Leflore County Jail

A judge. State charges filed in this county are heard by its District Court. The county sits in Judicial District 16 along with Haskell and Latimer counties. The courthouse is at 100 S. Broadway, Poteau, OK 74953, and its Court Clerk picks up at 918-647-3181.

Oklahoma's Constitution makes bail the normal rule for most charges (Okla. Const. art. II § 8). The wait for a first hearing hinges on the docket, so ask jail staff for the date of that first court appearance.

Certain charges need a judge's signature before any release. Since November 1, 2025, a person booked for DUI who has a prior DUI stays in until a judge fixes bail, and the judge's written order has to give reasons for the figure (HB 1222). Charges under a town's own ordinances, like a Pocola ticket, are handled by that town's court.

Oklahoma offers more than one road out before trial. The judge chooses which road and how much it costs.

• Cash. The whole sum is handed over as money to a court officer or jailer authorized to take it. A relative or friend can pay it for the person (59 O.S. § 1323).
• Surety. You pay a licensed bondsman a fee, and the bondsman guarantees the court the rest.
• Property. Real estate stands in for cash. Whoever files the pledge covers the filing fees (59 O.S. § 1331).
• Own recognizance. No money changes hands. Your person signs a pledge to show up for every court date, and state bail law gives these bonds a section of their own (22 O.S. § 1108.1).
• Conditions. The Pretrial Release Act allows courts to add terms, such as an ankle monitor. Counties may run pretrial release programs under the same Act (22 O.S. § 1105.2, § 1105.3). The Court Clerk can say whether this court uses one.

Bond is fixed case by case, often starting from a list the court keeps. To hear the figure on a specific charge, phone the Court Clerk at 918-647-3181. These state rules shape the range:

• Town ordinance tickets. Pocola and Arkoma cases get their amounts from those towns' own courts.
• Simple drug possession, or a theft under $1,000. State Question 780 turned both into misdemeanors starting July 1, 2017.
• DUI number two. The amount must come from a judge, along with written reasons (HB 1222).
• DUI number three or more. As of November 1, 2025, bail can be refused outright (SB 981).
• Violent crimes, or crimes carrying life. A judge may hold these without bail after a hearing (Okla. Const. art. II § 8).
• Arrested for violence while on bond for an earlier violent case. A judge starts out assuming detention, though that assumption can be overcome (HB 3782).
• Wanted elsewhere in Oklahoma. That place prices its own bond, and the family may be able to post it there (HB 1991).

Whatever the charge, the Constitution forbids excessive bail (Okla. Const. art. II § 9).

State law says a cash bond can be paid by the arrested person or by someone else for them (59 O.S. § 1323). These steps save a wasted trip:

1. Ring 918-647-5013. Spell out the name and give the date of birth.
2. Get the full bond total and the case number it is tied to. Ask whether the case needs a judge's OK before release.
3. Find out whether the jail accepts the bond at its own desk, during which hours, or whether the courthouse is the place to pay.
4. Ask which kinds of money staff accept, and what name belongs on the "pay to" line.
5. Write down the jail's street address and where visitors park.
6. Arrive with a photo ID and the exact sum. Insist on a written receipt, and file it somewhere safe until the case closes.

Prefer not to pay the full bail? A licensed bondsman can post it for a fee, as the bondsman answer on this page explains.

Often, yes. The District Court's clerk works inside the courthouse at 100 S. Broadway, Poteau, OK 74953. Call 918-647-3181 during business hours with three questions. Does the office accept a cash bond on this case? What payment does it take? How soon does word of the payment reach the jail?

Town charges are paid at the town:

• Pocola Municipal Court, 204 South Pocola Blvd., Pocola, OK, 918-436-2388. Its clerk keeps weekday hours of 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. The judge holds court the third Tuesday of every month, starting at 8:30 a.m.
• Arkoma Town Hall, 1103 Main Street, Arkoma, OK 74901, 918-875-3228. Arkoma takes fine payments face to face, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ask whether a bond goes through the same counter.

If city officers made the arrest, phone the Poteau Police Department at 918-647-8260 to learn where a city bond gets paid.

