Lewis County Jail

The Sheriff's Office is staffed 24 hours a day, every day, at 931-796-5096. Look at Lewis County Inmate Search first, because the screen may already answer your question, then call with the person's full name and date of birth.

Ask three things: is he booked, what is the charge, and is any bond set yet.

Sheriff Matt Tiller's office operates the Lewis County Jail, at 437 Swan Avenue, Hohenwald, TN 38462. The county holds its own pretrial inmates there rather than shipping them to a neighbor. Other officers in the Sheriff's Office handle patrol, warrants and courtroom security.

A judge or magistrate sets it after looking at the individual. Tennessee Code 40-11-105 means anyone arrested on a bailable offense is entitled to be admitted to bail. An officer can accept bail only after it exists (40-11-106), so the jail cannot release a person off a general price list.

The General Sessions judge's office is at 931-796-5547. The judge can change the amount at a hearing.

Cash bail means the entire amount. Section 40-11-118(a)(1) allows a deposit equal to the bail with the court clerk, and the clerk may accept a debit card or phone app and pass along the fee. The Circuit Court Clerk's office is on West Main Street in Hohenwald, with the courthouse at 110 North Park, and the clerk's phone is 931-796-3724.

The clerk's office keeps weekday hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. For payment at other times, call the Sheriff's Office at 931-796-5096.

They do. The notice required by Tennessee Code 40-11-151 says a Tennessee resident should be charged about 10 percent of the bond. The bondsman may add a one-time $25 initiation fee and a $12 bail tax. The bondsman keeps that premium.

A receipt should list every charge. Extra collateral must be itemized in writing along with how to redeem it.

Two things. A license from the Board of Professional Bondsmen under 40-11-321 comes first. Then comes approval by the courts in the judicial district where the bond is written. Lewis County is in the Twenty-First Judicial District, along with Hickman, Perry and Williamson counties.

Without both, the agent cannot write a Lewis County bond for you.

Yes, provided it is in Tennessee. The law allows cash, real estate in the state, a pair of sufficient sureties who are not professional bondsmen or attorneys, or a professional bondsman.

Pledging a house means the court checks title and liens first, which takes longer than cash. Call the Circuit Court Clerk at 931-796-3724 to learn which forms to bring.

The list in 40-11-118(b): length of residence, employment and finances, family ties, character and mental condition, record and past court appearances, the charge itself, the likely sentence and any danger the record shows. A responsible community member may vouch for the defendant, but only for two people at a time.

In a small county where people know each other, a steady address and a letter from an employer carry weight.

Sometimes. The court must start by considering release on a promise or an unsecured bond (40-11-115(b)). If that is not enough, it must use the least onerous conditions (40-11-116). Money bail is meant for cases where those conditions would not do the job (40-11-117).

Capital charges are not bailable under Article I, section 15 of the state constitution. A hold from another county or agency also blocks release. And after some stalking or domestic arrests, release must wait 12 hours, or up to 24 for aggravated assault with strangulation or a weapon (40-11-150).

The Sheriff's Office at 931-796-5096 can tell you which reason applies.

They can be. Section 40-11-118(d) calls for an ignition interlock in DUI cases with a crash that damaged property, a child aboard, a prior suspension or a prior listed conviction. Third and later alcohol DUIs add transdermal monitoring at the defendant's expense.

Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 5 says the arrested person is brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. The magistrate states the charge and the rights to a lawyer and to silence. A felony preliminary hearing is set within 14 days if he is held and 30 days if he is released.

General Sessions Court can be reached at 931-796-5547.

Ask the judge for one at the first hearing. The Twenty-First Judicial District public defender, 615-790-5519, covers Lewis County.

Hohenwald is the county's incorporated town, and city officers as well as sheriff's deputies make arrests here. Whoever made the arrest, the booking should appear on Lewis County Inmate Search. Ask that agency for a report number if it does not.

Juvenile cases follow a separate path from adult ones. Begin with the General Sessions judge's office at 931-796-5547, which can explain who holds the child, where, and when the detention hearing is. A child's name will not be on the adult search.

No. Money placed on his account for calls or commissary is his to spend inside and has no connection to the court. Bail has to go to the clerk, a licensed bondsman or a property bond. Be wary of anyone who messages you offering to post bail for a fee.

