On most minor offenses, whoever made the stop, whether city police, a deputy or a trooper, writes a citation listing the date to appear at the Pace Road courtroom. A person who is taken to jail instead goes before a judge quickly; the procedure rules forbid unnecessary delay, and a jailing that happened without a warrant needs a judge to find probable cause within two days. Release on recognizance or a modest bond is typical for low-level charges.

The three misdemeanor classes in Arkansas set the outer limits. Class A offenses (third-degree battery, say, or stealing something valued at $1,000 or under) expose a defendant to twelve months in the county lockup and a $2,500 fine. Class B carries 90 days and $1,000 at most, and Class C, which covers most criminal trespass, carries 30 days and $500. First-offense DWI falls outside those classes, carrying between 1 day and 12 months behind bars, a fine no lower than $150 and no higher than $1,000, and the state suspends the driver’s license.

A district judge, not a jury, decides each misdemeanor trial in Pocahontas. Should the defendant lose, an appeal within 30 days transfers the case to Randolph County Circuit Court, which hears it from the beginning, with a jury available. Many cases end quickly with a plea, a fine, probation, community service or a dismissal. A defendant who says they cannot pay for counsel may request appointment of the Third District public defender, though a judge can attach a user fee, never above $400, to that appointment.

Youngsters below 18 typically skip the district court. Their cases are referred to the juvenile division of Randolph County Circuit Court, where intake officers can suggest diversion or an informal resolution for first-time, low-level conduct. Some underage traffic and tobacco tickets still go to district court. Any child facing a formal petition gets a lawyer, paid for by the court when the family has no money for one.

Felony suspects held at the Randolph County jail normally see the district judge for a first appearance on Pace Road. Probable cause, bond and the need for a lawyer are addressed there. Arkansas’s constitution makes bail available for every charge short of capital murder backed by strong proof, and families choose between handing over the whole amount in cash or paying a licensed bondsman a fee it never gets back.

Arkansas prosecutors almost never ask grand juries to indict. In Randolph County, the deputy prosecutor files a felony information with the circuit clerk, and arraignment follows before a circuit judge at the Broadway courthouse. Pretrial work follows, including discovery, motions and plea negotiations. Speedy-trial Rule 28.1 gives the state one year to try the case, stretched by any legally excluded periods, and a defendant jailed for nine months must be released while awaiting trial. Juries in felony trials have 12 people.

Sentencing ranges grow with the felony class. A Class D felony allows up to six years in prison; Class C, from three to 10; Class B, from five to 20; Class A, from six to 30; and Class Y, from 10 to 40 years or life. Stealing more than $1,000 is a felony, Class D at first and Class B once the loss reaches $25,000. Burglary of a home is Class B. Felony DWI kicks in with conviction number four inside a decade, while delivery offenses are graded by what drug was involved and how much. Many Randolph County felonies end with probation, suspended imposition of sentence or a prison term negotiated through a plea.

At 16 or 17, a juvenile’s felony case lands in juvenile court or adult court depending on where the prosecutor files it. Either the youth or the state can request a transfer, which takes clear and convincing evidence. Whenever a Randolph County youth is placed in secure detention, a circuit judge reviews that decision within 72 hours. A delinquency finding can lead to probation, counseling, or placement in a Division of Youth Services treatment center.

Randolph County's most serious cases travel the same road through district and circuit court, but bond is set far higher or denied. Only two punishments exist for capital murder in Arkansas: execution, or life with no possibility of parole. Rape, aggravated robbery and first-degree murder belong to Class Y, the top felony tier, while second-degree murder is Class A. Passed in 2023 but aimed at crimes from 2025 onward, the Protect Arkansas Act requires full-term service for rape, capital murder and aggravated robbery, with an 85% minimum for many other violent offenses.

Arkansas keeps 23 men under death sentences, as of April 2026. The last execution took place at the Cummins Unit in April 2017, and since 2025 state law has permitted nitrogen hypoxia as well as lethal injection. Defendants facing a capital charge who need appointed counsel are represented by attorneys who meet special qualification standards, often drawn from the Public Defender Commission’s capital, conflicts and appellate office. Such a case can sit for many months, sometimes past a year, before trial.

The Third District Prosecuting Attorney’s victim-witness coordinator keeps victims informed. Arkansas’s victims’ rights statutes give them notice of major hearings, a seat in court, a statement at sentencing and a claim to restitution.

Teenagers are not automatically protected from adult court. Prosecutors may file in adult court against a youth who is just 14 or 15 when the accusation is a killing charged as capital or first-degree murder, a rape, a kidnapping, an aggravated robbery or one of a few other listed crimes. For serious offenses kept in juvenile court, the judge may choose Extended Juvenile Jurisdiction, under which the youth gets juvenile services while an adult sentence waits in reserve. Youths convicted as adults cannot be executed, and Arkansas’s 2017 law on juvenile sentences makes them eligible for parole after 30 years for capital murder.

