Any phone or computer will do. Work through these steps:

1. Load the jail search.
2. Type the family name. Include a given name just when many people share it.
3. Look for a date or time stamp, which shows how recent the list is.
4. Write down a booking number, charge or bail figure if one is shown.
5. No luck yet? Try Bill for William, the middle name, or a former surname.

The Sheriff's Office runs the jail and can double-check what you see. Dial 615-735-2626, ask for booking, and have identifying details close.

Blank results are normal early on. Common reasons include:

• Paperwork in progress. Fingerprints and forms can delay the listing by a couple of hours.
• A city lockup first. A town department can hold someone a little while before sending them to Justice Drive.
• A citation. Some people are handed a ticket with a court date and told to go home.
• Quick release. A bond may have been paid, or the person promised in writing to return to court.
• A different lockup. The person may sit in a nearby county's jail, or in state hands.

Only the jail desk at 615-735-2626 can give a firm answer. If you hear that no such person is housed there, find out which department took them into custody and phone it.

The Smith County Jail, 322 Justice Drive, Carthage, TN 37030, 615-735-2626, is the adult lockup. State paperwork lists 128 beds. The Sheriff keeps offices under the same roof, so intake, housing and release all happen at this single address. Our sources show no workhouse, annex or work release program, but the desk can tell you if one exists.

Was the person picked up close to a boundary? Then peek at the jails next door. Every JE page below carries a street address and phone:

• Wilson County Jail
• DeKalb County Jail
• Putnam County Jail
• Jackson County Jail
• Macon County Jail
• Trousdale County Jail
• Sumner County Jail

Federal officers or the state may hold a person too. See the answers on federal, immigration and prison custody.

Whether the search displays mugshots is for you to check once it opens. Want a booking photo? The Sheriff's Office takes calls at 615-735-2626.

Under Tenn. Code Ann. 10-7-503, pictures held by government offices are open records, though booking photos are never named. Some sheriffs show pictures online and some do not. The arresting agency makes that call.

• Photos kept by ICE are sought on the agency's records office form.
• Nobody outside the government can obtain a federal mugshot. Just the U.S. Marshals Service may let one out, for instance when searching for a runaway suspect.

VINE can send one. Visit vinelink.vineapps.com, pick Tennessee, and register the person's name. Prefer a phone? Dial 888-868-4631, where live operators pick up at all hours. Alerts come by call, text or email.

Not every jail is tracked in the same way, so ask the desk at 615-735-2626 if this person will be tracked. Until then, recheck the jail search each morning.

VINE also follows people held by the state. The state prison answer below says more.

A judge or magistrate names the amount. Deputies accept the payment and open the door, but they cannot cut the figure. The decision weighs time living in the area, a job, family, and whether the person came back to court before.

Cash goes to the Circuit Court Clerk, 322 Justice Drive, Suite 115, Carthage, TN 37030, 615-735-0500, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cash bail equals the whole sum, and plastic or a pay app might work with a surcharge. Keep the paper receipt.

Hiring a licensed bondsman costs roughly a tenth of the bond plus a state fee, and you will not see that money again. After some domestic arrests, a wait of 12 hours or longer can come first, so ask staff. See our bail page and Tennessee bail laws.

The jail desk at 615-735-2626 can read you what was written at booking. The jail search may show it too.

When a case starts, the clerk holds the papers. Misdemeanors and early felony hearings go through the General Sessions Court office, 615-735-2286. Felony cases sent up by a grand jury are filed with the Circuit Court Clerk, 322 Justice Drive, Suite 115, Carthage, TN 37030, 615-735-0500. Offer the birth date with the name.

Final charging decisions rest with the District Attorney General of the 15th Judicial District. Tennessee has no one site for trial dockets, so phone the clerk.

Before the judge at the first hearing, the person requests an appointed attorney and says money is short. Income is reviewed and the judge rules. Paperwork is short.

The 15th Judicial District Public Defender's office handles cases for this county at 615-443-2771. Keep the arrest date and the name close when you phone.

• Hiring a private lawyer is always allowed.
• Give the details of the case to the lawyer alone.
• Avoid chatting about the charge with friends or on jail phones.

Phone 615-735-2626 before the drive. Ask for visit days, hours, who is allowed, the time limit and any sign-up step. Carry a photo ID.

Leave bags, phones and keys locked in the car. Choose plain, modest clothing. Kids and visitors with a record may meet extra limits, so ask first.

A visit can be called off without notice, so confirm on the day itself. For extra tips, open our visiting guide.

Account money buys store items and phone minutes. It never counts toward bail. Ring 615-735-2626 to learn how deposits work, what kinds are taken and any cap. Know the full name and booking number.