A missed court date lets the judge forfeit the bond (40-11-139 and 40-11-201) and order his arrest. A surety can surrender him (40-11-132).

A cash deposit is returned after discharge (40-11-119), but fines and court costs are taken from it first (40-11-121). Fines, costs and restitution are not a surety's burden unless the bond says so and the surety agrees (40-11-118(c)).

• Jail: Lewis County Jail, run by the Sheriff's Office, 437 Swan Avenue, Hohenwald, TN 38462; 931-796-5096, staffed 24 hours
• Custody lookup: Lewis County Inmate Search
• Courthouse: 110 North Park, Hohenwald, TN 38462
• Circuit Court Clerk: 931-796-3724
• General Sessions: 931-796-5547
• Public defender: Twenty-First Judicial District, 615-790-5519
• Bond help: Lewis County bail and bond instructions

Every case is different, and a judge may set terms that this page does not describe. Hours and phone lines can change, so call first. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

Families dealing with an arrest in Lewis County need more than a courthouse name: they need to understand who controls release and how the case moves forward. The county seat is Hohenwald, but the exact courtroom depends on whether the charge is a city ordinance violation, a misdemeanor, or a felony. Use the linked questions to find the courthouse information, bail process, defense-lawyer options, sentencing rules, youth-court process, and federal court details.

Circuit Court Clerk — court filings and hearing information

Lewis County Circuit Court Clerk — Listed office address: 29 West Main Street, Hohenwald, TN 38462.

Circuit Court Clerk telephone: (931) 796-3724

Circuit clerks handle many criminal and civil filings. Chancery Courts usually address civil and equity matters, while General Sessions Courts handle many initial criminal hearings. Call the applicable clerk for the specific courtroom assignment.

Lewis County: the county seat is Hohenwald. Tennessee General Sessions Court ordinarily handles initial criminal appearances, misdemeanor proceedings within its authority, and felony preliminary hearings. Felony jury trials are heard in the Circuit or Criminal Court serving Lewis County. The Circuit Court Clerk is responsible for criminal filings and records in courts assigned to that clerk; some Tennessee counties have separate criminal clerks.

Courthouse and court clerk contacts

For other courtrooms and branches, call the Circuit Court Clerk at 931-796-3724.

Chancery Court generally hears civil matters such as certain family, property, estate, and business disputes; a Chancery clerk is not a substitute for the criminal clerk. The exact court named on a summons controls where the hearing takes place.

After a custodial arrest in Lewis County, the arresting agency arranges booking and detention. The person may be housed in a county facility or another authorized jail under an established custody arrangement.

Booking may include identification, fingerprints, a photograph, a property inventory, and a medical or mental-health screening. The defendant is then brought before the proper judicial officer for a probable-cause and release decision as required by law. A family member should write down the full legal name, booking number if known, charges, and scheduled hearing.

A judge or authorized magistrate decides whether someone charged in Lewis County can go home before trial and under what conditions. Release on recognizance means there is no up-front bond payment; other orders may require a cash deposit, surety, supervision, travel restrictions, or no contact with another person. Commercial bonding is permitted in Tennessee, but a bondsman cannot decide the court’s bond amount.

If the order allows payment, first establish whether the court or jail collects the money, the exact amount, and whether another hold prevents release. A paid bond does not erase the charges and missing court can lead to forfeiture and arrest.

Many less serious cases in Hohenwald begin in General Sessions Court. A prosecutor can discuss a plea, dismissal or diversion; not every offense qualifies. A defendant does not receive a full jury trial in General Sessions Court, and a final misdemeanor decision there requires appropriate consent or waiver under Tennessee law. The case may instead proceed in a court with jury-trial authority.

Maximum misdemeanor punishments

• Class A misdemeanor: up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine up to $2,500, or both.
• Class B misdemeanor: up to 6 months and/or a fine up to $500.
• Class C misdemeanor: up to 30 days and/or a fine up to $50.

These are the usual class limits under Tenn. Code § 40-35-111, not promised outcomes. DUI, domestic assault and other offenses can add required fees, treatment, jail minimums, or enhanced penalties based on earlier convictions.

A felony complaint arising in Lewis County may start before a General Sessions judge for the initial appearance and preliminary hearing. That hearing tests whether there is enough evidence to continue; it does not decide guilt. A grand jury may indict and the case then moves to the county’s Circuit or Criminal Court. Tennessee also provides other lawful charging routes and waivers in limited circumstances.

