On state charges, a single court handles both: the District Court on Main Street. Under Okla. Const. art. VII § 7, District Courts may hear any kind of case.

• Misdemeanors are lesser crimes. A conviction may bring county jail days, a fine, or the two together.
• Felonies are the serious ones. They can bring a prison term in the Department of Corrections.
• Town ordinance cases, like many traffic and local tickets, belong to a municipal court. Under Okla. Const. art. VII § 1, town courts handle only criminal and traffic matters.

Three judge titles exist in a District Court, set out in Okla. Const. art. VII § 8: the district judge, the associate district judge and the special judge. The Constitution gives every county an associate district judge. For a crime committed on or after January 1, 2026, a felony also carries a letter class, such as C or D.

The courthouse has stood on Main Street since 1921. Its address is 201 N. Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542.

• Court Clerk: 580-335-3023, fax 580-335-5613, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Clerk's mailing address: P.O. Box 116, Frederick, OK 73542
• Case types the clerk files: criminal, civil, juvenile, probate, family and small claims
• District Attorney: same building, 580-335-2458

Judicial District 3 covers five counties: Greer, Harmon, Jackson, Kiowa and this one. Federal cases are heard far from here, in Lawton or Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma towns may run their own municipal courts. Those courts hear breaks of town rules and traffic tickets, and the town, not the state, runs them. These are the incorporated places here:

• Frederick (the county seat)
• Grandfield
• Tipton
• Davidson
• Manitou
• Hollister
• Loveland
• Chattanooga, which lies mostly in Comanche County

Holding a ticket from one of them? Phone the town office that wrote it, or have the Court Clerk at 580-335-3023 tell you where it goes. Any state charge, like a DUI filed by the District Attorney, goes to the courthouse at 201 N. Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542.

After booking, the person is brought before a judge. Some see the judge in person. Under SB 1711 (2024), someone held in a jail outside the county may appear on a video screen. At this first step:

1. The judge reads or explains the charges.
2. Bail is set, kept or changed.
3. A request for a court-appointed lawyer can be made. The Court Clerk takes the form, and its $40 fee may be held over to the end.
4. The next date is set.

Felony defendants enter no plea at the District Court arraignment, according to OSBI's victim guide. Timing of the first appearance varies, so the Court Clerk at 580-335-3023 is the one to ask.

A misdemeanor case is shorter than a felony. It often goes like this:

1. The District Attorney files the charge.
2. The arraignment comes next. The judge reads the charge, and the defendant answers it with a plea.
3. The two sides talk. A plea bargain, a deferred sentence or a dropped charge often ends things here.
4. A case that goes to trial is heard by a jury of six people in District Court.

Two charges show up a lot. Since State Question 780 (2017), simple drug possession is a misdemeanor under 63 O.S. § 2-402. Theft of property worth less than $1,000 is also a misdemeanor. A repeat DUI arrest means bail waits for a judge's decision under HB 1222. Penalties can include county jail, fines, probation and classes.

1. Charge. The District Attorney files the written charge.
2. First appearance. Bail and a lawyer are handled.
3. Preliminary hearing. No guilt is decided here. The state has to show that the crime happened within county lines, plus probable cause, meaning solid grounds, linking the accused to it.
4. Formal arraignment. The judge places the case on the trial docket. No plea is taken at this step.
5. Plea talks or trial. A felony jury has 12 members.
6. Sentencing. A conviction leads to a sentence, entered in a written judgment.

Since the start of 2026, a new felony gets a letter grade. HB 1792 created 14 grades, with Class Y the worst and the D grades the mildest, and two 2025 bills (HB 2104, HB 2105) adjusted them. Each judgment now lists the grade and the minimum time to serve. SB 325 (2024) adds speedy-trial checkpoints. A judge must look again at a stalled case 9 months after the first appearance for someone jailed on it alone, and 18 months after for someone out on bond.

Yes, at nearly every step.

• Bail. Violent charges are on the list where release can be refused after a hearing (Okla. Const. art. II § 8). Since HB 3782 (2024), a fresh violent charge filed during bond on an earlier violent case is presumed to keep the person locked up.
• Classes. Under the 2026 grading, violence puts a felony in Class Y, A or B.
• The 85% rule. For crimes listed in 21 O.S. § 13.1, a parole board won't review the case before 85% of the sentence has passed. Examples on the DOC list: first degree murder and burglary, child abuse, and robbery with a dangerous weapon.
• Life terms. The court's jury instructions figure a life term as 45 years, which puts the first parole look at 38 years and 3 months.

DOC notes that credit for days already spent in county jail is ordered in nearly every case.

