The Sheriff's list is the fastest check on whether someone sits in the Blountville jail.

1. Load the Sheriff's jail search on whatever device you have.
2. Try only the surname at first. Short entries catch more people.
3. Narrow a crowded screen with a given name.
4. Copy down every number, charge and date you see. Reading those to the jail staff speeds things up.

Only people the county jail has entered will appear. If your person is not there, call 423-279-7500 and ask for the jail. Office staff answer from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays.

An empty result is not always bad news. Here are the usual reasons:

• Not processed yet. Fingerprints, photos and paperwork eat up hours, and the list can trail behind.
• Held at a city station first. Kingsport officers may keep a person in their own lockup before any move to Blountville.
• Given a paper ticket. Some people are cited, told a court date and sent home.
• Bond paid. A relative may have posted it, or a judge may have freed your person on a written promise to return.
• Taken elsewhere. Another county's deputies, a state agency or a federal one could hold your person.
• Spelling quirks. Test a nickname, a former surname or a double-barreled one.

Phone the Sheriff's Office, 423-279-7500. After a Kingsport arrest, also ring Kingsport Police Records, 423-229-9427.

The county has two adult jails, and each does a different job.

• Sullivan County Correctional Facility, Blountville, TN 37617. The Sheriff operates it as the county jail for adults waiting on their cases. Ask at 423-279-7500 for the street address and the unit a person is in. Its box for letters is P.O. Box 589, Blountville, TN 37617.
• Kingsport Jail, Justice Center, 200 Shelby Street, Kingsport, TN 37660. The state certifies it as a holding jail. Corrections staff process Kingsport arrests and keep each person until release or transfer. Call Kingsport Police Records at 423-229-9427.

We have no list of men's, women's or work release units, so ask the Sheriff's Office where a person is housed. Someone arrested along the border could be in a neighboring county's cells. Look at Washington County, Hawkins County, Carter County or Johnson County, where each page shows an address and phone.

Whether the Sheriff's list shows mugshots can change, so look for yourself. Open the jail search and click a result to see if a booking photo is attached. If none shows, ask the agency that made the arrest.

Tennessee's open records law covers government photographs yet booking photos are not listed in it by name. That leaves the release choice to each agency. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 423-279-7500, or Kingsport Police Records at 423-229-9427 for a Kingsport arrest, and ask if a mugshot is available.

• To see a photo that ICE holds, send a Freedom of Information request through the ICE records page.
• Federal photos are kept private. The one exception is the U.S. Marshals Service, which can release a picture when hunting a runaway.

Tennessee runs a free alert system named VINE. Go to VINELink and pick Tennessee, or phone 888-868-4631. Real operators answer day and night. You pick how VINE reaches you, by voice, text message or email, and it also shows the place a person is held.

Officials name VINE mainly for state custody. For a county cell, treat it as a bonus, since coverage may vary. Look at the Sheriff's list often, and phone 423-279-7500 to confirm a release.

Bail is fixed by a judge or magistrate, one case at a time. The Sheriff's Office runs the jail and cannot cut it. Tennessee requires a prompt hearing before an official after an arrest. That first look often takes place in a General Sessions court, such as the Justice Center at 140 Blountville Bypass, Blountville, TN 37617, where the Circuit Court Clerk answers at 423-279-2752.

• You may hand the clerk the whole bail in cash. After the case ends, the clerk can give it back, less fines and costs.
• For a bondsman, count on handing over close to a tenth of the bond, and it never comes back.
• Some domestic abuse or stalking arrests carry a wait of 12 hours, sometimes 24, before release. Ask the jail.

Our bail guide walks through amounts, bondsmen and property bonds. For state rules, see Tennessee bail laws.

The jail search may show the charge. If not, phone the Sheriff's Office at 423-279-7500 and ask for the charge and the hearing date.

Tennessee has no single state website for criminal cases. Ring the clerk, using the legal name and birthday. For a misdemeanor or an early felony hearing, try General Sessions in Kingsport at 423-224-1711 or in Bristol at 423-989-4352. Felony cases that a grand jury has indicted move to the Circuit Court Clerk. The District Attorney General for the 2nd Judicial District chooses the final charges. Any court clerk can give you the office number.

A lawyer is raised as a topic once the judge sees the person for the first time. Your person should state, in plain words, that money is too tight to hire an attorney. The judge then rules on eligibility and picks one.

The District Public Defender's office for the 2nd Judicial District covers this county. Its number is 423-323-1220. A paid attorney can be hired at any stage. Family members can collect pay stubs and papers, but only the person speaks in court.

We could not confirm current days or hours. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 423-279-7500 before you drive out, and ask:

• Do guests sit in the building or talk by screen?
• Must I book a time?
• Which photo ID and clothing rules apply?
• Can this person have visitors yet?

