The class of the charge decides the courtroom. Here is how the work divides locally:

• 336th District Court: every felony grade, from the low state jail level to capital. The District Clerk files and stores its cases.
• County Court at Law: misdemeanors in Classes A and B, the kind that can mean jail. The County Clerk handles its filings.
• Three justice courts and any city municipal court: Class C matters, where the worst result is a fine.

A person convicted in either of the first two courts may appeal to the regional court of appeals that covers this part of the state. Above that court, Austin's Court of Criminal Appeals gets the final say on state crimes.

The newer building is the Justice Center at 2225 N. Center Street, Bonham, TX 75418:

• 336th District Court, which moved in on September 21, 2026: 903-583-2863.
• District Clerk, Suite 100: 903-583-7459. Open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Early 2:00 p.m. closings fall on Nov. 10 and Dec. 15 this year and Jan. 15 next year. Ask for records at dcrecords@fanninco.net or in writing at the window.
• County Clerk, Suite 200: 903-583-7486, with its criminal desk down in Suite 100 at 903-583-8502. Open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Holiday closings are Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Thursday and Friday, and Christmas Eve and Day. Staff training also shuts the office from noon on Nov. 19 and Dec. 18.
• County Court at Law: 903-583-9258. Call ahead to learn which courtroom a setting is in.

The older courthouse, 101 E. Sam Rayburn Dr., Suite 109, Bonham, TX 75418, still houses the Precinct 1 justice of the peace, 903-583-7489. Precinct 2 sits at 111 W. Collins, Leonard, TX 75452, 903-587-2846. Precinct 3 is out at 711 State Hwy. 56, Windom, TX 75492, 903-378-0015.

Small cases with no jail time start here. Think of most traffic stops, public intoxication or taking something worth under $100. They go to a justice court or a town court. Officers can skip the arrest and just cite someone for any Class C but public intoxication (TCCP art. 14.06).

• The county is carved into three justice of the peace precincts. The precinct map shows which one covers a given road. Each posts its own fine page: Precinct 1, Precinct 2 and Precinct 3.
• Tickets from Bonham or Savoy officers may go to that city's own court. Bonham's police station is at 301 East 5th Street, Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-2141. Savoy's is at 405 E. Hayes St., Savoy, TX 75479, 903-965-4546. Other towns appear with phone numbers in the state's municipal courts directory.

Short on money for a fine? Say so to the judge. Texas offers payment plans, a waiver, or community service, with each 8 hours worked wiping out $150. A fine alone can't put someone in jail. That takes a hearing where the judge finds the person made no good-faith try (TCCP arts. 45A.252-45A.261).

No later than 48 hours after any arrest, the person must see a magistrate (TCCP art. 15.17). Locally, the job rotates among the justices of the peace each day, and the County Judge can also do it. Some see the magistrate in person, while others appear on a video screen inside the jail.

1. The magistrate reads out the charge. The person is told they may stay quiet, may hire or request a lawyer, and may stop any questioning. Someone charged with a felony also learns they may ask for an examining trial.
2. Someone who can't afford counsel signs an Affidavit of Indigency. The magistrate passes it to the right clerk within 24 hours.
3. The magistrate sets the bail amount. Terms like staying away from a victim or wearing an alcohol monitor may be added.
4. After a family violence arrest, a protective order for the victim may come from the bench right away. Such orders last from 61 up to 91 days, stretched to 91 up to 121 for cases with a weapon or serious bodily harm (TCCP art. 17.292).

Missed the chance to ask for counsel? On a misdemeanor, the County Clerk says that request can also be made in person to the judge when the case is first called.

Jailable misdemeanors, like DWI, theft by check, marijuana possession or criminal trespass, are filed with the County Clerk's criminal desk. A typical case moves this way:

1. The Criminal District Attorney's Office files a written charge called an information.
2. At arraignment in the County Court at Law, the defendant enters a plea (TCCP art. 26.01).
3. Pretrial settings give both sides time to share evidence and bargain.
4. If prosecutor and defense agree on terms, the court must announce up front, before any plea is taken, whether it accepts them. A judge who refuses the terms has to allow the plea to be withdrawn (TCCP art. 26.13).
5. Cases that don't settle go to trial, before a judge alone or with a jury.