The voters of District 3 elect the District Attorney who files charges. The local branch is inside the courthouse at 201 N. Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542, 580-335-2458. District 3 also covers Greer, Harmon, Jackson and Kiowa counties.

For defense, the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System (OIDS) takes cases from this county at its Altus office: 123 W Commerce St, Suite 100, Altus, OK 73521, 580-782-2429.

• A judge decides who can't afford a lawyer (22 O.S. § 1355A). OIDS cannot assign one by phone.
• Paper applications are turned in at the clerk's window. A detainee can get a blank one through jail officers.
• A $40 fee applies. It can be pushed to the case's end.

The Court Clerk's page links Oklahoma District Court Records (ODCR) for record searches. Pick this county from the list, then type the person's name. If you know the case number, use it instead. Open the case to read its docket.

A second statewide tool, the Oklahoma State Courts Network docket search, may help too. If a name gives no results, try a middle initial or an older spelling.

Dates can change. To be sure, call the Court Clerk at 580-335-3023 and have the birth date ready.

In this county, deputies of the Sheriff serve court warrants. Callers asking about one can dial 580-335-3013. Filed cases can be searched on ODCR. Official fugitive lists come from the state Attorney General (10 Most Wanted), from DOC for prison escapes (Orange Alert) and, nationally, the Marshals' 15 Most Wanted. Most people settle one by calling a lawyer first. With that lawyer, the person can surrender at the jail, 1200 S. Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542, or ask the court for a bond or fresh date. Clerk's office: 201 N. Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542, 580-335-3023.

Federal prosecutions from southwest Oklahoma belong to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. Its nearest office is 410 SW 5th Street, Lawton, OK 73501, 580-355-6340. The main courthouse is 200 NW 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5000.

• The U.S. Attorney prosecutes from 210 Park Avenue, Suite 400, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-553-8700.
• At a detention hearing, the judge weighs flight risk and danger (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• The U.S. Marshals hold people who stay in custody, often at the Federal Transfer Center, 7410 S. MacArthur Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73169.
• Pretrial supervision for this area runs from 410 SW 5th, Room 101, Lawton, OK 73501, 580-353-0387.
• After sentencing, find the person on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Paid accounts on PACER open the federal docket.

The state charge keeps going even after ICE lodges a hold. What shifts is the moment of release.

1. The detainer arrives as Form I-247A.
2. Jailers may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE then takes custody at the jail.
4. The Dallas Field Office handles Oklahoma. Its local office is 1220 Sovereign Row, Oklahoma City, OK 73108, 405-219-3199.
5. People are often moved to Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023.
6. Find them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

A person in ICE custody may miss state court dates, so the defense lawyer should tell the judge. Oklahoma's own immigration crime, HB 4156 (21 O.S. § 1795), stays blocked by a federal court order during the state's appeal.

Prison terms are served under the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (DOC). Expect a gap: DOC reports that it typically picks up sentenced people from county jails after 6 to 9 months. The first DOC stop, an assessment and reception center, scores custody level and assigns the prison.

• Use the DOC Offender Lookup by name.
• Our directory of Oklahoma prisons has a page for each.
• DOC: 4345 North Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-425-2500.

The Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) runs youth services here: 2501 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 500, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-530-2800. Local help for families comes from Great Plains Youth and Family Services, 901 S. Broadway, Hobart, OK 73651, 580-726-3383.

• Processing a youth at a sheriff's office is capped at 6 hours.
• Detained youth go to a juvenile center, such as the regional juvenile center in Lawton, 701 SW 17th Street, Lawton, OK 73501, 580-357-2250.
• A judge should review a detained youth's case no later than the next judicial day.
• Older teens charged with the worst crimes may be tried as youthful offenders. A certification ruling lifts a juvenile case into adult court, and reverse certification lowers an adult case back.

The Court Clerk files juvenile cases and can give hearing times at 580-335-3023.

Marsy's Law, in Okla. Const. art. II § 34, gives victims rights to fairness, respect, privacy and safety. Victims may address the court before release, plea or sentencing decisions, and they are owed full restitution.

• To get case notices, send a written request to the District Attorney's office at 201 N. Main Street, Frederick, OK 73542, 580-335-2458. List who is charged, the case number and county, then your own mailing address and phone.
• Free release and transfer alerts come from VINELink. Phone sign-up: 877-654-8463.
• Hospital bills, therapy and lost pay may be partly repaid through the Crime Victims Compensation Program, 405-264-5006.
• Protective orders are requested at the Court Clerk's office. When the other person is in jail, a 2025 law gives the order priority service within 24 hours (SB 623).