Eastland County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

In Texas, that job belongs to a magistrate. The county's written plan for appointed lawyers commits to a magistrate appearance within 48 hours of any arrest, the same limit Texas law sets (CCP arts. 14.06, 15.17). That appearance may be in a room or over video. Jail staff on West White Street can say which style is used.

In those few minutes, the magistrate's checklist usually runs like this:

• state the accusation, then cover silence, counsel and the other rights Texas lists
• look for any warrants issued by other Texas counties
• hand over forms for requesting appointed counsel, helping as needed
• attach a dollar figure to the bond, unless a judge wrote one on the warrant

Texas hands magistrate power to district judges, to the County Judge, to JPs and to municipal judges, among others (CCP art. 2A.151). Bail decisions are due inside 48 hours and are made person by person, picking the mildest terms able to do the job (CCP art. 17.028). Charges at Class B or above come with a public safety report, read by the magistrate ahead of any ruling. It sums up past records but never scores risk or floats a bail number of its own (CCP arts. 17.021, 17.022).

Arrested with no warrant, and probable cause never got ruled on in time? Then the jail must let them out. Misdemeanor deadline: hour 24, bond capped at $5,000. Felony deadline: hour 48, bond capped at $10,000 (CCP art. 17.033).

Three types of bail exist in Texas; CCP arts. 17.01 through 17.03 spell out each one:

• Cash bond. Somebody deposits the entire sum with the court. That money is repaid after the case, less any fee.
• Surety bond. A licensed bondsman, or the defense attorney of record, promises the court the entire sum. You never see the bondsman's fee again, win or lose.
• Personal bond. A signature replaces money; the person swears to come back. Jail staff can say whether any fee applies.

Some people can't get the signature option. Texas rules it out for many violent offenses. It also bars terroristic threats at Class A level or worse, certain protective order breaches, and felons holding firearms. Anyone under violent-offense supervision who is charged anew is out too. For burglary, organized crime or some drug felonies, the decision on a personal bond rests with the trial court alone, which here means the 91st District Court or the County Court (CCP art. 17.03).

Every bond can carry strings attached. One example is an order to stay away from a person the magistrate names. For a repeat DWI, intoxication manslaughter, a DWI with a child riding along, or intoxication assault, the vehicle needs an ignition interlock (CCP art. 17.441). Most Class C tickets, punishable by a fine alone, close the first night with a written promise to appear (CCP art. 15.17).

Texas has never adopted one statewide menu of bail prices. Magistrates decide case by case, and any local schedule has to obey those same state rules (CCP art. 17.028). Article 17.15 lists what they weigh:

• a figure large enough that showing up in court is likely
• never an amount meant to oppress
• the offense and how it reportedly unfolded
• what the accused can realistically afford to pay
• protection for the victim, police and community
• criminal history alongside the safety report
• citizenship status

Texas law fixes only two dollar ceilings, the $5,000 and $10,000 limits that kick in when probable cause runs late. To hear the actual number, call the jail at 254-629-1774; keep their legal name and birthday on a note beside the phone. Texas courts upload completed bail forms to the TOPICs bail portal.

Jail and Sheriff's Office sit together at 201 West White Street, Eastland, TX 76448. Running that jail is one of the Sheriff's duties. Work through this list before getting in the car:

1. Call 254-629-1774 and request the jail.
2. Spell the name, give the birthday, and list every charge on paper with its bond amount next to it.
3. Ask where bonds are being accepted today, at what hours and in which forms of payment.
4. Ask plainly whether some other hold will keep them after the bond is accepted.
5. Bring government-issued photo ID, and hang on to every receipt.

Texas requires any sheriff or jailer taking bail to check criminal history first. A jailer can't price a bond on a violent charge; only a magistrate does that (CCP arts. 17.20, 17.22).

A 24-hour kiosk stands by the Sheriff's front doors. The county's jail page describes it as a way to add cash to an inmate account. Account deposits don't count as bail.

When a case is filed, its papers, bond records among them, move to a clerk's office. Two clerks work inside the courthouse at 100 West Main Street, Eastland, TX 76448. Phone first and ask whether their window takes a cash bond, and how:

• District Clerk, Suite 206, felony records: 254-629-2664.
• County Clerk, Suite 102, Class A and B records: 254-629-1583. Open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday, closed over lunch, then 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday with no lunch break.
• Justice courts for Precincts 1 and 2, basement, Class C tickets: 254-629-1088. In justice and city courts, Class C defendants usually go home on personal bonds (CCP art. 45A.107).

Tickets written by a town's own officers can belong to that town's municipal court. If the right court is unclear, County Clerk staff can point the way.

Accepted bail payments can change, so hear the current rules from the jail directly. During your call to 254-629-1774, ask:

• for bond money, are cash, cashier's checks and money orders all fine, and who should the payee be?
• will they run a debit or credit card, and with what extra charge?
• what is the full total, to the penny?

