Galveston County Jail

A magistrate sets it. Here, Magistrate Court is held inside the jail every day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. A magistrate, a court clerk, a lawyer for the state and a public defender all take part. The county aims to bring each person before a magistrate within 24 hours of arrest. The state's outer limit is 48 hours, set by CCP arts. 14.06 and 15.17.

At that hearing the magistrate will:

• explain what the person is accused of, plus their rights, including silence and a lawyer;
• offer an appointed lawyer at no cost, and help fill in the form for one;
• decide whether there was good reason for the arrest;
• set the bond and any rules that come with it (CCP art. 17.028).

Before deciding on any Class B or higher charge, the magistrate studies a public safety report. It covers past cases, with no score attached and no dollar suggestion (CCP arts. 17.021, 17.022). Phone the Magistrate Court office at the Justice Center, 600 59th Street, Galveston, TX 77551, 409-766-2556. Staff answer from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, holidays too.

Bail comes in two families under Texas law (CCP art. 17.01): bonds backed by money and bonds backed by a promise. Locally, that means three choices:

• Personal bond. Nobody pays money to get out. A signed pledge to appear and obey the terms is enough (CCP art. 17.03). The county's Personal Bond Office may keep tabs on the person while the case is open.
• Surety bond. For a fee, a county-licensed bondsman backs the full amount in writing.
• Cash bond. A family member or friend puts down every dollar of the bond. The money is held, then returned if every court date and term is kept (CCP art. 17.02).

A personal bond is barred for listed violent offenses. It is also barred for Class A-and-up terroristic threat charges, for violating some protective orders, and when a convicted felon is caught with a firearm. A person already on bond, parole or probation in a violent case who is arrested again is barred too. Only the trial court, not the jail magistrate, can grant one on a burglary, an organized crime count or certain drug felony charges (CCP art. 17.03).

Terms can be added. On a second DWI, or a DWI with a child riding along, the bond requires a breath-test lock on the car, called an ignition interlock (CCP art. 17.441). For a wider look at the state rules, visit our Texas bail laws page.

No Texas table fixes a bail price. A magistrate sizes every bond case by case, and a local chart can never replace that choice (CCP art. 17.028). So there is no sure dollar amount for a DWI, a theft or an assault.

The magistrate must weigh these things (CCP art. 17.15):

• a sum that makes a return to court likely;
• bail that is not used to punish or oppress;
• the charge and what happened;
• what the person can afford to pay;
• the safety of the victim, the police and the public;
• past arrests, missed court dates and citizenship status.

State law does fix two dollar caps. Say police made an arrest with no warrant, and no one ruled on good reason in time. Then a misdemeanor bond tops out at $5,000 and a felony bond at $10,000, and a person who still can't pay is let out on a personal bond (CCP art. 17.033). Statewide bail forms are explained on the Texas courts' bail page. For the amount in your person's case, call the jail at 409-766-2315.

The Sheriff's Office gives families two choices. You can pay the whole bond yourself, or you can hire a bail bondsman. Follow these steps:

1. Wait until a magistrate has set the bond. No bond can be posted before that.
2. Call 409-766-2315. Get the amount for every charge and find out what forms of money the bond desk will take.
3. If you use a bondsman, pick one yourself. Staff at the jail can't steer you to any company.
4. Head to 5700 Avenue H, Galveston, TX 77551 with your photo ID and the money. Get a receipt and keep it safe.
5. Expect a wait. The person joins the release line only after every payment and form is done. Officers check the paperwork and the person's identity once more before the door opens.

A notice with the first court date is mailed after the bond is received. Parking near the jail is tight, and cars left outside the marked spaces can be ticketed or towed.

Yes, for a personal bond. The county's Personal Bond Office, also called Pretrial Court Services, works inside the jail building at 5700 Ball Street, Galveston, TX 77551. Its phone, 409-766-2404, is answered around the clock, holidays included. Here is how it works:

1. Staff ask the person to fill out a Financial Affidavit, a sworn form about money and bills.
2. They also run a short pretrial check and send both to the magistrate.
3. The magistrate may then grant a personal bond, add rules watched by the office, or set a cash or surety bond instead.
4. Call the office to ask if your person has been screened and what rules apply.