Both of Randolph County's trial courts work out of Pocahontas:

• Circuit Court and Circuit Clerk: 107 West Broadway, Pocahontas, AR 72455, 870-892-5522
• Randolph County District Court: 1510 Pace Road, Pocahontas, AR 72455, 870-892-4033

District court, in the same complex as the jail, takes tickets, misdemeanors and first appearances on felonies. Circuit court at the Broadway courthouse takes felony trials, juvenile cases and appeals.

Criminal matters in Randolph County, from Pocahontas on the Black River to Maynard, Biggers and the Missouri line, run through two levels of state court. At the top is the Randolph County Circuit Court, which meets in the courthouse at 107 W. Broadway, Pocahontas, AR 72455. Randolph sits in the Third Judicial Circuit, along with Jackson, Lawrence and Sharp, and its circuit judges travel among those four counties. The circuit clerk’s office, (870) 892-5522, files felony cases, juvenile petitions and appeals coming up from the lower court. Our bail guide and inmate search cover the other steps.

That lower court is the Randolph County District Court, which holds court in Pocahontas at 1510 Pace Road, Pocahontas, AR 72455, on the grounds shared with the sheriff and the jail. Its clerk answers at (870) 892-4033. Misdemeanor charges, traffic citations and first appearances after felony arrests are heard there.

One elected official, the Prosecuting Attorney for the Third Judicial District, decides which state charges to file in all four counties, and deputy prosecutors handle the day-to-day docket in Pocahontas.

Select the type of charge you’re dealing with to read a summary of the process.

What you see here is a plain-language overview of the Randolph County process, not legal advice. People charged with crimes may hire defense counsel or phone the Randolph County Circuit Clerk at (870) 892-5522 to ask about a court-appointed public defender.

Call the jail (870-892-8888) first, then the district court clerk (870-892-4033) for misdemeanors and tickets or the circuit clerk (870-892-5522) for felonies and juvenile cases.

The sheriff's office in Pocahontas serves warrants countywide; call 870-892-8888 and a deputy can check a name. The Arkansas judiciary also publishes court cases statewide at Search ARCourts, a free search that includes circuit filings. To resolve a warrant, a lawyer can usually arrange for you to report to the jail on Pace Road with bond set ahead of time. Felony records are kept by the clerk of the circuit court at 870-892-5522. Calling the issuing court first to confirm any balance owed can save a trip.

A federal case from Randolph County belongs to the Eastern District of Arkansas, Northern Division, whose judges sit at the federal courthouse at 615 S. Main Street, Jonesboro, AR 72401. Questions can go to the district clerk’s main office in Little Rock at (501) 604-5351. Two separate sets of laws are in play. A violation of the Arkansas Code is prosecuted locally and tried in Pocahontas. A violation of a federal statute, such as trafficking methamphetamine across state lines, possessing a firearm after a felony conviction, robbing a bank insured by the FDIC, making child sexual abuse images, or cheating a federal program, is investigated by federal agents and charged by the U.S. Attorney in Little Rock. With Missouri just to the north, cross-border drug cases sometimes land in federal court.

Randolph County federal cases go to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Northern Division, at the federal courthouse in Jonesboro, 615 South Main Street, Jonesboro, AR 72401, 870-972-4610.

• A magistrate judge runs the first appearance.
• Pretrial services reports on the defendant's history.
• Federal prosecutors can move to keep the defendant held.
• Most federal felonies start with a grand jury indictment.
• The U.S. Marshals keep custody of federal detainees: U.S. Marshals Service, 600 West Capitol Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72201, 501-324-6256.

Jonesboro is about an hour south of Pocahontas, so plan the drive for each federal hearing.

• Randolph County Jail: Randolph County Inmate Search. Lists people held at the Pace Road jail.
• VINE: VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/). Set it to Arkansas for custody checks statewide.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons: Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/). Search federal prisoners by name or register number.
• Arkansas Division of Correction: Arkansas Division of Correction Inmate Search (https://apps.ark.org/inmate_info/). Search state prisoners by name or ADC number.

An ICE detainer asks the Pocahontas jail for an extra 48 hours, at most, after the person would walk out; weekends and holidays do not add time to that limit. The county charge goes ahead regardless.

Arkansas is part of the ICE New Orleans Field Office, 181 James Drive W, St. Rose, LA 70087, 504-318-2360. People ICE takes from this area often end up at Louisiana centers:

• 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/) matches fastest on an A-number, or try the full name with the birth country.