Pick the row that matches the charge grade.

• Felony charges land with the 81st or 218th District Court. Those two benches ride a five-county circuit: Atascosa, Frio, Karnes, La Salle and Wilson. The District Clerk is custodian of those files.
• Class A or B misdemeanors, the kind that can mean jail, stay in the County Court, which the Texas Constitution sets up in each county. The County Clerk keeps that file.
• Class C tickets, fine only, belong to one of four JP precincts or to Pearsall's or Dilley's city judge.

After trial, a regional appellate court reviews first, while the Court of Criminal Appeals holds final say on criminal matters statewide. Lost on which court has the file? Ring the courthouse main line at 830-505-2988.

The Frio County Courthouse, 500 East San Antonio Street, Pearsall, TX 78061, 830-505-2988, houses these criminal offices:

• 81st and 218th District Courts (felonies), local line 830-334-8073. Their central court office sits in Atascosa County at 1405 Campbell Avenue, Jourdanton, TX 78026, 830-769-3750.
• District Clerk, mail Box 8 in the courthouse, 830-505-2996. Open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. A call ahead is wise, particularly near the lunch hour.
• County Clerk and County Court, mail Box 6, 830-505-2987. Open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays, but shut from noon to 1:00 p.m.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, mail Box 9, 830-505-2995.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3, mail Box 13, 830-505-7476.

Two justice courts work from elsewhere. Precinct 2 takes mail at P.O. Box 751, Pearsall, TX 78061, and answers at 830-505-7839. Precinct 4 serves the south end from 101 N. Commerce Street, Suite 101, Dilley, TX 78017, 830-326-3250. All four JP offices open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from Monday to Thursday and close at noon Fridays.

Yes. Each town keeps a municipal court for Class C tickets written inside city limits, such as traffic stops and broken city ordinances.

• Pearsall Municipal Court, at City Hall, 214 S Ash Street, Pearsall, TX 78061, 830-334-4160. Its warrant page describes the two warrant types it uses.
• Dilley Municipal Court, at Dilley City Hall, 116 E. Miller, Dilley, TX 78017, 830-965-1624, staffed 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays. Fines may be paid through Dilley's payment portal.

Short on money for a ticket? Say so in court. Judges have room here (CCP arts. 45A.252 through 45A.261): a payment plan, hours of service in place of cash ($150 off per 8 hours worked), or a waiver. Before anyone is locked up over an unpaid fine, a hearing must show they willfully skipped paying.

The first stop is a magistrate, no later than 48 hours past arrest (art. 15.17(a)). That officer explains the charge, says they may stay silent and hire a lawyer, and assists with the request for an appointed one. Bail is decided right then.

Before a grand jury acts, a felony defendant may demand an examining trial. A magistrate listens to evidence and rules on probable cause (art. 16.01). Once an indictment comes back, that option is gone.

Arraignment (art. 26.01) comes later, when the plea goes on the record. Defense lawyers often file a written waiver instead. The clerk sets the date: District Clerk 830-505-2996 on felonies, County Clerk 830-505-2987 on Class A or B charges.

For a Class A or B charge, a prosecutor files an "information," a sworn written accusation, in County Court. No grand jury takes part. What usually comes next:

1. Arraignment, where the plea is entered.
2. Pretrial dates for sharing evidence and working on an offer.
3. A plea bargain, a bench trial, or a jury trial.

What a conviction can bring, by class:

• Class C: fine capped at $500, with no jail time (PC 12.23).
• Class B: PC 12.22 allows a $2,000 fine, 180 days in the county lockup, or both.
• Class A: PC 12.21 allows a $4,000 fine, a year in the county lockup, or both.

A plea doesn't always mean a record of conviction. Under deferred adjudication (arts. 42A.101, 42A.103, 42A.111), no guilty verdict is entered yet and the person serves a supervision term, two years tops for a misdemeanor. Completing it ends in dismissal. Check settings on the County Court dockets page.

Four steps, in order:

1. Grand jury. Grand jurors meet in private. A true bill, the formal charge, takes nine votes (art. 20A.301).
2. Plea entry before a district judge.
3. Pretrial work and plea offers. Any deal goes to the judge, who must say openly if it is accepted. A rejected deal means the defendant gets to undo the plea (art. 26.13).
4. Trial by jury, or by the judge if the defendant waives a jury.

How much time each felony grade carries:

• State jail felony: 180 days at least, two years at most, under PC 12.35.
• Third degree: between two and ten years, under PC 12.34.
• Second degree: between two and twenty years, under PC 12.33.
• First degree: anything from five years up to life, under PC 12.32.

On top of time, any felony grade may bring up to $10,000 in fines. Prior felony convictions can bump punishment to the next level (PC 12.42). Probation, called community supervision in Texas, can run up to a decade on a felony (art. 42A.053). Felony settings show on the district courts' calendar. The two courts also run a Mental Health Court, a treatment program for some defendants with mental illness.

Violent felonies go through the same district courts, but several rules get tougher.

• Release. Article 17.03 bars a no-cash personal bond on the listed violent offenses. Voters also passed Proposition 3 in November 2025, so murder, aggravated sexual assault and some other charges can be held without any bail when the state proves its case at a hearing (Texas Const. art. I, §11d).
• Capital murder. Under PC 12.31 the jury's choice for an adult is the death penalty or life in prison, parole never possible. Minors at the time of the killing face life, never death.
• Habitual offenders. PC 12.42 lets two earlier felony prison terms in sequence lift the range to 25 years minimum, up to 99 or life.
• Deferred adjudication is closed off for most murder cases and several other crimes (art. 42A.102).