A person held on another county's warrant can see a magistrate here, who may take bail and mail the bond on to the county where the warrant started (CCP art. 15.18). These bonds can take a while to reach the other court. For a city ticket only, call the city police department that wrote it to ask which court has it.

Payment rules can change, so call the jail at 409-766-2315 before you leave home. Ask these questions:

• Which forms of payment does the bond desk accept today?
• Who should a cashier's check or money order be made out to?
• Does the amount you were told cover every charge and every case?

Refunds go to whoever is named on the bond receipt, so choose that name with care (CCP art. 17.02). A bondsman's fee is a different thing. That money pays for the bondsman's promise, and you won't get it back. Any bondsman has to hand you a written receipt for cash or things of value you give them (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.305). Never mail cash to the jail.

A county Bail Bond Board oversees bondsmen here, as state law requires once a county passes 110,000 residents. The board licenses every bondsman who writes bonds here, and no one may act as one without that license (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.051, 1704.151). Its list of licensed bondsmen must hang in every criminal courtroom and in the booking area (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.105, 1704.107).

• State law sets no limit on a bondsman's fee. Get the price and the payment plan in writing.
• Bondsmen may not look for customers inside the jail, and officials may not recommend one (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.304).
• Once all the cases close, ask in writing for your collateral, such as a truck title. It is due back within 30 days (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.301).
• The defense attorney on the case can sign as surety, no bail license needed (Tex. Occ. Code 1704.163).
• A bondsman can drop a bond. First the defense lawyer must be told, and the prosecutor too on a felony. Next comes a sworn affidavit in that case's court file (CCP art. 17.19).

To see the licensed list, ask the jail at 409-766-2315 where it is posted.

Every bond is tied to a single charge. Before you spend a dime, phone the jail at 409-766-2315 and ask staff to read each hold aloud. Watch for these:

• A warrant from another county. That county may need its own bond, and the paperwork can be slow (CCP art. 15.18).
• Probation. A new arrest can bring a motion to revoke probation. The adult probation office is at 409-766-2425.
• A parole blue warrant. A person picked up for breaking parole stays in jail until the parole hearing (Tex. Gov't Code 508.254(c)).
• A family violence charge. If the magistrate thinks the family violence could continue, release waits at least four hours past bond. A written order under CCP art. 17.291(b) can stretch the wait up to 48 hours.
• Immigration or federal detainers. These stay in force after a state bond.

The Criminal District Attorney's Office, 409-766-2355, is the side that would push for no bail or a higher one. Still, nearly everyone in Texas has a right to bail. The main exceptions are:

• A capital murder charge when the proof is strong (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11).
• A new felony arrest during release on felony bail, or some repeat felonies (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11a).
• Breaking a bond rule meant to keep a victim or the public safe (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11b).
• Breaking certain family violence protective orders (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11c).

Texas voters said yes to Proposition 3 on November 4, 2025, and it reaches the most serious violent charges. Among them: capital murder, murder, human trafficking, indecency with a child and aggravated robbery, plus kidnapping and sexual assault in their aggravated form. Some aggravated assaults count too. The amendment's words are that bail "shall be denied" once the prosecutor proves one of two things at a hearing (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11d):

• the person is more likely than not to skip court; or
• clear and convincing proof shows the person is a danger.

No one but the prosecutor can ask for this. If bail is allowed anyway, the judge must write out findings explaining why. A 2025 law also lets prosecutors have a district judge recheck any felony bail, and in some violent cases the state may appeal the amount (CCP arts. 17.029, 44.01).

The county gives a quick second look. A person who can't post a money bond has a bond review hearing within 12 hours of the first hearing. Help it along with these steps:

1. Tell jail staff and the Personal Bond Office, 409-766-2404, the person can't pay.
2. Make sure the Financial Affidavit is filled out and honest.
3. Gather proof of roots in the area, like a work schedule, a utility bill in the person's name and relatives who can vouch for them.
4. After that, the defense lawyer can file a written motion with the court that has the case.

If prosecutors drag their feet, state law forces relief: a personal bond or a reduced amount for a jailed person. The deadlines run like this (CCP art. 17.151):

• A felony: the state has 90 days.
• A Class A misdemeanor: 30 days.
• A Class B misdemeanor: 15 days.
• A Class C, fine-only case: 5 days.

The law has exceptions. For a felony, the district courts are at 409-770-5230.