Every window sets its own rules, and the jail, the courthouse and a town court may not match. Check with the one you plan to use before leaving the house:

• Ask about cash, cashier's checks, money orders and cards, and whether a card brings an extra charge.
• Ask precisely how the payee should be written. A mistake there can mean a second drive.
• Bring the precise sum, because some counters keep little change on hand.
• Don't mail cash. If a stranger calls asking for bond money, end the call.

The District 16 prosecutor's office page links an online payment site. That site handles bogus check cases, restitution and supervision charges, and bail can't be paid through it. For what the Detention Center itself accepts, call 918-647-5013.

The Oklahoma Insurance Department licenses and polices every bondsman in the state, and writing bonds without that license is against the law (59 O.S. § 1303).

• Before signing as surety on any bond, a bondsman registers with the court clerk (59 O.S. § 1320).
• The fee, known as the premium, has to show on the bond paperwork before it goes to the court. Ask for the numbered receipt the law requires (59 O.S. § 1316).
• That fee counts as earned when your person is out and not jailed on anything else. If release never comes, the premium and collateral must be handed back without delay (59 O.S. § 1327).
• A bondsman may hand a client back to custody ahead of any default. Under certain listed reasons, the fee stays with the bondsman.
• Jailers and police can't hold a bondsman license (59 O.S. § 1315). Soliciting customers where prisoners are held or brought to court is grounds for discipline (59 O.S. § 1310).

Before you sign, run the bondsman's name through the state's license search for bail bondsmen. Complaints can go on the department's online complaint page. Its bail bond staff work at 400 NE 50th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-521-6610.

Each bond settles one case only. Any of the following can still stand in the way:

• A second place wants them. Another Oklahoma county or town may have its own hold. Since November 1, 2025, family members can post that other bond to lift it (HB 1991).
• DUI, second time or more. Release waits on a judge's bail order (HB 1222).
• Time owed to the state. A Department of Corrections hold outranks a county bond.
• Probation or parole trouble. A violation report can keep someone held.
• Federal agents or immigration. Each has its own answer further down.

So before money changes hands, call 918-647-5013 and have staff list every hold on file.

Yes, though only in narrow cases. The Oklahoma Constitution permits holding a person with no bail on a capital charge when guilt looks clear. Violent offenses are on the list, along with any charge whose top sentence is life or life without parole. So is a felony when the person charged has two prior felony convictions that came from separate events, and so are drug crimes punished by ten years or more (Okla. Const. art. II § 8).

Apart from capital cases, the judge must make two more findings. First, the case against the person looks solid. Second, even strict release terms would still leave someone in danger. In 2025, lawmakers added felony DUI, third offense and beyond, to the list (SB 981).

Arguing for detention falls to the District Attorney for District 16, with a local office at 100 S. Broadway, Room 300, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-2245. Victims may speak at any release hearing (Okla. Const. art. II § 34).

Ask the defense lawyer to file for a bond review. Excessive bail breaks the Oklahoma Constitution, so a figure far beyond the charge can be fought (Okla. Const. art. II § 9).

1. Speak with the lawyer first. Appointed lawyers handle these requests as well as hired ones.
2. Pull together proof that your person has roots here: work records, a rental agreement or house papers, and notes from people who count on them.
3. Be truthful about the money the family can raise, and suggest terms that ease the judge's concerns.
4. Raise the idea of an ankle monitor or a pretrial program, both of which state law allows (22 O.S. § 1105.2).

The next court date can be learned from the Court Clerk at 918-647-3181.

A person charged with anything that could lead to a jail cell is entitled to a lawyer, misdemeanor or felony. Oklahoma's top criminal court confirmed that in 2025. Here, free defense comes from the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (OIDS) satellite office at 507 Dewey Ave, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-3907.

• The application form comes from, and goes back to, the Court Clerk's office. From inside the jail, your person should request one from a jailer.
• A judge rules on who can't afford counsel, based on a sworn list of income, assets and debts (22 O.S. § 1355A). Making bail is weighed, yet it may never decide the question by itself.
• There is a $40 charge to apply. It goes into the Court Fund instead of to OIDS, and the person may ask to settle it once the case is finished.
• OIDS takes cases only when the judge appoints it, so phoning them first won't speed things.