Cash must never go in the mail. The front-door kiosk and LoneStar Commissary, the online deposit service named by the county, load an inmate's account for commissary items and calls. Those deposits do nothing for a bond.

Texas statutes call a bondsman a "bail bond surety." It vouches for the full bail amount, and its fee is yours to lose. Since Texas caps no fee, get quotes from more than one. Rules worth knowing:

• Big counties, 110,000 residents and up, must keep a bail bond board; it licenses sureties and hangs the current list in booking areas. Smaller counties have the option (OC 1704.002). In board-free counties, Texas lets the sheriff put up a posted roster of sureties that office has cleared (CCP art. 17.141). To learn who writes bonds locally, phone the Sheriff's Office, 254-629-1774. Its site also hosts a Bail Bond Application Packet.
• Money or property given to a surety must be receipted (OC 1704.305).
• Soliciting customers in a jail is banned, and officials may not recommend a surety (OC 1704.304).
• Got a car title or other collateral tied up? Once the cases are over, send a written request; 30 days later at the latest, it should be back in your hands (OC 1704.301).
• An attorney of record may sign the bond in that case without holding a surety license (OC 1704.163).
• Want out of a bond? A surety must warn the defense attorney first. In felony cases the prosecutor hears too. After that, under CCP art. 17.19, the court gets a sworn statement asking to let the surety off the bond.

Each bond covers a single case. Have jail staff at 254-629-1774 list every hold before you pay. Frequent ones:

• Warrant from elsewhere in Texas. Local magistrates may take bail on another county's warrant and send the bond there, at a separate amount (CCP art. 15.18).
• Parole. A so-called blue warrant from Texas parole keeps the person on West White Street until the violation hearing is held (GC 508.254).
• Probation. Being arrested while on probation can add a hold of its own. Adult probation here runs through the CSCD, 102 North Lamar Street, 5th Floor, Eastland, TX 76448, 254-629-2629.
• Family violence. When more violence looks likely, Texas law makes the jail wait four hours once bond is posted. A magistrate's signed order may lengthen it, though never past 48 hours altogether (CCP art. 17.291).
• Mental health. Staff who see possible mental illness report it to a magistrate inside 12 hours, and the follow-up can add time (CCP art. 16.22).
• Immigration. The ICE answer further down covers detainers.

Bail is a right for most accused people under the Texas Constitution. The old carve-out applies to capital charges backed by evident proof (art. I, §11). A district judge, after holding a hearing, can also say no to bail for some repeat or committed-while-on-bond felonies (§11a), after a bond violation linked to safety (§11b), or for certain protective order violations (§11c). The wording is in the Texas Constitution.

Voters added Proposition 3 to the constitution on November 4, 2025. It is now §11d. It reaches murder in either form, plain or capital. It reaches three aggravated crimes: robbery, kidnapping, sexual assault. Add to those human trafficking, indecency involving a child, and aggravated assault that caused grave injury or was done with a gun, knife, club or explosive. In these cases, only the state's lawyer can ask for denial. Bail must be refused if the hearing shows the person would more likely than not fail to come back. It must also be refused if clear and convincing evidence shows danger to the public, police or victim. If a judge allows bail anyway on one of these charges, written findings explaining why are required.

Two other 2025 additions matter. Our Criminal District Attorney, or any Texas prosecutor, may now ask a district judge to take up a felony bail again (CCP art. 17.029). On certain violent charges, the state can even appeal bail it thinks was set too cheaply; the accused sits in jail while appellate judges, who get 20 days, decide (CCP art. 44.01).

Any such request here would come from the Criminal District Attorney, 100 West Main Street, Suite 204, Eastland, TX 76448, 254-629-2659. That one office prosecutes felonies and misdemeanors.

Yes, a judge may reduce a bond or ease its conditions. Most families go about it like this:

1. The defense attorney files a written bond reduction motion in the court handling the case.
2. Relatives collect proof: recent pay stubs, a rental lease, names of family nearby, an honest monthly budget. Texas forbids oppressive bail and makes the court look at what the person earns and owns (CCP art. 17.15).
3. The lawyer suggests conditions that answer whatever worries the judge, maybe weekly check-ins or a no-contact pledge.

Prosecution delays can also lead to release. Felony cases where the prosecution still can't start trial after 90 days lead, by law, to a personal bond or bail cut down to a lower figure. Misdemeanor clocks run faster: 30 days when the jail range goes past 180 days, 15 days for lesser misdemeanors, and just 5 days for fine-only charges. Article 17.151 lists exceptions.

The District Clerk, 254-629-2664, handles felony filings. The County Clerk, 254-629-1583, handles misdemeanor filings.

Yes, when the family can't pay for one. At that first magistrate visit, the question comes up, and the magistrate helps complete the request. In this county the courts appoint private attorneys from a list. How it works locally:

• Request forms are kept at the jail, 201 West White Street, Eastland, TX 76448, and in the courthouse, 100 West Main Street, Eastland, TX 76448, by the District Clerk (Suite 206), County Clerk (Suite 102), County Judge (Suite 203) and District Court (Suite 302).
• The County Judge's office takes misdemeanor requests; the district judge's office takes felony requests.
• Smaller counties like this one get three working days, counted from the request's arrival, to appoint counsel (CCP art. 1.051).
• For capital murder, the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases steps in.