A public defender sits in on Magistrate Court at the jail. When the magistrate asks about a lawyer, the person should say yes and finish the form. The request goes to the judges within 24 hours. Because the county has more than 250,000 people, the judges then have until the close of the first working day to appoint counsel (CCP arts. 1.051, 15.17).

• The county also has a Misdemeanor Mental Health Public Defender Office at 722 Moody Avenue, Galveston, TX 77550. It helps people with serious mental illness who face misdemeanor charges.
• In a misdemeanor case, a person can ask the court for 30 more days to hire a lawyer, or sign a pauper's oath to ask for a free one.
• The appointment rules sit in the county's indigent defense plan, which the state commission posts on its plan search page. The Texas Indigent Defense Commission is at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Most criminal cases are run from the Justice Center, 600 59th Street, Galveston, TX 77551. Here is who does what:

• District Clerk (felony files), 600 59th Street, Room 4001, Galveston, TX 77551, 409-766-2424. Open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• District Clerk's mainland office, 174 Calder Road, League City, TX 77573, 281-316-8729. Open weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Three County Courts at Law (Class A and B misdemeanors). Call the coordinators for No. 1 at 409-766-2233, No. 2 at 409-766-2405 or No. 3 at 409-621-7920 to learn the courtroom and docket.
• Justice of the Peace courts. Class C tickets go here, one court per precinct, each with a county web page: the first, second, third and fourth precinct.
• Federal court, United States Post Office and Courthouse, 601 Rosenberg, Room 411, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3530.

The cash goes to whoever's name is printed on the receipt, after the bond's terms are met and minus any fee (CCP art. 17.02). On a misdemeanor here, you ask for it by filing a Motion and Order to withdraw the funds. The clerk sends it to the judge to sign. On a felony, call the District Clerk at 409-766-2424 to ask how.

• The clerk may keep 5 percent, up to $50, and only when the case closes with a conviction or with deferred adjudication (Tex. Loc. Gov't Code 117.055).
• Fines and court costs the person owes can be paid out of the cash (CCP art. 17.53).
• Missing court gives the judge power to declare the bond forfeited in an order called a judgment nisi (CCP arts. 22.01, 22.02).
• The bondsman's debt can be wiped out if the person is locked up again in time: 180 days on a misdemeanor bond, 270 on a felony bond (CCP art. 22.13).
• Skipping court is its own crime too, called bail jumping (Tex. Penal Code 38.10).

Anything carried in at booking, like a wallet, phone or jacket, is stored by the jail until release. Ask about them before release, because the line moves only after all forms are done. Call 409-766-2315 and ask:

• how leftover account funds are refunded;
• when and where you can pick up clothes, keys or a phone;
• whether the person must sign something before you can pick their items up.

Bring a photo ID. Deposits and refunds are explained in our money guide, and what the account can buy is in our commissary page.

Federal court for this county is the Galveston Division of the Southern District of Texas. Its building is the United States Post Office and Courthouse, 601 Rosenberg, Room 411, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3530.

1. At the first appearance, a federal magistrate judge decides between release with conditions and jail until trial. That is called a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Until trial, the U.S. Marshals Service holds the person. Its local office is at 601 Rosenberg Street, Suite 502, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3771. Ask that office which lockup is keeping the person.
3. The Federal Public Defender's Houston office, 440 Louisiana Street, Room 1350, Houston, TX 77002-1669, 713-718-4600, represents defendants who can't afford counsel.
4. Once a federal prison term is set, track the person with the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Yes. An ICE detainer stays in force whatever happens with state bail. How it plays out on Avenue H:

1. ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) asks for the hold on paper, using Form I-247A.
2. On that form, ICE wants the person kept up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so officers can come get them (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under state law, Texas jails must honor the request and tell the person the reason for the hold. Someone who can show U.S. citizenship or legal presence is exempt (CCP art. 2A.060). Under Gov't Code 752.053, no local policy may limit immigration enforcement.
4. Texas also passed S.B. 8 in 2025. Every county that runs a jail faces a December 1, 2026 deadline to ask ICE for a 287(g) agreement. For where this Sheriff's Office stands, call 409-766-2300.
5. ICE's Houston Field Office covers Southeast Texas: 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816.
6. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. An A-number works best. If you lack it, add their full name and native country.

