Inyo County Jail

Use Inyo County Inmate Search. If it shows nothing, call the jail at 760-878-0370, which is staffed every hour of every day. The jail does not take calls to pass messages to someone inside. A person arrested in Bishop, Lone Pine, or Big Pine is still booked at the one county jail.

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Inmates are held at 550 South Clay Street, Independence, CA 93526 (760-878-0370), and the Bishop Courthouse, 301 West Line Street, Bishop, CA 93514 (760-872-3038), is a long drive north. Matching a court date to the right town saves a long drive. Ask the criminal division at 760-872-3038 which building holds the hearing. Call between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m., the hours the court sets aside for court-date and warrant questions.

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Its public page lists visiting, mail, and commissary rules but does not describe a bail window. Call the jail desk at 760-878-0370 and ask three things: where bail is paid, what hours, and what forms it takes. Money orders are listed for inmate commissary accounts, while cash, personal checks, and cards are not, so do not assume the same rules cover bail.

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Commissary money buys store items, not release. If you send a money order, say plainly whether it is for the account or for bail. Ask for a receipt that shows which one it was.

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Under Penal Code 1269b, the Superior Court judges adopt a countywide bail schedule. Inyo's court lists a felony and misdemeanor schedule on its forms page, but the file there is a 2017 scan. Ask the jail at 760-878-0370 what the booking sheet says for this charge. A judge can raise or lower it at the first hearing.

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Penal Code 825 says within 48 hours of arrest, not counting Sundays and holidays. A weekend arrest may wait until Monday or Tuesday. The judge explains the charge, can change bail, and asks for a plea. For a felony, a not-guilty plea leads to a preliminary hearing first.

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Sometimes. For many misdemeanors, an officer can issue a written notice to appear under Penal Code 853.6 instead of holding the person. A judge can also release someone on a signed promise under Penal Code 1318, which includes staying in California and waiving extradition. Penal Code 1270.1 requires a hearing before release on serious or violent felonies and some domestic violence counts.

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You may use any licensed agent. Inyo families usually pay a bondsman about ten percent, per state insurance regulators; each firm files its rate, and that money stays with the agent. Agents may not cold-call you. Confirm the license and ask whether the agent can reach Independence.

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Ask first. The sheriff and court pages for Inyo County do not describe a property bond. Call the criminal division at 760-872-3038 during its call hours. Ask if land in another county or state counts, what equity the judge wants, and who must sign the deed.

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Capital charges can be held without bail under article I, section 12 of the state constitution. That section reaches violent or sex felonies, and felonies involving threats of great bodily harm, once an Inyo judge sees clear and convincing proof of danger. Release also stalls if parole, probation or another county's warrant is in the way. Ask the jail.

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The Independence Courthouse is at 168 North Edwards Street. The Bishop Courthouse is at 301 West Line Street. Both are open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., closed from noon to 1:00 p.m. The one court number is 760-872-3038. Questions about court dates and warrants are taken from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

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Bishop Police are at 207 West Line Street. The lobby stays open all day and night. For a non-emergency, call 760-873-5866 and press 2. Adults go to the county jail in Independence, so confirm the booking with Inyo County Inmate Search. Bishop's page does not mention a holding cell.

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The Inyo County Juvenile Center, 201 Mazourka Canyon Road in Independence, 760-878-0274, serves as a special-purpose juvenile hall for weekend commitments of youth who violated probation. A 2020 county grand jury report said youth held after arrest have generally gone to the Kern County Juvenile Hall in Bakersfield or the El Dorado County Juvenile Hall in South Lake Tahoe. Because that may have changed, call the Probation juvenile office in Bishop at 760-872-4005. The juvenile court will not share case details by phone unless you are a party to the case.

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The Inyo court will forfeit the bail and send out a warrant. Under Penal Code 1305 whoever posted for her gets 180 days after the Bishop clerk mails notice, with five extra mailing days, to bring her back. Moving fast helps. Call the criminal division, and tell the agent too. A bail date cannot be changed by you; only your lawyer can.

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Once her Inyo case wraps up, the court mails back the cash, less ordered fines. Any bondsman premium is gone for good. Save each payment slip. When the case closes, call the court at 760-872-3038.

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It must. Since 2021 judges weigh ability to pay, and the 2026 case In re Kowalczyk adds that money bail must generally be attainable. In Bishop or Independence, bring proof of income to the hearing or give it to the lawyer.

