Both go to the same place. Oklahoma has one District Court per judicial district, with power over every kind of case (Okla. Const. art. VII § 7). This county's court sits in judicial district 2, a district it shares with four neighbors: Custer, Ellis, Roger Mills and Washita. District judges, associate district judges and special judges all serve in it.

• Misdemeanors are the lesser crimes. A conviction can bring a fine, county jail time or both. State Question 780 took effect July 1, 2017. It turned simple drug possession into a misdemeanor and lifted the felony line for property crimes to $1,000.
• Felonies are the serious crimes, and prison is possible. Felonies committed on or after January 1, 2026, are sorted into lettered classes. Y and A1 sit at the top and D2 and D3 at the bottom (HB 1792, changed by HB 2104 and HB 2105).

Breaking a city ordinance is different. Those cases go to a municipal court, and Oklahoma limits city courts to criminal and traffic matters (Okla. Const. art. VII § 1).

The District Court and its clerk share the county courthouse in Sayre.

• Court Clerk: 104 South 3rd Street, Sayre, OK 73662, 580-928-3330, fax 580-928-9278. Mailing address: P.O. Box 520, Sayre, OK 73662-0520. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the office stays open through lunch.
• Files kept: criminal, juvenile, civil, probate, family and small claims.
• Judges: each county must have at least one associate district judge of its own (Okla. Const. art. VII § 8). The OSCN district judges list names who sits here.
• Elk City Municipal Court: 422 E. 3rd Street, Elk City, OK 73644, 580-225-4653, for Elk City ordinance cases.

The clerk's counter also handles traffic ticket payments, court costs, protective order filings and jury duty check-in. Ask the clerk the day before a hearing which courtroom to find.

Yes. City charges stay in a city court, while state charges go to the District Court, even when city officers made the arrest.

• Elk City: its Municipal Court meets each Thursday in the courtroom inside the Elk City Police Department, 422 E. 3rd Street, Elk City, OK 73644, 580-225-4653. Adult arraignments begin at 1:30 p.m., juvenile arraignments at 3:00 p.m. Dockets appear on the city's police documents page.
• Sayre: the city code creates a municipal criminal court. Call the city offices at 580-928-2260 to ask where it meets and on which days.
• Erick, Carter, Texola and the sliver of Sweetwater in this county: for a ticket from one of these towns, phone the town office, or the District Court Clerk at 580-928-3330.

The judge at this first hearing explains each charge, sets or reviews bond, and asks about a lawyer. Someone without money for one can request appointed counsel at that hearing. If the defendant is held in a different county, Oklahoma lets this arraignment happen by video (SB 1711, effective November 1, 2024).

A felony arraignment in District Court does not include a plea of guilty or not guilty. That step comes later in the case. A misdemeanor plea can come much sooner.

Bring the case number and arrive early. Call the Court Clerk at 580-928-3330 to learn when the morning or afternoon docket begins.

Misdemeanor cases here usually follow this path:

1. Arrest and booking at the jail, or a citation with a court date written on it.
2. Arraignment: the charge is read, a plea is entered, and bond is set or checked.
3. Talks between the defense lawyer and the District Attorney's office, which may lead to a plea agreement.
4. A trial if no deal is reached. Misdemeanor juries in District Court seat six people.
5. Sentencing, which can mean a fine, jail time, probation or some mix.

Some charges seen often:

• DUI: since November 1, 2025, anyone arrested on a second or later DUI stays put until a judge sets the bond in writing (HB 1222).
• Theft: taking property worth under $1,000 is usually a misdemeanor because of State Question 780.
• Drug possession: simple possession was lowered to a misdemeanor by that same 2017 vote (63 O.S. § 2-402).

A misdemeanor that could mean jail carries a right to a lawyer. The state's top criminal court said so in 2025 in the Spybuck case.

Felonies take longer and pass through more stages:

1. Filing. The District Attorney's office files the charges in District Court.
2. First arraignment. The charges are read and bond is set. No guilty or not guilty plea is entered yet.
3. Preliminary hearing. This is not a trial. The state has to show a crime took place, that there is probable cause the person did it, and that it happened in this county.
4. Pretrial hearings and plea talks. Most of the case happens here.
5. Trial. A felony jury seats twelve people.
6. Sentencing. When the crime happened on or after January 1, 2026, the written judgment lists both the felony class and a minimum stretch behind bars (HB 2105).

Delay has limits. Since November 1, 2024, a judge reviews the case for speed at 9 months after first appearance when the person sits in jail only on that charge, and at 18 months when they are free (SB 325). Jail days before sentencing nearly always count toward the sentence.

Yes. Violent and serious crimes meet tougher rules at each step:

• Bail: a judge may refuse bail on a violent charge, but only after finding strong proof of guilt and that no set of conditions would protect people (Okla. Const. art. II § 8). A new violent charge picked up while on bond for an earlier one triggers a presumption against release (HB 3782).
• Classes: violent felonies fall in classes Y, A and B, and their sentence ranges were left unchanged by the new law.
• The 85% rule: people convicted of listed crimes must finish 85% of the prison sentence before a parole review (21 O.S. § 13.1). Among them: first degree murder, rape and burglary in the first degree, first degree robbery, child abuse and human trafficking.
• Life terms: on an 85% crime, parole eligibility on a life sentence arrives after 38 years and 3 months.

