A misdemeanor is heard in whichever district court department covers the town where it occurred, so a citation written by Camden police is answered in Camden while one from the Stephens area goes to Stephens. Officers often release the person with a ticket and a court date. Someone booked into the Ouachita County Detention Complex must see a judge promptly under the state's criminal rules, and an arrest made without a warrant gets a probable-cause check inside 48 hours. Arkansas courts presume that defendants will be released on conditions; if the judge sets a dollar bond, families can pay cash or hire a state-licensed bondsman.

Maximum penalties depend on the class. Class A misdemeanors bring up to 12 months in jail and a $2,500 fine, Class B up to three months and $1,000, and Class C up to one month and $500. Stealing items worth up to $1,000 is Class A; so is third-degree battery, while plain trespass is Class C. A first DWI carries 24 hours to one year in jail, a $150 to $1,000 fine, alcohol education and a driver’s license suspension, though judges routinely allow community service in place of the short jail stay.

The district judge alone decides guilt; there are no juries at this level. After a guilty verdict, the defendant has 30 days to take the case to circuit court, which retries it from the start and offers a jury. Ask the Camden judge for a public lawyer if money is tight and jail is possible. Public defenders in Arkansas are paid through the state Public Defender Commission, and the court may charge a user fee scaled to the defendant’s ability to pay.

Under 18: When a minor is charged with a misdemeanor here, the case usually goes to the circuit court's juvenile judge in Camden, not a district department. Intake staff may resolve first offenses informally through counseling, restitution, community service or a diversion agreement. Moving violations by young drivers are usually still handled in district court. When a youth is held in detention, Arkansas law requires a detention hearing within 72 hours, and the court must decide whether continued custody is necessary. Youths may have a lawyer at every step, appointed free if the family can't pay.

A felony case usually opens with a first appearance in district court, where bond is set, probable cause is reviewed for warrantless arrests and the judge screens the defendant for appointed counsel. Formal felony charges, called an information, are then filed by the 13th District prosecutor in the Ouachita County Circuit Court. Arkansas allows prosecutors to charge felonies this way instead of seeking a grand jury indictment, and grand juries are reserved for unusual cases.

Under Rule 28.1, a defendant generally must be tried within 12 months of arrest or charging, with excluded periods for continuances the defense requests and certain other delays. Felony trials take place before 12 jurors whose verdict must be unanimous, and if the jury convicts, it usually returns for a sentencing phase and sets the punishment within the legal range.

The felony classes carry these ranges: Class Y, from 10 years up to 40 or a life sentence; Class A, 6 to 30 years; Class B, 5 to 20; Class C, 3 to 10; and Class D, no more than 6. Fines top out at $15,000 for Class Y and A and at $10,000 for the lower classes. A house burglary is ranked Class B, a shop burglary Class C. Theft crosses into felony territory when the property is worth more than $1,000. Penalties for delivering controlled substances depend on the drug and its weight, ranging from Class C for small quantities to Class Y for large ones. A driver convicted of a fourth DWI within ten years faces a Class D felony, and fifth and sixth offenses are graded higher still.

Under 18: When a felony charge involves a 16- or 17-year-old, the 13th District prosecutor chooses juvenile court or adult criminal court. Either side may ask the circuit court to transfer the case, and the judge weighs how serious the crime was, the teen’s past, maturity and what treatment could help before age 21. A juvenile judge may order probation, counseling, repayment to victims, or a placement with the state Division of Youth Services. For some serious felonies the prosecutor may seek an Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction designation, which adds a suspended adult sentence to the juvenile disposition.

The steps match other felonies, though bail is seldom granted. Under Article 2, Section 8 of the state constitution, a capital murder defendant can be denied bail when the proof is evident, and judges set substantial bonds in most other violent cases.

• Capital murder: a conviction means death or a life term without parole. Arkansas, which held its last execution in 2017, has 23 men on death row and since 2025 allows nitrogen gas in place of lethal injection.
• First-degree murder: a Class Y offense, with a sentence anywhere from 10 to 40 years or life. A conviction for second-degree murder, a Class A felony, can mean 6 to 30 years.
• Rape and aggravated robbery: each is a Class Y felony.

Arkansas’s truth-in-sentencing law changed in 2025. Under Act 659 of 2023, the Protect Arkansas Act, crimes of capital murder, rape or aggravated robbery committed from January 1, 2025 on must be served in full, and those convicted of second-degree murder, manslaughter and other listed offenses must serve 85% before release. Crime victims in Ouachita County can be told of each date, sit in, and address the court before the sentence. The 13th District prosecutor’s victim-witness staff, reachable through the Magnolia office, help victims and families follow the case.

