Booking for adults happens at the Franklin County Detention Center on Airport Road in Ozark, but many misdemeanor suspects get a citation and a district court date instead of a cell. Someone who remains jailed must be presented to a judge without unnecessary delay (Ark. R. Crim. P. 8.1), and if officers acted with no warrant, the 48-hour clock starts for a judge to find probable cause. Arkansas’s constitution guarantees a right to bail, apart from capital charges backed by strong proof, and Rule 9.1 tells judges to weigh release on recognizance before asking for money. Surety bonds from licensed bondsmen cost a nonrefundable 10% premium.

The penalties depend on class. Class A misdemeanors here include theft of $1,000 or less and battery in the third degree, with 12 months and $2,500 as the ceiling; Class B allows 90 days and $1,000; Class C allows 30 days and $500, and criminal trespass usually falls in one of those lower two. A first DWI is penalized separately with 24 hours to a year in jail or community service, fines, a license suspension and an ignition interlock. District court in Ozark or Charleston has no juries, so the judge decides the case. Someone convicted in district court can appeal within 30 days, and circuit court then hears the whole case anew; jurors are seated there on request.

Under 18: A Franklin County juvenile accused of a misdemeanor is handled in the juvenile division of circuit court rather than district court, and state law does not allow misdemeanor-level conduct by a minor to be prosecuted as an adult case (Ark. Code § 9-27-318). Juvenile officers often recommend diversion for first offenses, such as an apology, restitution or community service, while juvenile traffic violations may be heard in district court. A youth kept in detention instead of being sent home gets a detention hearing, usually within 72 hours.

A felony arrest in Franklin County typically leads first to the district court, where the judge decides bond and confirms probable cause. Next, the prosecutor files the felony information in circuit court, in Ozark or Charleston based on where the crime happened. Grand juries are seldom convened; Arkansas allows felonies to be charged by information. The circuit judge arraigns the defendant, confirms whether appointed counsel is needed and sets the case for pretrial hearings. Arkansas law permits courts to assess a public defender fee according to the defendant’s ability to pay (Ark. Code § 16-87-213).

Arkansas sorts felonies into five classes plus unclassified offenses. Residential burglary is a Class B felony with 5 to 20 years, while commercial burglary is Class C, carrying 3 to 10 years. Theft becomes a Class D felony (up to 6 years) above $1,000, Class C above $5,000 and Class B at $25,000 or more. Drug delivery charges climb with the weight involved and can reach Class Y, which carries 10 to 40 years or life. A fourth DWI within a decade is a felony. Under Rule 28.1, trial generally must begin within 12 months, minus delays the defense causes. A 12-person jury hears circuit court trials and recommends punishment after a guilty verdict, though most cases end with a plea.

Under 18: When a 16- or 17-year-old is accused of a felony, the 5th District prosecutor may file in juvenile court or in the adult criminal division. A transfer hearing can be requested by either party, and the judge considers the seriousness of the act, the youth’s history and maturity, and the services available before moving the case on clear and convincing evidence. A juvenile judge can order probation, restitution or counseling, and youths with serious or repeated offenses may be committed to the Division of Youth Services. An Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction designation lets the judge hold a suspended adult sentence over the youth.

Violent crimes in Franklin County are charged by the same district prosecutor and tried by the 5th Circuit judges,. Pretrial release can be denied when capital murder is charged and the proof is evident, and judges commonly set large bonds in other violent cases. Only two sentences exist for capital murder in Arkansas, death and life without parole. Class Y felonies, which include first-degree murder, rape and aggravated robbery, carry 10 to 40 years or life, and second-degree murder, a Class A felony, carries 6 to 30 years.

Sentences for crimes committed from January 1, 2025 onward are governed by the Protect Arkansas Act (Act 659 of 2023): capital murder, rape and aggravated robbery are served in full, while second-degree murder, manslaughter and first-degree sexual assault require at least 85% of the term. Arkansas’s death row held 23 men in April 2026. Arkansas last carried out an execution in 2017; in 2025 lawmakers approved nitrogen hypoxia as another method.

Arkansas’s victims’ rights law (Ark. Code § 16-90-1101 and following) lets victims receive notice of hearings, speak before sentencing and ask for restitution, with help from the prosecutor’s victim-witness coordinator. Expect a contested violent felony to take a year or more.

Under 18: Fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds may be charged in adult court only for listed serious felonies, including capital murder, first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. Either side may still ask a judge to move the case between courts. Crimes committed before age 18 can't draw a death sentence, and a 2017 state law ended life without parole for them; with capital murder, a parole review comes after 30 years. A case kept in the juvenile division can result in commitment to the Division of Youth Services or Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction, under which the court may retain authority until age 21.