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Inyo, a long county along Highway 395, has courts in Bishop and Independence:

• Bishop courthouse: 301 West Line Street, Bishop, CA 93514 · 760-872-3038
• Independence courthouse: 168 North Edwards Street, Independence, CA 93526 · 760-872-3038

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Inyo includes Death Valley and lots of federal land, so federal arrests do happen. A federal case leaves the county system and goes to the Eastern District of California, which hears Inyo cases in Fresno:

• He'll appear before a magistrate judge at Fresno federal courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721, which may mean a long transport.
• Pretrial Services interviews him about work, family and history.
• The detention hearing might be continued: prosecutors are allowed three days, his lawyer five.
• If not released, he's held by the Marshals in a contract jail.

Call the Fresno Marshals at U.S. Marshals Service, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, 559-442-2858.

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Inyo deputies follow SB 54 and won't keep anyone past their release time for ICE. ICE can be notified of a release only if a person carries a conviction California lists as serious or violent. The TRUTH Act requires a written notice before any ICE interview inside the jail.

Inyo is covered by San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800. ICE detainees from the Eastern Sierra usually go to:

• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
• Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
• California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505

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• Inyo County Inmate Search: type last and first name. You'll see bail and court date.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): choose California and the name; it reports custody and the jail.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): federal register number or name. Pretrial? Call 559-442-2858.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): CDCR number or name for state prison.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number, or name with country of birth. Missing after two days? Call 415-365-8800.

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She fills out an appointed-counsel form at her first Inyo hearing. Inyo County hires contract attorneys for public defense, so the court names the lawyer rather than sending you to a county office. The court's criminal division, 760-872-3038, can tell you the next date. Bring proof of income, because a judge will ask whether you can afford your own lawyer. Write down the case number and give it to whoever is appointed.

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Inyo County is the second-largest county in California by area and one of the least populated, stretching from the Owens Valley across Death Valley to the Nevada line. All adult criminal cases here are heard by the Superior Court of California, County of Inyo, a small court that serves the whole county from two buildings. Like every California county, Inyo merged its old justice courts into a single superior court around 2000, so there is no separate town court in Bishop, Lone Pine or Big Pine. The court’s seat is the historic Independence Courthouse, 168 North Edwards Street, Independence, CA 93526, and both locations share one phone number, (760) 872-3038, which also reaches the criminal division. Criminal matters may be calendared at either courthouse:

• Independence Courthouse, 168 North Edwards Street, Independence, CA 93526, the county seat in the middle of the Owens Valley. Phone: (760) 872-3038
• Bishop Courthouse, 301 West Line Street, Bishop, CA 93514, serving the county’s largest population center at the north end of the valley. Phone: (760) 872-3038

Both are open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and close from noon to 1:00 p.m. The court asks that questions about a court date be called in between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. Follow a link below for each Inyo case type.

An Inyo misdemeanor usually begins with a ticket naming a date in Bishop or Independence. People kept in custody go to the Inyo County Correctional Facility in Independence, where staff will say if a person is being held at (760) 878-0370, and they must see a judge within 48 hours, Sundays and holidays excluded. One prosecutor's office, Inyo's District Attorney, handles misdemeanors from Bishop police, the Sheriff and the CHP.

Inyo has no county public defender office. Inyo instead pays private contract lawyers to defend people without money, with backup contract lawyers ready when the first one has a conflict. An application at the first hearing starts the request, and the state does not charge for this appointed help. The Inyo arraignment covers the charges, a plea, most often not guilty, and release terms. In many misdemeanor cases, the lawyer can attend later hearings without the client, a real help in a county where the drive to court can take hours.

Later pretrial conferences close most cases by plea deal, reduction or dismissal. An Inyo judge may also divert a case and erase it after classes or other terms, except DUIs, domestic violence and registrable sex crimes. A case that isn’t resolved goes to a 12-person jury, and the defendant may demand trial within 30 days of arraignment if jailed or 45 days if not, a right defense lawyers often waive.

Maximum misdemeanor punishment here is generally half a year in jail and a $1,000 fine, with a handful going to twelve months. Sentences more often involve probation, fines or programs. Inyo misdemeanors often finish within weeks or a few months.

Inyo felony complaints come from the DA, and jailed defendants in Independence are arraigned inside 48 hours. Bail or release is decided at that first hearing. Since the California Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in In re Humphrey, a judge must look at the person’s ability to pay before setting money bail. Inyo judges must also follow In re Kowalczyk (2026), which says money bail must generally be attainable.