Once sentenced, the person stays on Avenue H until the state picks them up. State jail felonies mean time in a state jail facility (Tex. Penal Code 12.35). Higher felonies mean prison under TDCJ, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. New arrivals go through intake, where they are checked and sorted, and then go to the unit picked for them.

• Use the TDCJ inmate search. Search by TDCJ number, SID number, or last name and first initial. Results lag by at least a day, and updates happen on business days only.
• For visiting and mail at the state units, read our Texas state prisons page.

Yes. In Texas, children 10 through 16 go to the juvenile system. Texas treats a 17-year-old as a grown-up in criminal cases, so they can be booked into the adult jail (Tex. Fam. Code 51.02). Youths are not given money bail. Within two working days, a detention hearing settles whether the child stays locked up. A lawyer is appointed first (Tex. Fam. Code 54.01).

The county's detention center is the Jerry J. Esmond Juvenile Justice Center in Dickinson, 409-770-5935. It has 29 single rooms. Officers have to notify a parent promptly (Tex. Fam. Code 52.02). Call the center to learn whether the child is there and the hearing time.

Texas ranks crimes from Class C up to capital felony, and the rank picks the court. Locally the work divides four ways:

• District courts hear felonies of every grade. The District Clerk keeps those files.
• County Courts at Law No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 take Class A and Class B misdemeanors, which can carry jail time. The County Clerk is the clerk for these courts and takes in the fines and fees paid on them.
• Justice of the Peace courts, one in each of four precincts, handle Class C cases that carry only a fine.
• City municipal courts share the Class C load for tickets written inside city limits.

Criminal appeals climb to a regional court of appeals and, at the top, to the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Office of Court Administration lays out the full ladder in its Texas Judicial System guide.

Start at the Justice Center, 600 59th Street, Galveston, TX 77551. These offices keep criminal cases moving:

• District Clerk, main office: 600 59th Street, Room 4001, Galveston, TX 77551, 409-766-2424. Hours run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
• District Clerk, League City office: 174 Calder Road, League City, TX 77573, 281-316-8729. Hours run 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays, handy for mainland families.
• District courts (felonies): 409-770-5230.
• Misdemeanor courts: reach the coordinator for County Court at Law No. 1 at 409-766-2233, No. 2 at 409-766-2405 and No. 3 at 409-621-7920. Ask which courtroom to report to.
• Magistrate Court office: also in the Justice Center, 409-766-2556, staffed 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The hearings themselves happen inside the jail.

The Census Bureau put the county at 372,207 people as of July 1, 2025, so dockets stay crowded. Come early and carry the case number.

Tickets from deputies and troopers land in a Justice of the Peace court. Each precinct court has a county web page with its contact details: Pct. 1, Pct. 2, Pct. 3 and Pct. 4.

A city officer's ticket normally heads to that town's municipal court. Start with the police department printed on the ticket; staff there can give you the court window, hours and docket. City departments in the county:

• Bayou Vista, 409-935-0449; Clear Lake Shores, 281-334-1034; Dickinson, 281-337-4700
• Friendswood, 281-996-3300; Galveston, 409-765-3702; Hitchcock, 409-986-5559
• Jamaica Beach, 409-737-1800; Kemah, 281-334-6092; La Marque, 409-938-9269
• League City, 281-332-2566; Santa Fe, 409-925-2000; Texas City, 409-948-2525; Tiki Island, 409-935-6579

Class C means a fine of $500 at most and never jail time (Tex. Penal Code 12.23). Can't pay? The court can spread the fine into payments, swap it for community service hours, or waive it, and the CCP (arts. 45A.252 to 45A.261) forbids jailing anyone for nonpayment until a hearing has taken place.

Magistrate Court meets inside the jail twice a day, once before noon and once after. A magistrate and a clerk run it, with a state's lawyer and a public defender in the room. The county tries to finish within 24 hours of arrest, though Texas allows up to 48 (CCP art. 15.17).

At this short hearing, the person learns:

• what they are accused of, and about any sworn complaint behind it;
• that they may hire counsel, or request free counsel with help on the forms;
• that silence is allowed, a lawyer may sit in on questioning, and any interview can be ended;
• on a felony, that an examining trial, a hearing that tests the evidence before indictment, is theirs for the asking;
• that anything they say can come back at them in court.