• District Court (state felonies and misdemeanors), 100 S. Broadway, Poteau, OK 74953. Court Clerk: 918-647-3181.
• Pocola Municipal Court (Pocola ordinance cases), 204 South Pocola Blvd., Pocola, OK, 918-436-2388.
• Arkoma Town Hall (Arkoma fines), 1103 Main Street, Arkoma, OK 74901, 918-875-3228.
• Choctaw Nation Tribal Courthouse, 302 Church Street, Talihina, OK 74571, 918-567-3582.
• Federal court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, 101 North 5th Street, Room 208, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-684-7920.

McGirt v. Oklahoma (2020) and later rulings changed where some cases go. Oklahoma's criminal appeals court found that Congress never ended the Choctaw reservation. So a tribal citizen charged over something that happened on reservation land is usually prosecuted in tribal or federal court. Ask the lawyer which court has power over your person's case.

Cash bail is refunded once the case wraps up, or once your person is surrendered to the court (59 O.S. § 1328). Hold on to the receipt and a photo ID. The Court Clerk at 918-647-3181 can explain how refund checks go out.

Skipping court starts a clock under 59 O.S. § 1332:

• Day 10 is the deadline for the court to issue a warrant after a forfeiture.
• By day 15, the forfeiture judgment goes on file. The clerk's notice goes out within 30 days of that filing.
• Once that judgment reaches the bondsman, a 90-day window opens to produce the person. If they do, the forfeiture is set aside.
• Otherwise, the full bond amount must be paid into the court clerk's office in cash or securities.

Municipal courts don't wait. A town judge declares forfeiture on the no-show day itself, and court costs come out of the money (11 O.S. § 27-118).

Under Oklahoma jail standards, nobody leaves until staff confirm exactly who they are. Belongings are checked off against the property inventory, and the person signs to show everything came back (OAC 310:670-5-1).

A leftover account balance, or items too bulky to carry, may take a second trip. Ask the Detention Center at 918-647-5013 how a leftover balance is refunded, and whether family can collect property. Carry a photo ID, and check if your person must sign a release note first. Our page on jail accounts explains putting money in and getting it back.

Yes. This county lies inside the Eastern District of Oklahoma, so a federal case filed here lands in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The clerk's office is at 101 North 5th Street, Room 208, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-684-7920, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The federal statute also lists Poteau among the cities where this court may meet.

• A federal magistrate weighs release or custody at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142). County bond money plays no role there.
• The U.S. Marshals Service, 101 North 5th Street, Suite 136, Muskogee, OK 74401, 539-239-5500, has charge of federal defendants who are not released.
• Some prisoners pass through the Federal Transfer Center, 7410 S. MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73169, 405-682-4075, during moves.
• For a federal defendant without money for counsel, there is the Federal Public Defender, 112 North 7th Street, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-687-2430.
• Once sentenced, your person shows up on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

No. The county bond and an ICE detainer are separate, so one doesn't clear the other. Expect these steps:

1. ICE starts the process with its written detainer, Form I-247A, sent to the Detention Center.
2. The request: keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Agents arrive to take custody. Oklahoma belongs to ICE's Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Frwy, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200, which also runs an office at 1220 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, OK 73108, 405-219-3199.
4. ICE's detention site at Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023, is one possible stop. Its information line is 918-225-3336.
5. Track them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator by full name and birth country.

State lawmakers passed HB 4156 (21 O.S. § 1795), aimed at noncitizens who remain here with no lawful right to enter the U.S. A federal judge put that law on ice, and the state's appeal is still open.

A state prison term belongs to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Expect a long wait first. DOC says 6 to 9 months usually pass before pickup from the county jail. Once the person reaches DOC's assessment and reception unit, intake staff score the person's custody level and pick a matching prison.

• The DOC Offender Lookup shows the current prison when you enter a name.
• The DOC main line, 405-425-2500, connects to any facility. After arrival, an assigned case manager is the best contact.
• Our Oklahoma state prisons page lists visits, mail and contact details facility by facility.