Stick to the methods staff give you. Do not post cash. Anyone asking for gift cards or app payments by phone is running a scam. Our money guide covers the common choices and the commissary guide tells what the store sells.

Calls out of the cell block run through a company the jail has picked. Ask the desk at 615-735-2626 how to start an account, the rate for a call, and whether texting or video can be used. Count every call as recorded unless staff state otherwise.

Skip case details on the phone and tell them to the lawyer. Talks with an attorney are private.

Read about calling inmates, plus email and text options.

Before sending, call 615-735-2626 to get the right address format, and learn if a booking number is required on it. Photos, cards and books are often refused, so ask.

Choose a basic envelope. Print the inmate's legal name in the middle and put your own address top left. The building is at 322 Justice Drive, Carthage, TN 37030, but confirm the exact lines. Never tuck cash inside. The mail guide lists typical rules.

Items brought in at booking are kept in storage. Phone 615-735-2626 to ask when pickups happen, if a signature on a release is needed, and which items staff can hand over. Show a photo ID at 322 Justice Drive, Carthage, TN 37030.

Ask about court clothes too, since some jails accept only certain items. A released person normally gets belongings back at the door.

Ring the jail at 615-735-2626 right now. Report the name, the illness or injury, every drug and its strength, and the doctor's number if you have it. The medical staff there can act on it.

Your relative can also submit a sick call request inside. Use 911 for a life-or-death emergency. If you worry about self-harm, say those words to the person who picks up.

The Sheriff's Office, 615-735-2626, serves warrants in the county, and the police in each town handle those inside town limits. Phone and ask if one is out for that name. We have no wanted-list link to offer, so the phone is the route. The General Sessions Court office, 615-735-2286, can speak to a case. To resolve a warrant, first talk with a lawyer, then contact the issuing court. The Circuit Court Clerk sits at 322 Justice Drive, Suite 115, Carthage, TN 37030, 615-735-0500.

Only the court with the case can name the date. Reach out to either office:

• General Sessions Court office, 615-735-2286. Criminal court meets each Thursday at 9 a.m., apart from fifth Thursdays. Ask for the room address.
• Circuit Court Clerk, 322 Justice Drive, Suite 115, Carthage, TN 37030, 615-735-0500. Felony files move here after an indictment.

Keep a note of the day, hour and room. Skipped hearings can mean a lost bond and a new arrest order. Our court page describes every stage.

Federal cases from here go to the Middle District of Tennessee, in its Northeastern Division, which sits in Cookeville. The main courthouse is the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse, 719 Church Street, Nashville, TN 37203, clerk 615-736-5498.

1. A judge at the first federal hearing chooses jail or release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Until trial the Marshals are the custodians, and they frequently rent bed space in a county lockup. They are at 719 Church Street, Suite 2500, Nashville, TN 37203, 615-750-1434.
3. Appointed counsel in federal court is the Federal Public Defender, 164 Rosa L Parks Boulevard, Nashville, TN 37203, 615-736-5047.
4. Once a federal sentence begins, use the BOP inmate locator.

Typically this happens:

1. On Form I-247A, ICE asks the jail for a detainer.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator to see where the person is.
4. The ICE office in New Orleans oversees Tennessee, and the locator site tells you how to contact it.

Under 287(g), a federal partnership with local agencies, the Tennessee Safety and Homeland Security enforcement page shows the county on its roster of participants. Its division answers at 615-532-9736. The jail desk, 615-735-2626, can explain how a detainer affects release.

A sentenced person might remain on Justice Drive until a bed opens at a state site, so call 615-735-2626. The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) takes people in at an intake center, then chooses where each will serve.

• The TDOC offender search reports where the person is, the offense, the term, and now and then a photo.
• TDOC headquarters: 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.
• Our Tennessee state prisons guide explains visits, mail and money.

A minor's case is heard in Juvenile Court and the minor is kept apart from adults. The General Sessions judge's office doubles as that court here. Call 615-735-2286 to find out the young person's location and hearing time.

Delinquency matters are heard on second Tuesdays at 9 a.m., and neglect or dependency matters on fourth Tuesdays at 9 a.m. Records are sealed from the adult search. Ask the court whether the child gets a lawyer.

Several agencies share the work here. The Census Bureau estimates 20,764 residents. Jail staff can name the arresting agency.

• Sheriff's Office, 322 Justice Drive, Suite 200, Carthage, TN 37030, 615-735-2626. Its deputies cover the countryside, and it runs the jail.
• Town police serve Carthage, Gordonsville and South Carthage. Use the Sheriff's number above and ask to be directed.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol works crashes and highway stops. The state's patrol contact list shows district numbers; pick the district that serves this area.