiana:
- LaSalle ICE Processing Center: 830 Pinehill Road, Jena, LA 71342 · 318-992-1600
- Pine Prairie ICE Processing Center: 1133 Hampton Dupre Road, Pine Prairie, LA 70576 · 337-599-2400
The ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/) finds detainees by A-number, or by full name plus country of birth.
What’s here explains Crittenden County’s criminal courts in general terms; it isn’t legal advice. A defense attorney is the person to consult after a charge, or ask the circuit clerk about a public defender at (870) 739-3248 to ask about appointment of a public defender.
Check a felony setting with the circuit clerk in Marion at 870-739-3248 before the hearing. For misdemeanor or traffic dates, call West Memphis at 870-732-7560, Marion at 870-739-5411, or the town department that sent the notice.