To learn the next court date in a violent case, call the District Clerk at 830-505-2996.

The prosecution. The district attorney for felonies works out of Wilson County: 81st Judicial District Attorney's Office, 1105 A St., Floresville, TX 78114, 830-393-2200. The county also has a County Attorney's Office. The County Clerk, 830-505-2987, can say which office filed a Class A or B case.

The defense, when money is short. At the magistrate hearing, say yes to an appointed lawyer and complete the sworn financial form. In a county this size, article 1.051(c) allows three working days for that appointment. The public defender office used here is the Atascosa Area Advocates Public Defender's Office, 607 W. Oaklawn, Pleasanton, TX 78064, 830-767-0060, which also serves Atascosa, Karnes and Wilson counties. Courts must give such an office priority (art. 26.04(f)). Otherwise, private attorneys are picked under the district's appointment rules.

The state agency watching over appointed defense is the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Three online sources, then a phone call:

• The County Court dockets list Class A and B settings.
• The 81st and 218th District Courts calendar lists felony settings.
• re:SearchTX holds statewide court filings. An account costs nothing. You can see case numbers, charges and final judgments, though hearing dates are left off.

For the exact day and courtroom, the District Clerk (830-505-2996) handles felonies, and the County Clerk (830-505-2987) handles misdemeanors. For a ticket, phone whichever JP or city court is printed at the top. Keep the defendant's birth date or cause number at hand.

Warrants here may be served by sheriff's deputies, by any of four constables, or by Pearsall's officers and city marshals. The Sheriff's Office, 502 South Cedar Street, Pearsall, TX 78061, 830-505-7153, can check for an active one by phone. Pearsall Municipal Court's warrant types page covers missed dates and unpaid judgments, with a $50 charge added per case. The city police site links the DPS Texas 10 Most Wanted list.

Waiting rarely helps. A defense attorney can often arrange for the person to walk in and post bond on the warrant. Some courts will simply reset a missed date if you phone them. On a felony warrant, contact the District Clerk at Box 8, 500 East San Antonio Street, Pearsall, TX 78061, 830-505-2996.

Federal prosecutions from Pearsall, Dilley and the rest of the county are filed in San Antonio, in the Western District. The clerk's counter is at 262 West Nueva Street, Room 1-400, San Antonio, TX 78207, 210-472-6550.

• Prosecution: U.S. Attorney's Office, 601 NW Loop 410, Suite 600, San Antonio, TX 78216, 210-384-7100.
• Defense: Federal Public Defender, 300 Convent Street, Room 2300, San Antonio, TX 78205, 210-472-6700.
• Release: Federal judges hold a detention hearing to weigh danger and flight. If no conditions would do, the person stays in (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Custody: Pretrial prisoners are under the U.S. Marshals Service, 262 West Nueva Street, Room 2-300, San Antonio, TX 78207, 210-332-6800. Its staff know which jail holds each one.

Sentenced federal prisoners can be found on the Bureau of Prisons' BOP inmate locator.

The state charge goes on as before, but a detainer can block release even after bond. Here is how it works:

1. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sends the jail a detainer. Its form number is I-247A.
2. Local jailers can then hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must comply with detainers unless someone shows proof of lawful status (art. 2A.060). Under Government Code 752.053 (S.B. 4, passed in 2017), local governments in Texas are forbidden to restrict immigration enforcement by policy. A newer law, 2025's S.B. 8, wants counties that keep a jail to have pursued 287(g) status with ICE when December 1, 2026 arrives.
4. ICE's detention site in this county is the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, 300 El Rancho Way, Dilley, TX 78017, 830-378-6500, part of the San Antonio Field Office.
5. The ICE Online Detainee Locator finds people in ICE custody.

Non-citizens: a guilty or no contest plea can lead to removal from the country, and article 26.13 makes the judge warn about that. Talk with a defense lawyer about those risks before pleading.

Misdemeanor sentences are served locally in the county jail. State jail felonies are done in a TDCJ state jail facility, not the county jail. Third-degree felonies and up are prison terms with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Every new TDCJ inmate goes through intake first and is then assigned to a unit.

• The TDCJ inmate lookup takes a last name with first initial, or either ID number (TDCJ or SID). People still in a county jail awaiting transfer won't show yet.
• Our Texas state prisons guide describes each prison.

Juvenile status hinges on age on the offense date: a child of 10 qualifies, and so does one of 16 (Family Code 51.02). From 17 on, it's adult court. Under Family Code 52.02, the officer has to get word to a parent right away.

Under Family Code 54.01, detained children get a court review, with appointed counsel, inside two working days. On serious felonies, the state may seek adult certification for teens 14 and up (Family Code 54.02).

Intake is handled by the Frio County Juvenile Probation Office, 404 S Pecan St., Pearsall, TX 78061, 830-505-7475, open weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Staff there can tell you which detention center holds a child. One state-registered center nearby is the Atascosa County Juvenile Justice Center, 1511 Zanderson Ave., Jourdanton, TX 78026, 830-769-3900.

Under article 56A.051, victims and close relatives have rights, including:

• Bail decisions must take their safety into account.
• On request, they hear about each court date ahead of time.
• A victim impact statement can be filed and considered before sentence.
• Before testifying, they wait somewhere separate from the defendant.

Victims of a felony can reach the 81st Judicial District Attorney's Office at 830-393-2200. Release and booking alerts come free from Texas IVSS-Counties, phone 866-268-8959, any hour. When the offender is in state prison, TDCJ Victim Services answers at 800-848-4284. Costs from the crime, like doctor bills or therapy, may be repaid up to $50,000 through the Crime Victims' Compensation program, 800-983-9933.