Penal Code §§12.21-12.23 set these ceilings. A Class A brings a year in jail and a $4,000 fine at most. A Class B brings 180 days and $2,000. Class C tops out at a $500 fine. For misdemeanors, probation and deferred adjudication each last two years or less. Bad checks can be settled through the prosecutor's Hot Checks Division, 800 E. 2nd St., Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-7448.

A felony takes more stops before it reaches a verdict:

1. Examining trial. Ahead of indictment, a defense lawyer may insist on a hearing about whether the state has probable cause (TCCP art. 16.01).
2. Grand jury. Twelve residents hear the evidence in private, and nine votes are needed to indict (TCCP art. 20A.301).
3. Arraignment. In court, the defendant hears the indictment and pleads.
4. Pretrial settings handle motions, evidence fights and bond changes.
5. Resolution. Plea bargains settle the bulk of cases, and the others go before a jury.

Ranges in Penal Code chapter 12, from highest to lowest:

• Capital felony: the death penalty or a life term without parole. Offenders under 18 at the time face a life sentence instead.
• First degree: as few as 5 years, as many as 99, or life. The second degree range is 2 to 20 years, and the third degree range is 2 to 10. Any of these may add a fine reaching $10,000.
• State jail felony: 180 days or more, never over 2 years, in a TDCJ state jail, plus up to $10,000 in fines.

Penal Code §12.42 lets prior felony records bump the range higher. Instead of a conviction, the judge can impose deferred adjudication of up to 10 years, which ends in dismissal when completed. Adult probation oversees both from 725 CR 4200, Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-7446.

Bail is the first thing a violent felony changes:

• A November 2025 vote added Proposition 3 to the state constitution. Judges may now refuse to set any bail if the charge appears on a list that includes aggravated robbery, trafficking, murder and aggravated sexual assault. The state has to ask and back up its request (Tex. Const. art. I, §11d).
• Many violent offenses can't be bonded out on a personal bond. In certain listed cases, the prosecutor can also file an appeal over a bail figure that seems too small to the state (TCCP arts. 17.03, 44.01).
• Family violence cases add a short wait. If officers think the danger continues, the person stays locked up for 4 hours after the bondsman or family pays (TCCP art. 17.291).
• When the state seeks death, the accused gets lawyers from a Lubbock agency, Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases, at 806-696-3740. Its post office box is PO Box 2097, Lubbock, TX 79408.

Some Texas counties run treatment dockets for addiction, veterans or mental illness, and programs often last 12 to 24 months. A defense lawyer can say whether one could take the case, or look through the state's specialty court registry.

Prosecutors. Every state charge in the county is brought by the Criminal District Attorney's Office. For now its staff work at 800 E. 2nd St., Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-7448, and its site is fannincountyda.com. Ask there whether pretrial diversion fits a case. In that kind of deal, charges are dropped after a person meets set terms.

Defense. A person can hire a private attorney. When money is the problem, judges appoint lawyers from a rotating list, because the county has no public defender for ordinary cases:

• Request counsel at magistration, or later from the District Clerk, 2225 N. Center Street, Suite 100, Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-7459.
• For a county with this population, the judge has three working days from getting the request to name a lawyer (TCCP art. 1.051).
• Local rules sit in two documents, the district court's appointment plan and a separate plan for county courts. The Texas Indigent Defense Commission oversees both from 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

The county's free Tyler court records portal is the quickest route for county and district court cases, and it has a calendar too. It shows only records cleared for public view, so justice court cases may take a call.

• Misdemeanors: phone the County Clerk's criminal desk, 903-583-8502, with the offense, its date and the birth date. A certified search of the records costs $10 per name.
• Felonies: phone the District Clerk, 903-583-7459, or request copies at dcrecords@fanninco.net.
• Statewide, signing up for re:SearchTX lets anyone read filed charges and judgments at no cost. Setting dates still come from the county.

Both clerks work in the Justice Center, 2225 N. Center Street, Bonham, TX 75418. Jot down the cause number when you find it, since clerks, lawyers and the jail all use it.