Staff can cancel a visit with little warning. See the visiting guide for general advice.

Credit on an account covers canteen food, soap and calling minutes. Phone 423-279-7500 and ask what deposit methods work today and the dollar limits. Keep the person's legal name close by.

Never mail cash. A deposit does not free anyone. Our money guide and commissary guide describe typical deposits and what the funds buy.

Phone service and its rules come from the jail. Phone 423-279-7500 and ask how to get calls set up, what each costs, and whether any texting or video exists. Ask whether anyone records them. Often they do.

Keep case details off jail lines and leave them for the attorney. Our jail phone help and inmate email and text help add detail.

Put the person's complete name first, then the Sheriff's box: P.O. Box 589, Blountville, TN 37617. Call 423-279-7500 before sending to confirm the format, any number to add and the items that get refused.

Stick to plain paper and add a sender address of your own on the outside. Never tuck in cash. Typical limits are in our mail guide.

Whatever the jail took in at intake sits on a shelf until your person walks out. To drop off or claim things, phone 423-279-7500 and ask for Records. Find out who is allowed, which ID to carry and whether your person must sign a slip first. Hours shift, so call ahead.

Call 423-279-7500 and request the nursing staff. Name each pill, its dose and the doctor behind it. Your person can also hand in a written care request on the housing unit.

A life in danger means 911, right now. If you fear your person may self-harm, state that plainly on the jail call.

Deputies take warrants in rural areas, and officers of a town take the ones in its streets. Ask the Sheriff at 423-279-7500 or Kingsport Police Records at 423-229-9427. Court files can be checked with the Circuit Court Clerk, 423-279-2752, at 140 Blountville Bypass, Blountville, TN 37617. Should a warrant turn up, talk to an attorney first. Only then contact the judge's office that signed it and ask about turning yourself in on a set day.

The judge who has the file picks each date. Have the proper legal name and birth date beside the phone. Our court guide lays out each step.

• Circuit Court Clerk, Justice Center, 140 Blountville Bypass, Blountville, TN 37617, 423-279-2752. Felony trials follow a grand jury indictment in this court system.
• General Sessions, Bristol Justice Center, 801 Anderson Street, Bristol, TN 37620, 423-989-4352.
• General Sessions, Kingsport Justice Center, 200 Shelby Street, Kingsport, TN 37660, 423-224-1711.

The General Sessions judges take first appearances, lesser charges and the early hearings on felonies.

A person facing a federal crime from this county appears in Greeneville, at the Eastern District's northeastern branch. The courthouse bears the name James H. Quillen, at 220 West Depot Street, Greeneville, TN 37743, and the clerk can be reached at 423-639-3105.

1. A judge sets the terms at the first federal hearing, choosing between jail and home until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The Marshals have charge of federal defendants until trial, and many sit in a county cell. The Marshals office sits in the same building, Suite 101, 423-823-3660.
3. The Federal Defender, 219 West Depot Street, Suite 2, Greeneville, TN 37743, 423-636-1301, assists people who cannot pay.
4. Once sentenced, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons locator by name.

An immigration hold usually runs like this:

1. To begin, ICE sends over a hold request on Form I-247A.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may hold the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. After that, ICE moves the person into its own hands. Responsibility for Tennessee sits with the agency's New Orleans Field Office.
4. To find a person ICE already holds, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It accepts an A-number, or a surname with a birth country.

The state immigration enforcement page includes Sullivan on its list of counties that take part in 287(g), a federal program tied to ICE. For more on that, ring the state division at 615-532-9736.

Once a prison sentence is ordered, the Tennessee Department of Correction handles intake and chooses a prison. A person may stay in county cells for a time first, so phone 423-279-7500 before assuming a move.

• Run a name through the state offender search, which gives status, location and sentence details.
• Our Tennessee state prisons guide has more.
• The department's office is at 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.

Minors do not go into the adult jail. Juvenile Court owns their cases, and those records are shielded, so the jail search may leave them out. Phone the court in the city where the case began:

• Bristol Juvenile Court, 423-764-2163
• Kingsport Juvenile Court, 423-224-1730

Learn where the young person is staying, when the hearing is and how to get counsel. We could not confirm street addresses for these offices, so ask when you call.

About 160,062 people live in the county, by the Census estimate. These offices make arrests in the area:

• Sullivan County Sheriff's Office, P.O. Box 589, Blountville, TN 37617, 423-279-7500. Covers areas outside city limits.
• Kingsport Police Department, Justice Center, 200 Shelby Street, Kingsport, TN 37660. Records line: 423-229-9427.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol. Check the list of district phones to learn which one serves this part of the state.

When an officer from Bristol or another town did the arrest, the Sheriff's front desk can name the department.