The magistrate also rules on probable cause and sets bond. When staff see signs of mental illness, state law gives the jail 12 hours to tell the magistrate, under art. 16.22 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Class A and B cases are filed by the Criminal District Attorney's Office in one of the three County Courts at Law. That office answers at 409-766-2355. The usual route:

1. Filing. Prosecutors file a charging paper called an information.
2. First setting. The person can take a 30-day reset to hire a lawyer, file a pauper's oath seeking appointed counsel, or waive counsel.
3. Plea talks. Before taking a plea, the judge announces in court whether any deal will be honored. If the judge turns the deal down, the defendant may withdraw the plea, as CCP art. 26.13 provides.
4. Finish. Dismissal, a deal, or a bench or jury trial ends the case.

What the two grades carry:

• A Class A conviction can mean as much as a year behind bars plus a fine reaching $4,000 (Tex. Penal Code 12.21).
• A Class B conviction caps jail at 180 days and the fine at $2,000 (Tex. Penal Code 12.22).

On a misdemeanor, deferred adjudication runs no longer than two years, and the judge dismisses the case once it ends well (CCP arts. 42A.103, 42A.111). Regular probation, called community supervision, has the same two-year ceiling under art. 42A.053.

A felony moves from the jail to one of the county's district courts:

1. Magistrate hearing at the jail sets the bond.
2. Examining trial (optional, and only before indictment). A magistrate checks for probable cause, under CCP art. 16.01.
3. Grand jury. The Criminal District Attorney's Office presents the case in secret, and an indictment takes nine votes, per art. 20A.301.
4. Arraignment. The accused answers the indictment before the district judge, as art. 26.01 requires.
5. Settings and motions. Evidence is swapped and legal fights are argued.
6. Plea or trial, then sentencing.

Punishment ranges, set in Penal Code chapter 12:

• First degree: life, or any term from 5 to 99 years (12.32).
• Second degree: prison from 2 years to as many as 20 (12.33).
• Third degree: prison from 2 years to as many as 10 (12.34).
• State jail felony: a state jail term from 180 days up to 2 years (12.35).

Every felony grade allows a fine reaching $10,000, and old felony convictions can bump the range higher under Penal Code 12.42. For felonies, art. 42A.103 lets deferred adjudication run as long as 10 years.

Yes, at almost every stage:

• Bail. Under CCP art. 17.03, listed violent offenses are barred from personal bonds. Proposition 3 passed on November 4, 2025. Now prosecutors may ask a judge to refuse bail for murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault and some other violent crimes (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11d).
• Capital murder. Adults risk the death penalty or a no-parole life term. If the accused was 17 or younger then, the sentence is life (Tex. Penal Code 12.31).
• Deferred adjudication. Most murder charges and certain repeat sex offenses can't get it (CCP art. 42A.102).
• Family violence. At the first appearance the magistrate can issue an emergency protection order. It lasts 61 to 91 days. A serious injury or weapon stretches that (CCP art. 17.292).
• Plea warnings. A noncitizen must hear from the judge that pleading guilty may bring deportation (CCP art. 26.13).

One office, the Criminal District Attorney, prosecutes state crimes here, from Class A misdemeanors to capital murder. Call 409-766-2355. For a first or minor charge, ask that office about pretrial diversion.

On the defense side:

• A public defender attends Magistrate Court at the jail, and that is where most people first ask for a free lawyer.
• The county's Misdemeanor Mental Health Public Defender Office works from 722 Moody Avenue, Galveston, TX 77550. It takes misdemeanor clients who live with serious mental illness.
• Other people who qualify get a private lawyer from a court list under the county's indigent defense plan. In a county of this size, art. 1.051 allows the judges one working day from receiving the request.
• Read the plan itself on the state commission's plan finder. The Commission: 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 866-499-0656.

Then the appointed lawyer must make a first attempt to contact the client by the next working day's end (art. 26.04).

The county's public access case search is the quickest tool. Here is how to use it:

1. Pick "Criminal Case Records."
2. Type the person's last and first name.
3. Open the case and scroll to "Events and Orders of the Court" for hearing dates.
4. Look in the "Party Information" box to see the defense lawyer's name and contact.

A blank result often means prosecutors haven't filed yet, so try again in a few days. Copies from the County Clerk cost $1.00 a page, or $5.00 plus $1.00 a page when certified.