A contract defense attorney is appointed at arraignment for any defendant who qualifies. If that lawyer has a conflict, for instance because the case involves co-defendants, the court assigns the matter to conflict counsel or alternate conflict counsel under the county’s contracts, or to another private attorney.

Next is the preliminary hearing, set inside 10 court days of arraignment if time is not waived, where an Inyo judge tests whether the evidence warrants trial. The District Attorney may instead seek an indictment from the grand jury, which removes the need for a preliminary hearing. A case that is held over continues with the filing of an “information” and a second arraignment, after which trial must start within 60 days. Most defendants waive that clock, and pleas end most Inyo felonies.

Inyo probation drafts a report after a conviction, with sentencing usually inside 20 court days of the verdict. Under the 2011 realignment law, many lower felony terms are served in the Independence jail, and “wobbler” charges can drop to misdemeanors. Felony cases usually take several months and occasionally more than a year.

Inyo rarely sees violent felony trials, and those it does see take the standard felony route: arraignment, preliminary hearing or indictment, and trial. The main differences are time, potential punishment and detention. For violent or sex-assault felonies, Inyo judges may order no bail on clear and convincing evidence that freeing the person would likely end in great bodily harm, a power the state constitution grants, so these defendants often stay jailed the whole time.

Murder, rape and robbery are all strikes. One prior strike doubles a sentence under the Three Strikes law, and two can mean 25 years to life. Violent felony sentences require at least 85% of their terms.

• Murder: 15 years to life for second degree and 25 years to life for first degree, and death or permanent imprisonment if special circumstances exist, like a robbery killing. Inyo's DA decides on death, and executions statewide have been paused since 2019.
• Armed robbery: a nine-year top for the robbery itself, and firearm add-ons of 10 years, 20 years or 25 years to life tied to showing a gun, shooting it, or wounding someone badly. A 2018 change lets Inyo judges strike them.
• Rape: eight years at most absent aggravating facts, and top-level sex offender registration.

Capital defendants in Inyo receive two qualified appointed lawyers. Victims get notice, a sentencing voice and restitution through Marsy’s Law, plus help from Inyo's victim witness office at (760) 873-6669. Such Inyo cases run roughly one to three years; murders, often five-plus.

• Bishop courthouse: 301 West Line Street, Bishop, CA 93514 · 760-872-3038
• Independence courthouse: 168 North Edwards Street, Independence, CA 93526 · 760-872-3038

Federal arrests in Inyo, including in Death Valley or on forest land, belong to the Eastern District of California. The defendant's first appearance is at Fresno federal courthouse, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721. Pretrial Services gives a recommendation, and the detention hearing sometimes waits a few days, three at most on the prosecution's motion and five on the defendant's. Marshals contract jails hold detainees; office: U.S. Marshals Service, 2500 Tulare Street, Fresno, 559-442-2858.

The Independence or Bishop court case goes on regardless of an ICE detainer. SB 54 blocks extra holding, and release-date notice is allowed only for convictions on the serious-or-violent list. Ask the defense lawyer about immigration effects of any plea. ICE interviews in jail require a TRUTH Act notice. San Francisco ICE field office, 630 Sansome Street, Room 590, San Francisco, CA 94111, 415-365-8800 covers Inyo; detainees are held at:

• Mesa Verde ICE Processing Center: 425 Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield, CA 93301
• Golden State Annex: 611 Frontage Road, McFarland, CA 93250
• California City detention site: 22844 Virginia Boulevard, California City, CA 93505

• Inyo County Inmate Search: name; shows bail and next hearing.
• VINELink (https://vinelink.vineapps.com/): California; shows custody and facility.
• Federal Bureau of Prisons Inmate Locator (https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/): register number or name; pretrial calls to 559-442-2858.
• CDCR Inmate Locator (https://inmatelocator.cdcr.ca.gov/): number or name.
• ICE Online Detainee Locator System (https://locator.ice.gov/odls/): A-number or name and country of birth; then 415-365-8800.

Inyo's Sheriff's Office serves warrants up and down the Owens Valley; a deputy at (760) 878-0383 can search a name in both the valley's file and California's. The Superior Court's online services page is mainly for payments, so ask the clerk about the case itself. Local attorneys can book your surrender at the county jail, 550 South Clay Street in Independence, or request a recall. The Bishop courthouse clerk at 301 West Line Street can explain getting a new date once the warrant is settled.