Franklin County's courts are split between Ozark and Charleston:

• Circuit Court, Northern District: 211 West Commercial Street, Ozark, AR 72949, circuit clerk 479-667-3818
• Circuit Court, Southern District: 607 East Main Street, Charleston, AR 72933, circuit clerk 479-965-7332
• Franklin County District Court: 116 South 2nd Street, Ozark, AR 72949, 479-667-4808
• District Court, Charleston department: 479-965-7455

Felony trials, juvenile matters and appeals are circuit court business in both towns. District court takes tickets and misdemeanors and holds the opening hearings in felony cases.

Franklin County is one of the Arkansas counties with two county seats, a holdover from the days when the Arkansas River was hard to cross. The Northern District courthouse stands at 211 West Commercial Street, Ozark, AR 72949, and the Southern District courthouse at 607 East Main Street, Charleston, AR 72933; circuit court is held in both. Johnson, Pope and Franklin counties make up the 5th Judicial Circuit. Its four circuit judges keep chambers in Russellville and Clarksville and ride to Franklin County for criminal, juvenile and appeal dockets. The Circuit Clerk’s offices answer at (479) 667-3818 in Ozark and (479) 965-7332 in Charleston. More is in our bond guide.

Traffic tickets, misdemeanors and early felony hearings are heard by the Franklin County District Court. Its main office is at 116 South 2nd Street, Ozark, AR 72949, (479) 667-4808, and the same judge holds court in Charleston ((479) 965-7455) and Altus. Felony charges and state misdemeanors are filed by the elected Prosecuting Attorney for the 5th Judicial District, headquartered in Russellville with a Franklin County office at 118 South 2nd Street, Ozark, (479) 667-0544. Court-appointed lawyers come from public defenders paid through the state’s Arkansas Public Defender Commission; the circuit clerk handles the paperwork for requesting one.

Nothing here replaces a lawyer's advice on a Franklin County case. A defense attorney can help, or ring the Franklin County Circuit Clerk at (479) 667-3818 to ask about a public defender.

Call ahead to check a felony hearing date with the circuit clerk's office, 479-667-3818 in Ozark or 479-965-7332 in Charleston. District court at 479-667-4808 has misdemeanor and traffic dates.

Call the sheriff's office in Ozark at 479-667-4127; deputies serve warrants across the county and can confirm whether one is active. Arkansas also offers the state judiciary's free Search ARCourts portal, where you can look up circuit and district court cases by name. Franklin has courthouses in Ozark and Charleston, so a defense lawyer can help confirm which court issued the warrant and set up a surrender with bond. The Circuit Clerk's office answers felony questions at 479-667-3818. Bring identification and any paperwork when you go in.

Federal prosecutions arising in Franklin County are heard in Fort Smith, about 40 miles to the west. Federal law (28 U.S.C. § 83) assigns Franklin County to the Fort Smith Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, which meets in the federal building at South 6th Street and Rogers Avenue, Fort Smith, AR 72901; the clerk’s line is (833) 853-0345. Whether a crime lands in Ozark or Fort Smith depends on whose law it breaks. Arkansas statutes cover the everyday offenses, like domestic battery, burglary, possession of drugs or DWI, and those go to the 5th District prosecutor. Congress’s criminal laws are enforced by the U.S. Attorney: large drug-trafficking rings using Interstate 40, robbery of a federally insured bank, firearm crimes by prohibited persons, mail and wire fraud, and crimes on federal property, including the Ozark National Forest, which covers much of northern Franklin County. With no reservations anywhere in Arkansas, tribal jurisdiction does not come up. Pick a section below to follow a case.

Federal charges from Ozark, Altus and Charleston go to Fort Smith. The county is in the Fort Smith Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, at the federal building in Fort Smith, 30 South 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901, 833-853-0345.

• At the first appearance, a magistrate judge goes over the charges.
• A pretrial officer prepares a background report for the court.
• Prosecutors who oppose release ask for a detention hearing.
• Felonies need an indictment from a grand jury before trial.
• Defendants held on federal charges are in the custody of the U.S. Marshals: U.S. Marshals Service, 30 South 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901, 479-289-7470 or 479-424-5000 (call either).

The same conduct can bring state and federal charges, and each case moves on its own schedule.

• Franklin County jail: Franklin County Inmate Search. Search a surname to see the booking date and charges.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). An Arkansas name search shows which facility has the person. Alerts are free.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Enter a federal register number or a name.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Use an ADC number or name to find the prison unit.

With a detainer, ICE may ask the Ozark jail to keep someone as long as 48 hours after the release date, and weekends and holidays count. The Franklin County charges go forward regardless.

Arkansas cases are run by the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. Many people held from Franklin County are sent 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 name and country of birth.