The statewide re:SearchTX system is free once you sign up. It lists filed charges and judgments, while hearing times come from the county. For a setting, call the District Clerk at 409-766-2424 on a felony or the misdemeanor court coordinator on a lower charge.

The Sheriff's Fugitive Apprehension Division serves felony and misdemeanor warrants from the district and county courts, some Justice of the Peace warrants and out-of-county warrants. Reach it through the Sheriff's Office, 601 54th Street, Galveston, TX 77551, 409-766-2300. City police serve warrants in their towns. Look over the Sheriff's Wanted list, the DPS Texas 10 Most Wanted and the county case portal. To clear one, a person can surrender at that court with counsel present, or ring that court and ask staff for a new setting. Felony warrants: District Clerk, 600 59th Street, Room 4001, Galveston, TX 77551, 409-766-2424.

Federal cases from Texas City, League City and the island go to the Southern District's Galveston Division, which sits in the United States Post Office and Courthouse, 601 Rosenberg, Room 411, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3530.

• A magistrate judge holds a detention hearing at the start to decide if the person stays jailed until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• The U.S. Marshals Service has custody of federal prisoners and drives them to court. The local office is at 601 Rosenberg Street, Suite 502, Galveston, TX 77550, 409-766-3771.
• Federal prosecutors for the district work from 1000 Louisiana, Suite 2300, Houston, TX 77002, 713-567-9000.
• If money is short, a defendant can be assigned the Federal Public Defender, 440 Louisiana Street, Room 1350, Houston, TX 77002-1669, 713-718-4600.
• Track a federal prisoner after sentencing on the BOP inmate locator.

The state charge stays on track, but an ICE detainer changes when the person walks out:

1. The detainer, Form I-247A, asks the jailer to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
2. Texas jails must comply and tell the person, unless proof of citizenship or lawful presence is shown, under CCP art. 2A.060.
3. Gov't Code 752.053 bars local rules that limit immigration enforcement. Under S.B. 8 (2025), every county jail in Texas faces a December 1, 2026 deadline to pursue 287(g) with ICE; the Sheriff's Office, 409-766-2300, can say where things stand.
4. After pickup, the person falls under ICE's Houston Field Office, 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number; if that's unknown, by full name and birth country.

A defense lawyer should weigh immigration effects before any plea, since the judge must warn about deportation risk.

A state jail felony means a stay in a state jail. Bigger felonies, up to capital life terms, mean prison time run by TDCJ, the state's corrections agency (Penal Code 12.31 to 12.35). Before the transfer, the person typically waits on Avenue H, then goes through intake before a unit is assigned.

• On the TDCJ inmate search, enter an SID or TDCJ number if you have one; otherwise a surname and first initial. Only people now inside a TDCJ unit show up.
• Our Texas state prisons page covers each unit's visiting hours and mail rules.
• A judge can choose community supervision over prison. For probation questions, the adult probation office answers at 409-766-2425.

Youth court hears kids who were between 10 and 16 when the offense took place; 17-year-olds go to adult court (Tex. Fam. Code 51.02). The county juvenile board picks which court sits as juvenile court (Tex. Fam. Code 51.04).

• Police must tell a parent promptly that the child is in custody and why (Tex. Fam. Code 52.02).
• Two working days is the limit for a detained youth's first hearing, which decides on further detention. Kids picked up late in the week, on a Friday or Saturday, get the hearing on the first working day instead. Before it, the child is given an attorney (Tex. Fam. Code 54.01).
• A youth 14 or older can be moved to adult district court for a serious felony. First comes a full study of the child. Then a judge holds a hearing (Tex. Fam. Code 54.02).

Detained youths go to Dickinson's Jerry J. Esmond Juvenile Justice Center, 409-770-5935. The county's detention services page describes its 29 single rooms.

Texas law gives victims, and close family when a victim has died, a list of rights (CCP art. 56A.051), such as:

• having the magistrate weigh their safety when bail is set;
• notice of court dates, if they ask for it;
• a victim impact statement before sentencing or a plea deal;
• a separate waiting area at the courthouse.

Prosecutors here can be reached at 409-766-2355. For alerts when someone is booked or released, register free with Texas IVSS-Counties or call 866-268-8959 any hour. The Attorney General's compensation fund may cover up to $50,000 in costs like hospital bills, therapy and missed pay. File a claim online or call 800-983-9933.