Minors are held at a juvenile detention center. An adult jail gets a six-hour window at most with a youth, just long enough to identify, book or move them. The youth must never be within sight or earshot of any grown inmate (OAC 310:670-5-5). This county falls under the Office of Juvenile Affairs, which keeps a district office at 109 Beard Street, Suite 111, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-9154, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Call that office for the youth's location and hearing date.
• A 15-, 16- or 17-year-old charged with certain grave crimes may be handled as a youthful offender under the Youthful Offender Act.
• A teen can instead be certified and tried as an adult.

Yes. Whether the charge is shoplifting or homicide, a state crime filed here goes to the District Court, which for this county means Judicial District 16. No Oklahoma county goes without an associate district judge, since the Constitution requires one in each, and voters fill the district bench in races where no party label appears (Okla. Const. art. VII § 8, § 9).

• Misdemeanor. The lesser kind of crime. Any jail time is spent in the county jail, never a state prison. When a misdemeanor goes to a jury in District Court, six jurors decide.
• Felony. Serious enough to mean prison. Twelve jurors decide these.
• Ordinance violation. A broken town rule. The state Constitution confines municipal courts to criminal and traffic cases (Okla. Const. art. VII § 1).

Each felony committed from January 1, 2026 onward now carries a letter class. Picture a ladder of fourteen rungs. Y and A1 sit on top, while D2 and D3 sit on the bottom (HB 1792, revised by HB 2104 and HB 2105). Two changes from State Question 780 (effective July 1, 2017) still matter. Personal-use drug possession dropped to a misdemeanor, and a property crime now needs a value of $1,000 or more to be a felony.

Nearly all state hearings are held in the county courthouse at 100 S. Broadway, Poteau, OK 74953. The old building is on the National Register. Inside, the Court Clerk records filings and runs the docket, reachable on business days at 918-647-3181. The District Attorney's local staff work out of Room 300.

The Sheriff's Office stands just behind the courthouse, at 100 S. Church Street, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-3426.

Some cases that begin in this county end up elsewhere:

• Tribal cases: the Choctaw Nation Tribal Courthouse, 302 Church Street, Talihina, OK 74571, 918-567-3582.
• Federal cases: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, clerk's office at 101 North 5th Street, Room 208, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-684-7920.

Official town pages show local court business in three places:

• Pocola. Its municipal court sits at 204 South Pocola Blvd., Pocola, OK, 918-436-2388. Court is held on the month's third Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. The clerk's window opens at 8, closes for lunch from noon to 1, and shuts at 5 on weekdays. If Pocola fines go unpaid, the town can turn them over for collection. A driver's license lost over them comes back only after full payment, through Service Oklahoma at 405-425-2424.
• Poteau. City ordinances create a municipal judge and courtroom, and the police chief carries out the court's warrants. The Poteau Police Department, 918-647-8260, can tell you where and when that court meets.
• Arkoma. People settle town fines in person at Town Hall, 1103 Main Street, Arkoma, OK 74901, 918-875-3228, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Was the ticket written in Heavener, Spiro, Talihina, Panama, Wister, Howe, Bokoshe, Cameron, Shady Point, Rock Island, Fort Coffee, Le Flore or Fanshawe? The town hall there can say where its tickets go, and the District Court Clerk at 918-647-3181 can help too. If a town ever charges a fine above what state law permits, a 2026 law cuts it back to the lawful amount automatically (SB 1775).

Usually an arraignment in District Court. Picture a short hearing: the judge confirms the charges, decides the bond or takes a fresh look at it, and checks whether your person has a lawyer or needs one appointed.

• Felony arraignments in District Court are not the moment for a guilty or not guilty answer. That comes later.
• If your person is jailed in some other county, the arraignment may happen over video. SB 1711 has allowed that since November 2024.
• Under Okla. Const. art. II § 20, the accused gets a speedy, public trial, judged by an impartial jury from the county where the crime occurred.
• A 2024 law, SB 325, makes the court look again at a slow case. The clock starts at the first appearance. Review comes at 9 months if this charge is all that holds your person in jail, or at 18 months for someone living at home.

Calendars differ week to week, so get the arraignment date straight from the Court Clerk or the jail.