Good-time credits can be earned along the way, but they only start counting once the 85% mark is reached.

Prosecution: the elected District Attorney for District 2 brings state charges here, and that office also covers Washita, Custer, Ellis and Roger Mills counties. The local office is inside the courthouse, 104 South 3rd Street, Sayre, OK 73662, 580-928-5555. Letters go to P.O. Box 507, Sayre, OK 73662.

Defense for people who can't pay: the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System covers this county from its regional office at 823 Frisco Ave, Clinton, OK 73601, 580-323-2951. Qualifying is up to a judge, who looks at a financial form. The Court Clerk in the same courthouse, 580-928-3330, has the application. A defendant in jail asks the jailers for it. The $40 fee goes into the Court Fund, and payment may wait until the case closes.

The OIDS headquarters is at 111 N. Peters Ave, Suite 500, Norman, OK 73069, 405-801-2601.

The Court Clerk's own page sends people to Oklahoma District Court Records (ODCR) for cases filed here. Another statewide site is the Oklahoma State Courts Network (OSCN). To search:

1. Open ODCR and choose this county as the court.
2. Search by the defendant's name, or use the case number from paperwork.
3. Open the matching case to read the charges, hearing dates and bond entries.

For a hearing set in the next few days, phone the Court Clerk at 580-928-3330 or stop in at 104 South 3rd Street, Sayre, OK 73662.

District Court warrants are served by the Sheriff's Office; call 580-928-2121 and ask for Records/warrants. A name search on ODCR can reveal a case with a warrant entry. Elk City publishes an outstanding warrant list that is refreshed Sunday nights. Statewide, see the Attorney General's 10 Most Wanted, the DOC Orange Alert escape page and the U.S. Marshals 15 Most Wanted. To clear one, go with a lawyer to the issuing court and turn yourself in, or phone that court to arrange bond or a new date. Court Clerk: 104 South 3rd Street, Sayre, OK 73662, 580-928-3330.

A case is federal when prosecutors charge it under a federal law. For this county, that means the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Its main clerk's office is at 200 NW 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5000. The Lawton office, 410 SW 5th Street, Lawton, OK 73501, 580-355-6340, has limited staff, so call ahead before visiting.

• Detention hearing: a federal judge decides whether the defendant goes home on conditions or stays locked up until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Custody: federal defendants stay with the U.S. Marshals Service before trial. Its office is at 200 Northwest 4th Street, Room 2022, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-231-4206.
• Prosecutor: the U.S. Attorney's Office, 210 Park Avenue, Suite 400, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-553-8700.
• Once sentenced: custody passes to the Bureau of Prisons. Find people with the BOP inmate locator.

Cases from this county are normally state cases. A tribal citizen accused of a crime should ask a lawyer whether McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) could move it to tribal or federal court.

The state case goes on even with an ICE detainer in place. A detainer usually plays out like this:

1. The jail receives an ICE request on Form I-247A.
2. Staff can then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Immigration officers collect the person within that window.
4. Oklahoma detainees can be moved to the Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023, 918-225-3336.
5. Family can then search the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

A detainer can shape bond choices, so tell the defense lawyer about it at once. Before any plea, the person should ask the lawyer how it could affect immigration status. ICE's Oklahoma City office is at 1220 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, OK 73108, 405-219-3199. Oklahoma's state immigration crime, HB 4156 (21 O.S. § 1795), cannot be enforced for now: a federal court blocked it, and the appeal is still pending.

Prison sentences are served with the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Misdemeanor sentences stay local, in the county jail. After a prison sentence, the usual path is:

• The person waits at the jail in Sayre until DOC has room. DOC says this normally takes 6 to 9 months, and very short sentences tend to move first.
• DOC runs an assessment at a reception center and assigns a custody level.
• The person transfers to a prison suited to that level.

Use the DOC Offender Lookup or our Oklahoma prisons directory to follow the move. Inside DOC, a case manager handles questions about the person. DOC headquarters: 4345 North Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-425-2500.

Youth cases go to the juvenile docket of the District Court, filed with the Court Clerk at 104 South 3rd Street, Sayre, OK 73662, 580-928-3330. Intake and probation for youth here run through the Office of Juvenile Affairs, 2501 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 500, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-530-2800.

• A detained youth gets a detention hearing before a judge, normally by the next judicial day.
• A youth found delinquent can be put on probation or placed in OJA custody.
• Serious crimes by 15, 16 and 17 year olds can fall under the Youthful Offender Act, as can first degree murder charged at 13 or 14.
• Certification moves the case up to adult court; reverse certification returns it.

Victims are protected by Marsy's Law in the Oklahoma Constitution (Okla. Const. art. II § 34). Under it, victims are owed fairness and respect, a chance to speak at release, plea and sentencing hearings, full and timely restitution, and a case free of needless delay.

Victims who want notices must ask the District Attorney's office in writing, at the courthouse, 104 South 3rd Street, Sayre, OK 73662, or mail P.O. Box 507, Sayre, OK 73662. Include the case number, the county, the defendant's name, and your mailing address and phone. Questions go to 580-928-5555.

The Crime Victims Compensation Program may help pay for medical care, counseling, lost wages and funerals. It is at 421 NW 13th, Suite 290, Oklahoma City, OK 73103, 405-264-5006. Custody alerts are free through VINELink.