Deputies, the three constables and town police all serve warrants here. Someone worried about a warrant can phone the Sheriff's Office, 2375 Silo Road, Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-2143, or the Criminal District Attorney's Office at 903-583-7448. Constables for Precincts 2 and 3 answer at 903-583-7455 and 903-227-6716. Filed cases show up on the county records portal, and DPS posts faces and details for its Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives. Clearing a warrant means getting a lawyer, then turning yourself in to the issuing court or asking its clerk to reset the case. The County Clerk issues misdemeanor warrants from Suite 200 of the Justice Center, 2225 N. Center Street, Bonham, TX 75418, 903-583-7486.

Federal court for this county means the Eastern District of Texas. Its Sherman Division courtroom sits in the Paul Brown United States Courthouse, 101 East Pecan Street, Room 216, Sherman, TX 75090, 903-892-2921. Some hearings move to Plano, 7940 Preston Road, Room 101, Plano, TX 75024, 214-872-4800.

• Prosecution comes from the U.S. Attorney's Sherman office, 600 East Taylor Street, Suite 2000, Sherman, TX 75090, 903-868-9454.
• Defendants without money for counsel often get help from attorneys at the Federal Public Defender, 600 E. Taylor Street, Suite 4000, Sherman, TX 75090, 903-892-4448.
• A magistrate judge sets release terms or orders the defendant held at the first federal hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal defendants waiting for trial stay in the custody of U.S. Marshals, whose Sherman office answers at 903-868-2379. Federal prisoners are also boarded on contract at the county jail, 2389 Silo Road, Bonham, TX 75418, 903-640-4171, so some never leave the county.
• After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

An ICE hold sits on top of the state charge. It does not end it.

1. The hold starts with ICE's Form I-247A, lodged with the jail.
2. Under federal rules, the person can then be held up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must honor that request. Only proof of U.S. citizenship, or of permission to be in the country, cancels it (TCCP art. 2A.060).
4. Under a 2025 state law, every sheriff with a jail has to seek 287(g) standing with ICE, and the cutoff is December 1, 2026. To learn where Fannin stands, phone the Sheriff's Office, 903-583-2143.
5. Judges must warn non-citizens before accepting their plea of guilty or no contest. The warning must say, aloud or in writing, that removal from the country could follow (TCCP art. 26.13). The defense lawyer should talk this through beforehand.
6. North Texas transfers run through the ICE Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
7. The ICE Online Detainee Locator looks people up by alien number, or by name and the country of birth.

People sentenced on state jail felonies serve them in TDCJ's state jails, while a third-, second- or first-degree sentence means a prison unit. After the 336th sentences someone, the wait for a TDCJ transport bus is usually spent on Silo Road. Intake and classification then decide which unit they land in.

• With a TDCJ or SID number in hand, open the TDCJ inmate search page. If neither is known, a surname and first initial will do. It updates Monday through Friday.
• For each unit's address and visit rules, see our Texas state prisons page.

Under Family Code §51.02, Texas treats a child from age 10 through 16 as a juvenile, while anyone who has turned 17 faces adult court. When a local youth is detained, the stay is at the detention center that Cooke, Grayson and Fannin share, 86 Dyess, Denison, TX 75020, 903-786-6326.

• A short deadline governs detention hearings (Family Code §54.01). The judge must see the youth within two working days of the pickup. After a Friday or Saturday arrest, the limit is the first working day. Counsel is appointed before the youth goes in.
• Juvenile files are kept out of public view.
• A teen of 14 or older charged with a grave felony can be moved into adult court. That move needs a hearing plus a full report on the teen's history (Family Code §54.02).
• Lawyer rules for youth are in the juvenile board plan.

Questions about the next step go to the county's juvenile probation office, 903-583-7491.

Victims in Texas have rights the courts must respect. Among them: safety counts when a judge sets bail, hearing dates are shared on request, and the victim may tell the court about the harm, in person or in writing, before sentencing (TCCP art. 56A.051).

• Help with court dates and paperwork comes from the prosecutor's victim assistance coordinator at 903-583-7448.
• Free custody notices are available through Texas IVSS-Counties by computer, or through its 24-hour line, 866-268-8959, in English or Spanish. Nobody in jail learns who registered.
• When the case ends with a prison term, notices pass to TDCJ's Victim Services Division, 800-848-4284.
• Counseling, medical bills and lost income can be repaid, up to $50,000, by a state fund called Crime Victims' Compensation, run by the Attorney General's office, which takes calls at 800-983-9933.