The District 16 District Attorney files state misdemeanors in this county. Most begin at an arraignment and many close with a plea bargain. A not guilty plea can lead to a six-member jury trial. Some local examples:

• Drugs for personal use. State Question 780 rewrote 63 O.S. § 2-402, so simple possession is now a misdemeanor.
• Theft and property damage. A loss below $1,000 keeps the charge a misdemeanor.
• Drunk driving. Get arrested for DUI with a prior one, and only a judge can set the bail, in writing with reasons (HB 1222). Once DUIs reach felony level on a third or later offense, a judge may deny bail altogether (SB 981).

Sentences on misdemeanors are served locally, in the county jail, often with fines and court costs added. The defense lawyer can explain the punishment range for the exact charge.

Expect these stages, though a plea deal can end the case at any point:

1. Booking at the Detention Center after the arrest.
2. Arraignment. Charges, bond and the lawyer question all come up.
3. Preliminary hearing. This is an evidence check, not a trial. Prosecutors must show three things. A crime really occurred. There is probable cause to think your person committed it. And it took place inside this county.
4. Trial in front of twelve jurors.
5. Sentencing. On crimes from January 1, 2026 on, the written judgment names the felony's class and the minimum time owed. A judgment missing the class gets the lowest class from DOC (HB 2105).

Judges nearly always order credit for jail days served before the sentence, according to DOC.

They do. Here is where the rules tighten:

• Bail. For violent crimes, the Constitution lets a judge refuse release once guilt looks evident and nothing short of jail would protect others (Okla. Const. art. II § 8).
• Repeat violence on bond. Someone accused of violence while already free on a bond in another violent case faces a presumption that they stay locked up (HB 3782).
• Time served. For crimes on the state's 85% list, no parole review happens before 85% of the term is served (21 O.S. § 13.1). Examples include murder in the first degree, child abuse, robbery with a dangerous weapon and first degree burglary. For parole math, life equals 45 years, so the earliest look comes at 38 years and 3 months.
• Children present. When a kid is there to see or hear it, domestic abuse is charged as a B5 felony under SB 1238 (2026).
• Appeal bonds. A person convicted of child abuse or partner abuse can't get out on bail while appealing. That rule began November 1, 2025 (HB 1066).
• Orders of protection. When the person named is sitting in the county jail, the order jumps the line for service, with a first attempt inside 24 hours (SB 623).

The District 16 District Attorney prosecutes state cases here and in Latimer County. Its staff here work at 100 S. Broadway, Room 300, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-2245.

Appointed defense comes from the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, whose Poteau satellite office is at 507 Dewey Ave, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-3907.

• Ask the Court Clerk for the paperwork that requests appointed counsel. Your person can get one in jail by asking staff.
• Only the judge can find someone too poor to hire counsel and hand the case to OIDS. Phoning OIDS does not start that.
• Filing carries a $40 fee for the Court Fund, and it can be postponed to the case's end on request.

A family may also retain its own attorney at any point in the case.

Two websites hold Oklahoma district court dockets, and state agencies rely on both:

• Search one: Oklahoma State Courts Network
• Search two: Oklahoma District Court Records

Search each one by last name and first name, choosing this county's court. Jot down the case number when it turns up, since every call goes faster with it.

Same-day changes may not show online right away. Confirm any hearing date or courtroom with the Court Clerk at 918-647-3181. Pocola town cases are tracked by that court at 918-436-2388.

Arrest warrants across the county are carried out by the Sheriff's Patrol Division. For a check, phone the Sheriff's Office at 918-647-3426, or county dispatch at 918-647-2317, where warrant checks run day and night. Check these wanted lists too: the Sheriff's own Most Wanted page, the U.S. Marshals' 15 Most Wanted fugitives and, statewide, the Attorney General's 10 Most Wanted. Case files may appear on OSCN or ODCR. To settle a warrant, talk with a defense lawyer first. Surrendering to the court that signed it is one path. The other is to ring that court and request a new hearing date. District Court warrants run through the Court Clerk, 100 S. Broadway, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-3181.

