Cass County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

Cass uses its four justices of the peace as magistrates, rotating them on a duty calendar the JP offices keep. Texas caps the wait at 48 hours. Officers still may not stall inside that window, says Crim. Proc. Code art. 15.17(a). Zoom is allowed too: the Cass indigent defense plan lets the duty JP hold the hearing that way.

This first hearing is called magistration. The magistrate reads the charge first. Next come the warnings. The person may hire counsel or say nothing at all. A lawyer may sit in during police questioning. Interviews can be ended at any point, and an examining trial is available on request. Anyone who wants appointed counsel gets the application right there, with the magistrate's help to finish it.

Bail is personal to each defendant. Texas tells the magistrate to choose the least burdensome conditions that keep the public safe while getting the defendant to every Cass court date (art. 17.028 of the Crim. Proc. Code). A Cass magistrate handling a Class B charge or worse must first read a public safety report. S.B. 6, the 2021 law named for Damon Allen, created it. It recites the record. It gives no score and no suggested dollar amount, per Crim. Proc. Code arts. 17.021 and 17.022.

JP Precinct 1, the office closest to the cells, is in the Hwy 8 building: 604 Hwy 8N, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-5341.

Texas recognizes two families of bail (Crim. Proc. Code arts. 17.01 through 17.03): bail bonds, where cash or sureties stand behind the promise, and personal bonds, where nothing does. Here is how those look to a Cass family:

• Cash bond. The full figure goes on deposit with the court. It can be refunded once the case ends with every hearing attended.
• Surety bond. The whole figure is backed by a bondsman the jail accepts. That bondsman charges a fee which you never get back.
• Personal bond. Zero dollars are posted up front. The defendant's own signature is the security. Any fee attached can be waived by the judge.

Personal bonds are barred, at least from a Cass magistrate, on many violent offenses. The same bar covers some protective order violations, felons caught with firearms, Class A-and-up terroristic threats, or a person charged anew while on supervision for violence. A middle group exists too: burglary, organized crime and some drug felonies. For those, only the trial court has that power (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.03).

Expect conditions with most bonds. A common one orders no contact with the alleged victim. Four alcohol charges bring a required ignition interlock, a device that won't let the car start until the driver passes a breath test. They are DWI with a child aboard, intoxication manslaughter, any DWI after an earlier one, and intoxication assault (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.441(a)). Fine-only cases are lighter. The magistrate can free the person without any bond, handing over a written court date (Crim. Proc. Code art. 15.17(b)).

No list of set prices exists at the state level. Each figure comes from the magistrate, guided by Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.15(a), which says to consider:

• whether the amount is high enough to secure each appearance;
• that bail must not oppress the defendant;
• the offense itself and its details;
• what the defendant can afford, honestly measured;
• the safety of the victim, law officers and Cass residents;
• past convictions and arrests, plus the public safety report;
• the defendant's citizenship.

The statute does fix two dollar caps. Both kick in after a warrantless Cass arrest when the probable cause ruling ran late. Misdemeanor defendants then go home by hour 24, on bond of $5,000 at most. Felony defendants go home by hour 48, on bond of $10,000 at most. Anyone unable to post that much gets a personal bond. Prosecutors may stretch the clock, but 72 hours is the Cass outer limit under Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.033.

To learn the figure on a specific charge, call 903-756-7511. Texas courts file bail forms in a public database called TOPICs.

Bonds at the jail are handled in the same Hwy 8 building as the Sheriff's Office, 604 Hwy 8N, Linden, TX 75563. Once a magistrate has set the amount, Cass jailers can take the bond after a criminal history check. For violent charges, the figure must come from a magistrate, not jail staff (Crim. Proc. Code arts. 17.20 and 17.22). Steps for Cass families:

1. Dial 903-756-7511 and request Booking.
2. Give the defendant's full legal name, plus the birth date.
3. Note each charge's bond figure and bond type on paper.
4. Ask which counter takes cash bonds today, what forms of payment it accepts, and how the money order's payee should read.
5. Confirm with the jail that no hold or second Cass case blocks release.
6. Carry photo ID plus the exact sum. Keep that receipt in a drawer at home till the judge closes the case.

