Washington County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

Run the name through Washington County Inmate Search. The result gives the booking time, the charges, and a bail figure when a judge has set one. A person booked in the last hour or two may not appear yet.

Questions the search cannot settle go to the jail at 423-753-1701. Ask for the booking desk and give the full name and date of birth.

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The Washington County Detention Center is at 114 West Jackson Boulevard, Jonesborough, TN 37659. The Sheriff's Office operates it, and the department's main line is 423-788-1414.

The county seat is Jonesborough, so the jail, the courthouse, and the Justice Center sit within a short distance of each other.

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Yes for county charges. Washington County's jail is in Jonesborough, even when the arrest happened in Johnson City. Johnson City police can be reached at 423-434-6160 for questions about the arrest itself.

Once you have the officer's name and report number, look up the booking on Washington County Inmate Search and call the jail at 423-753-1701 to confirm.

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It can. The county jail has an agreement that lets the U.S. Marshals Service house federal detainees there. A person held on a federal charge or hold is released only through the federal system.

If the search shows a federal agency as the holding authority, call the jail at 423-753-1701 and ask which court has the case.

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A judge or an authorized magistrate sets bail for each person. Washington County's General Sessions judges can be reached at 423-913-8406. The Tennessee Constitution says prisoners are bailable by sufficient sureties unless the offense is capital.

The jail may release someone on bail only after an authorized officer has set bail for that person. If the search shows no amount, call 423-753-1701 to ask whether bail has been set.

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The court weighs how long the person has lived in the area, work history and finances, family ties, character, past court attendance, the offense and likely sentence, and any risk to others. Responsible community members who vouch for the person count, though no one may vouch for more than two defendants at a time.

Lawful presence in Tennessee is also a factor. A lawyer's job at the bail hearing is to put those facts in front of the judge.

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Cash bail is the entire amount the court set. It is paid to the clerk of the court, or to an officer authorized to take bail, and the person is released once the paperwork clears. The clerk may take debit cards or mobile payment apps and pass the processing fee along.

Ask the jail at 423-753-1701 where bail is taken at the hour you plan to come and which forms of payment it accepts. The Sessions Court clerk answers at 423-753-1737.

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A professional bondsman charges about 10 percent of the bail for Tennessee residents, plus $37. On a $7,500 bail the premium is about $750, and it does not come back.

Washington County is in the 1st Judicial District. A bondsman needs a license from the Tennessee Board of Professional Bondsmen and the approval of the courts in the district. By law a bondsman must give you a receipt for any collateral beyond the premium and cannot return a client to jail without good cause.

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Yes. Real estate in Tennessee can secure a bond, and so can a written agreement signed by two sufficient sureties who are not bondsmen or attorneys. A surety is not responsible for fines, costs, or restitution unless the bond says so and the surety agrees.

The court must approve the papers before the jail will release anyone. Phone the Circuit Court Clerk at 423-753-1736 for the documents the court wants.

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The court is required to think about that first. A written promise to appear, or an unsecured bond, comes ahead of money bail, and the judge must choose the lightest conditions that still make a court appearance likely.

Bring proof of a local address and a job to the hearing, and ask the lawyer to raise them.

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The state's Rule 5 puts every arrested person before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. On a felony, the magistrate explains the charge, the right to a lawyer, and the right to silence, and takes no plea.

A preliminary hearing comes within 14 days if the person stays in jail and within 30 days if released. Sessions Court staff at 423-753-1737 give hearing dates.

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Washington County Sessions Court and the Circuit Court sit in Jonesborough, and the courthouse line is 423-753-7048. The Sessions Court clerk answers at 423-753-1737, the Circuit Court Clerk at 423-753-1736, and the County Clerk at 423-753-1622.

Jonesborough also has a municipal court for town ordinance cases, reached at 423-753-1053. Ask which court holds your relative's case before you travel.

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In stalking, abuse, and domestic violence arrests, the law requires 12 hours in custody before release unless the official finds no threat to the victim. If a domestic aggravated assault involved a deadly weapon, serious injury, or strangulation, the hold can reach 24 hours, with a no-contact order and GPS monitoring before bond.

Probation, parole, and out-of-county warrants also hold a person. The jail desk at 423-753-1701 can say which one applies.

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Common orders include no contact with a named person, no weapons, no alcohol or drugs, regular check-ins, curfew, and GPS monitoring, which the defendant pays for when able. A drunk-driving case with a crash, a child passenger, or a suspended license calls for an ignition interlock unless the judge records why not.

Repeat drunk-driving cases can bring transdermal alcohol monitoring that the defendant pays for. Any violation can end the release.

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Juvenile cases go to Washington County Juvenile Court, whose judge's office is at 423-434-6200, and the file is private. The adult search may show nothing.

A juvenile who must be held can be placed at the Upper East Tennessee Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 307 Wesley Street, Johnson City, TN 37601, 423-282-2118. Call the juvenile court first for the hearing date.

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Tell the judge at the first appearance that you cannot afford a lawyer. The 1st Judicial District Public Defender, whose office also serves Carter, Johnson, and Unicoi counties, answers at 423-434-6845.

A public defender can argue for lower bail and ask for a faster hearing.

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A missed hearing lets the court declare the bond forfeited and order the defendant's arrest. Cash on deposit can be lost, and a bondsman may surrender a client who skips court.

Phone the Circuit Court Clerk at 423-753-1736 or the Sessions Court clerk at 423-753-1737 the same day, and ask a lawyer to request relief from the forfeiture.

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After the case ends and the person has met all court conditions, the clerk returns the deposit. Unpaid fines and court costs are subtracted first. A premium paid to a bondsman is never returned.

Keep the clerk's receipt and ask at 423-753-1736 how to request the refund.

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The Sessions Court clerk, 423-753-1737, gives hearing dates for new arrests. The Circuit Court Clerk, 423-753-1736, handles property bond papers, cash refunds, and missed-court calls. The courthouse line is 423-753-7048. Ask which court holds your relative's case before you travel to Jonesborough.

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Gift cards, crypto, and transfers to a private person are never how a Tennessee jail or clerk collects bail. A caller who insists on payment within minutes is not from the court.

Use the numbers on this page: the jail at 423-753-1701 and the Sheriff's Office at 423-788-1414.

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