The U.S. Supreme Court's McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling of July 9, 2020, found that Creek reservation land is still Indian country, where states generally lack power to try Indians. Oklahoma's criminal appeals court then reached the same result for the Choctaw reservation. What that means for a family:

• Tribal citizen, reservation land: tribal prosecutors or federal ones usually take over from the state.
• Murder and other crimes on the federal major crimes list, when the accused is Native American, are for federal court alone.
• Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta (June 29, 2022) lets the state prosecute non-Indians whose victims are Indian, alongside federal prosecutors.
• Cases against Indians from some other tribe are still in flux, so lean on a lawyer for which court applies.

The Nation keeps its Tribal Courthouse inside this county, at 302 Church Street, Talihina, OK 74571, 918-567-3582. Choctaw Lighthorse Police officers hold cross-deputy status with local agencies. The Nation's main number is 800-522-6170.

This county belongs to Oklahoma's Eastern federal district. The district clerk works at 101 North 5th Street, Room 208, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-684-7920, weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Poteau is also named in federal law as a city where this district may hold court.

1. Charging. Federal prosecutors work from 520 Denison Ave, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-684-5100.
2. Detention hearing. Held under 18 U.S.C. 3142, it settles home versus a cell until trial.
3. Custody. Federal marshals at 101 North 5th Street, Suite 136, Muskogee, OK 74401, 539-239-5500, take charge of anyone the judge does not release.
4. Defense. The Federal Public Defender, 112 North 7th Street, Muskogee, OK 74401, 918-687-2430, represents federal defendants short on money.
5. After sentencing. Find the prison with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The charges still move forward in state court. What shifts is release day. In order:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodges a detainer on Form I-247A.
2. It wants the jail to keep your person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)), giving agents time to arrive.
3. ICE's Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Frwy, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200, oversees Oklahoma. It keeps a check-in office at 1220 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, OK 73108, 405-219-3199.
4. From there, a detainee can be moved to Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023, 918-225-3336.
5. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, with name and birth country.

Title 22 also contains a section on confirming whether a jailed person is a citizen (22 O.S. § 171.2). HB 4156 (21 O.S. § 1795) made being here unlawfully a state crime. Federal courts have halted it, and the Tenth Circuit appeal is pending. Noncitizens should mention their status to the defense lawyer right away, because a plea deal can carry immigration fallout.

A prison sentence hands your person over to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. DOC usually takes 6 to 9 months to collect someone from a county jail. First stop after that is one of DOC's intake sites for assessment and reception. Its staff weigh how much security the person needs, then name a prison.

• Follow the person on the DOC Offender Lookup.
• DOC's central office: 4345 N. Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-425-2500.
• Once placed, a case manager at the prison fields family questions.
• Visiting rules and mailing addresses for every prison are gathered on our Oklahoma prisons guide.

The Office of Juvenile Affairs runs youth cases in 73 of Oklahoma's 77 counties, this one included. Its district office here is at 109 Beard Street, Suite 111, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-9154, staffed weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Booking a youth at a police station or the sheriff's office may take 6 hours at most. A teen who must stay locked up longer is moved to juvenile detention, never the adult jail.
• Next comes a detention hearing, normally no later than the next judicial day. A real problem such as transport can push it to two.
• The Youthful Offender Act covers teens 15 to 17 charged with crimes on a set list. A 13 or 14 year old can face it only on a first degree murder charge.
• Certification moves a youth's case into adult court, and a reverse certification request asks for the opposite.

Victims' rights sit in the Oklahoma Constitution itself, in a section people now call Marsy's Law (Okla. Const. art. II § 34). It gives victims these promises:

• Be heard. Victims get a say at hearings on release, plea deals, sentencing and parole.
• Get paid back. Restitution should be full and on time.
• Move on. The case should end without needless delay.
• Be safe. Treatment should respect safety, dignity and privacy.

Case notices go out only after a written request. Send yours to the District Attorney's office, 100 S. Broadway, Room 300, Poteau, OK 74953, 918-647-2245. The letter needs four things: who is charged, which county, the case number, and how to reach you.

Custody alerts are free on VINELink, or through OK VINE by phone at 877-654-8463. Oklahoma's Crime Victims Compensation Program may reimburse a victim for things like medical care, counseling, lost income or a funeral. Call 405-264-5006.