Never mail bond money. For other letters, the Sheriff uses P.O. Box 180, Linden, TX 75563.

Ask the jail first, since bonds are usually handled where the person is held. If staff send you to a clerk, these offices are the ones to know.

• District Clerk, Law Enforcement and Justice Center, 604 Highway 8 North, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-7514. This office keeps files for both the 5th District Court, which hears felonies, and the County Court at Law, which takes the jailable misdemeanors. Hours are Monday to Thursday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., and Friday, 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 4 p.m.
• JP offices, which take fine-only Class C tickets. Precinct 1: 604 Hwy 8N, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-5341. Precinct 2: 603 E 1st Street, Hughes Springs, TX 75656, 903-639-7268. Precinct 3: 605 County Road 3433, Queen City, TX 75572, 903-796-3891. Precinct 4: 603B S. Louise St., Atlanta, TX 75551, 903-796-8493.

Steps for a clerk's window:

1. Call ahead with the person's name and cause number.
2. Ask if that office can take this bond, and if the jail will release the person once it is paid.
3. Bring a photo ID and an accepted payment.
4. Get a receipt that shows the case and your name.

The District Clerk lists cashier's checks, money orders, Visa, Mastercard and U.S. cash as accepted for its fees. Before making the trip, ask whether bonds follow the same rules.

The justice courts do not take cash or personal checks for fines. The Precinct 2 office does not run cards during the last three business days of each month, and it has an after-hours drop box.

Two official pages point to an online payment service called GovRec. The Precinct 1 and Precinct 3 justice courts use GovRec's county payment page for criminal offense payments, and Linden Municipal Court uses GovRec's city payment page for fines. These pages are meant for fines and tickets. Before you try one for a bond, call the court or the jail at 903-756-7511 and ask.

Keep every receipt. Don't hand cash to anyone who is not jail or court staff.

The Census Bureau put Cass at about 28,651 residents for July 1, 2025. Texas only forces a county to run a bail bond board at 110,000 residents or more, so Cass falls well below the mark. A smaller county can still choose to have one (Occ. Code §§1704.051 and 1704.052). For counties lacking a board, Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.141 lets the sheriff post approved sureties whose security has been checked. Ask at 903-756-7511 which bondsmen the Cass jail accepts.

• Expect to lose the bondsman's fee for good, even if charges are dropped. No state cap limits that fee.
• A bondsman may ask for collateral like a vehicle title. Put the terms for getting it back on paper.
• Every payment to a bondsman deserves a signed receipt.
• A bondsman can give the person back to custody and end the bond. To do that, the bondsman first alerts the defense lawyer, adds the prosecutor when the case is a felony, and files a sworn affidavit with the Cass judge (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.19).

A bond only frees the person from the case it was posted on. Have jail staff run through every hold first. Watch for:

• Family violence. When officers believe family violence may continue, the jail must keep the defendant four hours past the moment bond is posted. A magistrate can extend that by as long as 48 hours by signing an order (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.291(b)).
• Another county's warrant. Warrants from other counties can get bail set here too, and the Cass clerk then mails the bond paperwork off to the county that issued it (Crim. Proc. Code art. 15.18). Expect a second payment.
• Parole. A blue warrant from parole normally holds the person until a violation hearing takes place (Gov't Code §508.254(c)).
• Probation. Ask the county probation office, Cass CSCD, 604 Hwy 8 N, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-7517.
• Immigration or federal holds. These are covered lower on this page.
• A second case. A city or JP ticket needs its own bond.

Texas law starts from yes. The state constitution (art. I, §11) guarantees a path to bail for nearly every defendant. The main gap: capital charges where the proof is evident. A district judge can also refuse bail, after a hearing, in a few felony situations, such as a third felony charge or a felony while already out on bail (§11a). Breaking certain release conditions in felony or family violence cases can lead to denial too (§§11b, 11c).