Appointed attorneys must try to reach their new client no later than the following working day's end (CCP art. 26.04). The full local plan sits on the TIDC website. TIDC itself is at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Local criminal courts all share the courthouse at 100 West Main Street, Eastland, TX 76448. The county's main number there is 254-629-1263. Check suite numbers before heading upstairs:

• 91st District Court (felonies), Suite 302: 254-629-1797.
• District Clerk (felony files, bonds), Suite 206: 254-629-2664.
• County Court, the County Judge's courtroom for Class A and B misdemeanors, office Suite 203. The County Clerk in Suite 102 keeps its files: 254-629-1583.
• Justice courts, Precincts 1 and 2 (Class C), in the basement: 254-629-1088.

Federal charges go to Abilene, to the U.S. Courthouse at 341 Pine Street, Room 2008, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-677-6311.

When every bond term has been kept, cash bail goes back to the receipt holder, minus any fee (CCP art. 17.02). The clerk's share can be 5%, topping out at $50, but just in cases ending with conviction or deferred adjudication. Before any refund, the county may first subtract what's owed in fines and costs, a rule found in CCP art. 17.53. Once the case ends, the clerk hands out a free motion form for releasing cash bail funds.

A no-show endangers the bond. Texas judges start forfeiture with an order the law calls a judgment nisi, and the clerk then cites the sureties (CCP ch. 22). Under CCP art. 22.13, any surety is let off from paying when their client lands back in jail inside 180 days on a misdemeanor, or inside 270 days on a felony. Bail jumping is a crime as well. Its level follows the original charge: fine-only cases make it Class C, other misdemeanors Class A, and felonies a third-degree felony (PC 38.10).

Refund questions on a felony: District Clerk, 254-629-2664. On a misdemeanor: County Clerk, 254-629-1583.

Try to settle this ahead of release. Phone the jail at 254-629-1774 and ask two things: the way unspent account money gets refunded, and the hours for collecting property at 201 West White Street, Eastland, TX 76448.

• Bring a government photo ID.
• If you're picking things up for another person, find out if that person needs to sign a release.
• The jail says people waiting to transfer to state prison may keep shower shoes and a watch in their property.

Our inmate money page explains jail accounts and refunds generally.

Texas's Northern District has a division in Abilene, and that is where federal charges from here go. Its clerk is at the U.S. Courthouse, 341 Pine Street, Room 2008, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-677-6311.

• On day one in federal court, a detention hearing settles where the wait for trial happens: at home or locked up (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Pending trial, Marshals Service deputies hold federal defendants, and many of them sleep in rented county jail beds. Its Abilene office is at 341 Pine Street, Room 207, Abilene, TX 79601, 325-672-2147, and staff there know which jail.
• The district's federal defenders have an office at 819 Taylor Street, Room 9A10, Fort Worth, TX 76102, 817-978-2753.
• After a prison sentence, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

ICE does. Paying the state bond leaves the federal immigration hold standing. What happens next, in order:

1. ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) lodges Form I-247A, its detainer, on West White Street.
2. Staff on West White Street may then hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas's 2017 law, S.B. 4, makes jails honor these detainers. Someone showing citizenship or lawful presence, say through a Texas driver's license, must not be held on one (CCP art. 2A.060; GC 752.053).
4. S.B. 8, enacted in 2025, says Texas counties with jails must request a 287(g) agreement from ICE; the cutoff date is December 1, 2026. For the local status, ask the Sheriff's Office, 254-629-1774.
5. A surety is not freed from the bond while federal custody over immigration status continues (CCP art. 17.16).
6. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator to find the person. ICE's Dallas Field Office, listing North Texas as its area, is at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

State jail felonies mean a state jail stay. TDCJ prison time comes with third-, second- and first-degree felonies and with capital felonies (PC 12.31 through 12.35). After sentencing, most people wait on West White Street until TDCJ sends for them. Intake comes next, then a unit suited to them.

• Online, the TDCJ inmate search accepts three keys: last name, TDCJ number or SID. It lists only people inside a TDCJ unit, and it refreshes each working day.
• For unit-level detail, visit our Texas state prisons page.

Ten is the youngest age Texas juvenile court takes, and 16 the oldest, measured on the day of the offense. A teen who was already 17 gets charged in adult court (FC 51.02). Officers owe parents a prompt call (FC 52.02). A detention hearing must follow within two working days. Custody starting on a Friday or Saturday shortens that to the first working day. Before the hearing a lawyer is appointed, and release follows unless the law gives a reason to detain (FC 54.01).

Parents can learn the child's location and hearing time from Juvenile Probation, 102 North Lamar Street, Suite 400, Eastland, TX 76448, 254-629-8174.