Try this routine:

1. Open the online jail search from a phone or laptop.
2. Enter only the last name at first. Booking clerks sometimes misspell names, and a short entry catches more.
3. Too many hits? Add a first name or birth date.
4. Read the line beside the name for a charge, bond or hearing date, if any appear.
5. Copy down any booking number. Staff find a file quicker with it.

Lists can trail real events. When in doubt, ring 901-475-3305, where the Justice Center desk never closes.

Common reasons include these:

• Paperwork under way. Prints and forms eat up hours.
• Held by the arresting town. A city officer might keep someone at the station before any ride to Covington.
• Paper ticket only. Some people go home carrying a citation and a hearing date.
• Out on bond. A bond may be paid, or a judge may accept a written promise to come back.
• Cells elsewhere. The person could be in a different county's cells, in state hands or with federal agents.

Ask the jail to look by phoning 901-475-3305. The Sheriff's Office main number, 901-475-3300, is staffed Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The local adult facility is the county jail at 1801 S College Street, Suite 106, Covington, TN 38019, 901-475-3305, run by the Sheriff. Our research turned up no annex, workhouse, work release center or town lockup. Ask the Justice Center desk whether a separate unit holds the person you want.

Someone picked up near the border of the county could sit in a neighbor's cells. These JE pages carry each jail's address and phone:

• Shelby County Main Jail, in Memphis
• Fayette County Jail
• Haywood County Jail
• Lauderdale County Jail

Covington staff can say if a transfer happened. Later answers cover federal, ICE and state custody.

We could not confirm that the online search shows mugshots. Need a booking photo? Reach the Sheriff's Office at 901-475-3300. If a city patrol unit brought the person in, contact that police force as well.

Tennessee's open records law, code section 10-7-503, reaches pictures kept by public bodies. It says nothing about booking photos in particular, so each agency chooses how to respond.

• Pictures made by ICE are sought through ICE's public records form.
• Booking pictures taken by federal agents are not handed out. Just the U.S. Marshals Service can let one go, say to track down someone who ran from the law.

VINE will. The service costs nothing and rings, texts or emails you the moment custody status shifts. Look the person up on VINELink, pick Tennessee, then register. Or dial 888-868-4631 and talk with a live operator, any hour.

Coverage differs between jails. Phone the county jail at 901-475-3305 and ask if this person appears in the system. Alerts are handy, but one quick call each day is safer.

A judge or magistrate rules on release. They weigh home, work, family and past record, and they begin with the lightest rule that will bring the person back. Cash bail means the entire amount, paid to the court clerk. A bondsman keeps a fee near 10 percent, and that money never comes back.

• The clerk's office is at 1801 S College Street, Suite 102, Covington, TN 38019, 901-475-3310, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• When that office is shut, ask the jail how a deposit gets taken.
• A person booked for stalking or abuse at home can face a mandatory wait of 12 hours or more before leaving. Staff can say whether it applies.

Our bail guide covers bondsmen and property bonds, and our summary of state bail statutes shows the bigger picture.

The online jail search may print the charge. For the court's own record, call the General Sessions Court Clerk at 901-475-3310 or the Circuit Court Clerk at 901-475-3320. Both sit at 1801 S College Street, Suite 102, Covington, TN 38019.

Keep the legal name and birthday handy. Serious felonies pass through a grand jury, and the District Attorney General of the 25th Judicial District steers each case. The clerk can name the court holding the file.

The judge raises this right at the first hearing. The accused has to state, in clear words, a wish for a court-paid lawyer because of money. The judge then rules on who qualifies.

Free counsel is provided by the 25th Judicial District's public defender office, 901-465-7330. That district also serves Fayette, Hardeman, Lauderdale and McNairy. Families with funds can hire a private attorney. Keep case talk off the jail phones, because they may be recorded.

We could not verify the present visiting days, hours or dress code, and jails alter them often. Ring Corrections at 901-475-3305 before you drive over. Ask:

• Can this person have guests now, and which days work?
• Do I reserve a slot, or can I just show up?
• Which ID do guests show, and how young is too young?
• What clothes are fine, and what stays in the car?

Our visiting guide shows habits common to Tennessee jails.

Inmates spend account funds on treats, soap and phone time. The Sheriff's website names Securus as the phone provider families use. For any other deposit, call Corrections at 901-475-3305 and learn which routes are open and the top amount.

Keep the legal name close. Two JE articles, the deposit guide and the commissary guide, spell out common methods. Bail money is a separate matter: it goes to the clerk or a bondsman, not an account.