After formal charges, the defense can obtain discovery, seek hearings on contested evidence, negotiate a plea, or request trial. A serious felony trial typically uses a twelve-person jury. Felony cases can take substantially longer than minor citations, so hearing notices and attorney communications matter.

A homicide, robbery, rape, or aggravated-assault accusation in Lewis County brings particularly serious release and sentencing questions. Judges examine the actual charge and lawful detention criteria; no family should assume that paying a bond automatically means release if there are warrants or other holds.

For example, Tennessee treats many intentional aggravated assaults involving serious bodily injury or a deadly weapon as Class C felonies, with a statutory class range of 3–15 years. Some forms are Class B or D, and the aggravated-assault statute separately caps the ordinary offense fine at $15,000. Murder and other offenses have special sentencing statutes beyond the ordinary felony chart. Defense counsel should review the exact subsection charged.

For a child under 18 accused of wrongdoing in Lewis County, the juvenile-court process is different from an adult prosecution. Police or an intake officer may refer the complaint for informal services or ask the juvenile court to hear it. Detention is a separate decision and does not necessarily mean the child has been found delinquent.

A juvenile judge can consider supervision, treatment, community services, restitution, and placement when legally authorized. In especially serious cases, Tennessee law permits transfer proceedings to adult criminal court after a hearing and required findings. Families should ask promptly about appointed counsel, the detention hearing and any restrictions on release of a minor's records.

The punishment depends on the precise statute, offense date, prior record, and any mandatory or alternative-sentence rules. For crimes governed by ordinary Tennessee classification ranges, the overall imprisonment and usual maximum fines are:

• Class A: 15–60 years; ordinary fine ceiling $50,000.
• Class B: 8–30 years; ordinary fine ceiling $25,000.
• Class C: 3–15 years; ordinary fine ceiling $10,000.
• Class D: 2–12 years; ordinary fine ceiling $5,000.
• Class E: 1–6 years; ordinary fine ceiling $3,000.
• Class A misdemeanor: up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine up to $2,500, or both.
• Class B misdemeanor: up to 6 months and/or a fine up to $500.
• Class C misdemeanor: up to 30 days and/or a fine up to $50.

A court may impose probation, diversion, restitution, treatment or a suspended sentence when the law permits. Tennessee’s felony offender-range rules narrow the sentence within the broader class range; special laws and prior violent convictions can change release eligibility. County jail and state prison are not interchangeable labels for every sentence.

Someone facing a criminal case in Lewis County who cannot afford a private defense attorney may ask the judge for appointed counsel. The court reviews an affidavit or other proof about income, assets and ability to pay. An appointment can be through a district public defender or a conflict lawyer when the public defender cannot handle the case.

At the first hearing, the defendant should clearly say they want a lawyer and cannot afford one. A family member can help gather pay information and court papers but cannot waive the defendant’s rights for them. Tennessee has elected district public defenders, and their service areas can cross county borders.

Police in Hohenwald or another town in Lewis County may issue a city citation rather than a county criminal warrant. Some Tennessee municipal courts handle ordinance violations and limited traffic matters; their powers depend on the local charter and state law. Serious criminal charges do not become city-court felonies merely because city police made the arrest.

Check the court name actually printed on the summons. If a charge carries criminal jail exposure, ask a lawyer whether the municipal court has authority over it and whether the case is before a General Sessions or state criminal court instead.

Lewis County belongs to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee — Columbia Division. The division’s listed courthouse is in Columbia: 815 S Garden Street, Columbia, TN 38401. A federal criminal case might involve interstate fraud, offenses on federal property, federal drug trafficking, some firearms offenses, or violations of federal criminal statutes. A state offense does not automatically become federal because it is serious.

Federal defendants may appear before a U.S. magistrate judge for detention and preliminary proceedings; felony cases usually proceed through indictment or another permitted federal charging process, followed by arraignment and trial or plea. Federal prison sentences are administered by the Bureau of Prisons. People awaiting trial or transfer may be held in a contracted or local detention center rather than a prison operated by BOP. Families can search the official Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator for eligible federal inmate records.

This Lewis County guide offers general criminal-court information, not advice for a particular defendant. Law and court operations may change; a lawyer can explain the charge and next steps in the actual case.