On November 4, 2025, statewide ballots approved Proposition 3, which wrote §11d into article I. Murder and capital murder lead its list. Next come aggravated kidnapping, then aggravated sexual assault, then aggravated robbery. Indecency with a child is there, and so is human trafficking. The last is aggravated assault causing serious injury or using certain weapons. At a hearing, the prosecutor may prove a likely flight or a threat to officers, the community or the victim. If so, bail must be denied. That hearing happens only at the prosecutor's request. Any judge granting bail on these charges anyway must write out findings explaining it.

S.B. 9, another 2025 change, gives prosecutors an appeal when they see a bail as too low on a listed violent charge. Twenty days is the limit for the appeals court's ruling, and the defendant remains in the Cass jail until it comes (Crim. Proc. Code art. 44.01). In Cass, that prosecutor is the Criminal District Attorney, 604 Hwy 8N, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-7541.

Lowering bond starts when the defense lawyer files a motion with whichever Cass court has the case. Relatives speed it along with paperwork: pay stubs, a lease or deed, phone numbers of kin living in Atlanta, Linden or Hughes Springs, and an honest total of what the family can raise. Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.15(a) bans bail used as oppression and weighs what the defendant can pay.

Time is a second lever. If the state isn't ready for trial when the clock below runs out, the court has two choices: shrink the bail, or let the person out on personal bond (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.151):

• a felony, after 90 days;
• a misdemeanor with possible jail over 180 days, after 30 days;
• a misdemeanor capped at 180 jail days or under, after 15 days;
• a fine-only case, after 5 days.

Exceptions exist. Felony callers can try the District Clerk, 903-756-7514. For Class A or B cases, the County Court at Law coordinator's line is 903-756-7515.

Any person who can't afford counsel may request it. Under the county's plan, the forms are available from the state indigent defense commission, the District Clerk or a court coordinator, and they are turned in at the District Clerk's office. Appointments come from the Precinct 1 justice, the County Court at Law's judge or the 5th District judge. Because Cass has under 250,000 people, the deadline is three working days after the request lands, per art. 1.051(c) of the same code.

The plan presumes a defendant can't pay if they get SSI, TANF, Medicaid or food stamps, or live in public housing. Income at or below federal poverty guidelines also qualifies, as does less than $500 left each month after necessary expenses. Courts may not refuse a lawyer only because the person could make bail (Crim. Proc. Code art. 26.04(m)).

• District Clerk: 604 Highway 8 North, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-7514
• The county has no general public defender office. A regional public defender for capital cases takes death penalty cases.
• The Cass lawyer appointment plan sits on a state indigent defense website. Questions about it can go to the commission at 512-936-6994.

The Hwy 8 building hosts nearly every criminal docket. Three JP offices sit out in Hughes Springs, Queen City and Atlanta.

• 5th District Court (felony cases) and County Court at Law (misdemeanors that can mean jail), Law Enforcement and Justice Center, 604 Hwy 8N, Linden, TX 75563. District Clerk: 903-756-7514. Court at Law coordinator: 903-756-7515.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, same building, 903-756-5341. Open Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday until 4 p.m.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, 603 E 1st Street, Hughes Springs, TX 75656, 903-639-7268. Tuesday to Friday 7 to 5.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, 605 County Road 3433, Queen City, TX 75572, 903-796-3891.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, 603B S. Louise St., Atlanta, TX 75551, 903-796-8493.
• Linden Municipal Court (city tickets), P.O. Box 932, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-3734.
• Federal court, 100 East Houston Street, Room 125, Marshall, TX 75670, 903-935-2912.

Tickets from other towns name the right court on the paper itself.

Whoever's name the receipt shows gets the cash back, minus any fee the law permits, once every bond condition has been met (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.02). Clerks may keep 5 percent, capped at $50, under Local Gov't Code §117.055, though just when a Cass case closes in conviction or deferred adjudication. Under art. 17.53, any fines and costs the defendant owes may come out first. At the close of a case, Cass clerks hand out the release motion form for cash bail without charge.

A no-show puts the whole bond at risk. Cass judges start with a judgment nisi. Without a good excuse it ripens into a final forfeiture, per arts. 22.01 and 22.02 of the Crim. Proc. Code. If the runaway lands back behind bars soon enough, the bondsman is let off. Art. 22.13 gives them 180 days on a Cass misdemeanor bond, 270 on a felony. A missed date is its own crime too, under Penal Code §38.10, graded by the case that was skipped. Skip a Class C ticket hearing and the new count is Class C. Skip a jailable misdemeanor and it turns Class A. Skip a felony setting and it becomes a third-degree felony.