The Sheriff's website says Securus runs the inmate phones. Most calls begin inside the jail, so your loved one dials you. Open an account with that company ahead of time, then ask 901-475-3305 about per-call prices and any text or video tools.

Assume every call is recorded. Talks with an attorney stay private, so save case details for that lawyer. More detail sits in the jail phone guide and in the piece on email and texting with inmates.

Phone 901-475-3305 before you post anything. Ask for the correct mailing line, whether to print the booking number on it, and what may be enclosed. The jail stands at 1801 S College Street, Suite 106, Covington, TN 38019, but wait for staff to confirm the format.

Put the legal name on a plain white envelope, add your return address on the front, and keep money out of it. The mail article lists common limits.

Clothes and items the person had at intake sit in storage until release. To fetch it for them, phone 901-475-3305 and ask which forms apply. The person might need to sign a release first. Take photo ID to the Justice Center, 1801 S College Street, Suite 106, Covington, TN 38019.

Ring Corrections at 901-475-3305 and ask for the medical team. Name every medicine, give the dose and mention the prescribing doctor. Mention allergies, long illnesses and any mental health need.

The person may also turn in a sick call slip from inside. In a life-threatening moment, dial 911.

Deputies carry out warrants in rural areas. Covington, Munford, Atoka and Brighton officers do the same within their city limits. Ask the Sheriff's Office whether one is on file by calling 901-475-3300 on a weekday; at night, Central Dispatch is at 901-475-4300. For court records, the General Sessions Court Clerk at 901-475-3310 needs a full name and birthday. Meet a lawyer before taking action, then reach out to the issuing court to arrange a surrender or a new date. Visit the clerk at 1801 S College Street, Suite 102, Covington, TN 38019.

Pick by the type of case:

• General Sessions Court handles first appearances, misdemeanors and the early look at felony charges. Find it at 1801 S College Street, Suite 102, Covington, TN 38019, 901-475-3310.
• Circuit Court runs felony trials after a grand jury indictment. Its clerk shares the suite, 901-475-3320.
• Munford City Court handles town cases at 1397 Munford Avenue, Munford, TN 38058, 901-837-0171.

Clerk hours run weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For a felony arrest, a felony suspect still in jail gets an early hearing in 14 days at most, and one who is out gets it in 30. Our court guide shows every stage.

Federal cases from this part of Tennessee go to the Western District, Western Division, which meets in the Odell Horton Federal Building, 167 North Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103. The clerk's number is 901-495-1200.

1. At the initial federal hearing, a judge picks detention or release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals watch over people facing federal charges. Their office is Suite 1072 of that building, 901-544-3304.
3. No money for counsel? The Federal Public Defender is at 200 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 200, Memphis, TN 38103, 901-544-3895.
4. After sentencing, type the name into the BOP prisoner finder to learn which federal prison was assigned.

Here is the typical order of events:

1. ICE hands the jail a detainer, which is a federal paper known as Form I-247A.
2. Per 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. The agency's New Orleans office oversees Tennessee. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator.
4. The state's immigration division includes this county on its list of 287(g) partners with federal agents (state division page). The jail may therefore act on a detainer.

That state division can be reached at 615-532-9736. An immigration lawyer can lay out choices.

If a sentence means state prison, the Tennessee Department of Correction first reviews the person at a reception center and then picks a fitting prison. Some wait in the county cells until the bus comes, so call 901-475-3305 to check.

• The state offender search may show photo, status, location, offense and sentence.
• Department of Correction, 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.
• Our Tennessee prison directory explains visits and letters.

Young people go before Juvenile Court and stay off the adult list. The court office is in the Justice Center, 1801 S College Street, Suite 102, Covington, TN 38019. Phone the clerk at 901-475-3315, or the desk for delinquent and unruly petitions at 901-475-3322.

Ask whether the child is in a detention unit, in which place, and when the hearing is set. Files on minors are private, so staff may talk only with a parent or guardian.

Unsure who made the arrest? Ask the officer for a report number. These agencies patrol here:

• Sheriff's Office, Justice Center, 1801 S College Street, Covington, TN 38019, 901-475-3300. Deputies cover land beyond the town limits.
• Police in Covington, Munford, Atoka and Brighton work inside their own towns. For each non-emergency number and street address, ask the Sheriff's Office or Central Dispatch at 901-475-4300.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol works the state routes. The district for this county is on the patrol contact list.