Under 18: Prosecutors can charge 14- and 15-year-olds as adults only for a few grave crimes like murder, rape, kidnapping or armed robbery; at 16 or 17, any felony qualifies. The defense can ask to move the case to juvenile court, but must show by clear and convincing evidence that transfer is appropriate. Crimes committed before 18 cannot bring a death sentence, and since a 2017 state law, a teen given life for capital murder can seek parole after 30 years for capital murder.

Ouachita County runs one circuit court and five district court departments:

• Circuit Court and Circuit Clerk: 145 Jefferson Street SW, Camden, AR 71701, 870-837-2230
• District Court, Camden Department: 109A Goodgame Street, Camden, AR 71701, 870-836-0331
• District Court, East Camden Department: 870-574-2900
• District Court, Stephens Department: 870-786-5818
• District Court, Bearden Department: 870-687-2204
• District Court, Chidester Department: 870-685-2906

The department for the town where the arrest or ticket happened takes the misdemeanor and the first felony hearing. Circuit court in Camden handles felony trials, youth cases and appeals.

In Ouachita County, criminal matters are divided between a circuit court in Camden and a district court with departments in five communities. The Ouachita County Circuit Court is the felony trial court, the home of the county’s juvenile division and the place where misdemeanor appeals are retried. It holds court at the Ouachita County Courthouse, 145 Jefferson Street SW, Camden, AR 71701; the circuit clerk’s number is (870) 837-2230. The 13th Judicial Circuit spans six counties, together with Calhoun, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas and Union, and its circuit judges divide their time among those courthouses. The circuit also runs a drug court that meets in a courtroom inside the Ouachita County Detention Complex. See also our bail guide.

The Ouachita County District Court handles misdemeanors, traffic offenses and early hearings in felony cases. Its departments include:

• Camden, 109A Goodgame, Camden, AR 71701: (870) 836-0331
• East Camden: (870) 574-2900
• Stephens: (870) 786-5818
• Bearden: (870) 687-2204
• Chidester: (870) 685-2906

A single district judge covers all five departments. State charges, felony and misdemeanor alike, come from the elected Prosecuting Attorney for the 13th Judicial District, whose main office is in Magnolia.

The information above outlines the usual criminal process in Ouachita County and is not legal advice. Someone charged in Camden can hire defense counsel or ask about appointed counsel by calling the Ouachita County Circuit Clerk at (870) 837-2230.

Start with the detention center (870-231-5300), then call the circuit clerk (870-837-2230) about felony or youth dates; misdemeanor dates come from the district department holding the case, such as Camden (870-836-0331).

The sheriff's office in Camden serves warrants throughout the county; call 870-231-5300 to ask about a specific person. Arkansas's judiciary makes circuit and lower-court cases searchable statewide at Search ARCourts. If a warrant is out, a defense lawyer can usually arrange for you to turn yourself in at the detention center on Goodgame Street with bond agreed beforehand. For felony records, contact the Circuit Clerk at 870-837-2230. A photo ID and any citations you've received will help the visit move along.

Federal prosecutions from Ouachita County land in the El Dorado Division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas, at the United States Courthouse and Post Office, 101 South Jackson Avenue, El Dorado, AR 71730. Staffing there is limited, so call the district’s clerk line at (833) 853-0345 before visiting. What makes a case federal is the source of the law. Most crimes in Camden, from car break-ins to assaults, violate the Arkansas Code and are tried in the local courts. Congress has made other conduct a federal offense: drug rings that cross state lines, robbing a bank, a felon carrying a firearm, mail or wire fraud, and theft or espionage involving defense contracts (relevant in a county whose Highland Industrial Park houses defense manufacturers). The U.S. Attorney for the Western District brings those charges, usually after FBI, ATF or DEA investigations.

Federal charges here are heard by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in El Dorado, at the federal courthouse in El Dorado, 101 South Jackson Avenue, El Dorado, AR 71730, 833-853-0345.

• The initial appearance is before a magistrate judge.
• A pretrial officer gathers the defendant's history for the judge.
• Prosecutors can ask for detention before trial.
• Grand juries return most felony indictments.
• The U.S. Marshals hold federal defendants: U.S. Marshals Service, 30 South 6th Street, Fort Smith, AR 72901, 479-289-7470 or 479-424-5000 (call either).

With defense plants near Camden and busy highways, a local arrest can sometimes turn into a federal case.

• Ouachita County Detention Center: Ouachita County Inmate Search. See who is booked at the Goodgame Street center.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Choose Arkansas to check custody in any county.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Search federal prisoners by register number or name.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Look up state prison inmates by name or ADC number.

ICE may file a detainer asking the Camden detention center to keep a person up to 48 hours beyond the normal release time, weekdays only. The county charge continues either way.

The ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360 covers Arkansas, and detainees from south Arkansas are frequently placed in nearby 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

An A-number gives the best result in the ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/); a full name and country of birth also work.