Refund calls for a felony or County Court at Law case go to the District Clerk, 903-756-7514.

Settle up on property and the jail account balance as the person leaves, or shortly after. Call 903-756-7511 and ask for Booking or Property. Find out how the account balance gets paid back, and when wallets, phones or clothing can be collected.

• Bring a driver's license or other ID card.
• Collecting on another person's behalf? Phone the Hwy 8 front desk before driving over, since a signed release slip may be needed.
• Pickup happens at 604 Hwy 8N, Linden, TX 75563.

For a general look at jail deposits and refunds, read our inmate account guide.

Federal arrests in Cass are handled by the federal court in Marshall, part of Texas's Eastern District. Its clerk works in the Sam B. Hall Jr. building: 100 East Houston Street, Room 125, Marshall, TX 75670, 903-935-2912.

• A federal magistrate judge, not a Cass JP, rules on release. Under 18 U.S.C. 3142, that detention hearing happens at the first court appearance, though a short postponement is possible on request.
• Federal court does not use a county bond window. The judge orders release on conditions or keeps the person in custody.
• Until trial, a federal defendant arrested in Cass answers to the U.S. Marshals Service, which holds them. For the Eastern District, its main office is in Tyler: 211 West Ferguson Street, 4th Floor, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1370. The Marshall office answers at 903-935-5737.
• The Federal Public Defender is at 110 North College Avenue, Suite 1122, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-9233.
• After sentencing, a name search on the BOP locator tells you the federal prison.

No. ICE holds are separate from the Cass bond, so paying the bond leaves the hold in place. What to expect:

1. The Hwy 8 jail may get a detainer (Form I-247A) from ICE, which is U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It asks Cass jailers to keep the prisoner.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail can hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to arrive.
3. Every Texas jail, Cass included, must comply with an ICE detainer. The one way out is if the prisoner shows lawful presence or U.S. citizenship, for example with a Texas driver's license (Crim. Proc. Code art. 2A.060). Separately, the 2017 statute called S.B. 4 (Gov't Code §752.053) forbids Texas local governments from limiting enforcement of immigration laws.
4. Texas sheriffs who run jails, the Cass sheriff among them, must request 287(g) agreements by December 1, 2026, under 2025's S.B. 8. To learn the Cass Sheriff's status, call 903-756-7511.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator after pickup. Enter the A-number first. With no A-number, try the name as Cass booked it, plus birth country and birth date. If that fails, ask ICE's Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200, which office has the case.

A bondsman is not let off a bond just because federal agents are holding the person over immigration status (Crim. Proc. Code art. 17.16).

Penal Code §12.35 puts a state jail felony at 180 days minimum, two years maximum, in one of the state jail units. Bigger Cass felonies, third degree up to capital, mean prison with TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice). Until a TDCJ bed opens, the person sits in the Hwy 8 jail. Intake staff then sort them by risk and needs and choose the unit they go to.

• Look the person up in TDCJ's inmate database by last name, TDCJ number or SID. Fresh data appears on working days only.
• JailExchange describes each Texas unit on our state prisons in Texas page.
• If the sentence is probation, the Cass CSCD handles supervision: 604 Hwy 8 N, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-7517.

Texas juvenile court takes a Cass child whose offense date fell between the 10th birthday and the 17th. Once 17, they are an adult defendant (Family Code §51.02(2)). Youth cases have no adult-style bond. A judge decides release at a detention hearing.

• Parents or guardians must be told promptly after an officer picks up a child (Family Code §52.02(b)).
• Juvenile detention hearings in Texas run on short clocks. Normally a judge sees the child within two working days, except a child held Friday or Saturday, who is seen on the first working day. Then Family Code §54.01 has the court name a lawyer for the child first.
• Call the Cass County Juvenile Probation Department, P.O. Box 301, Linden, TX 75563, 903-756-7551. Ask where the child is held and the date and time of the detention hearing.