Jim Wells County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate does, at a short hearing inside the jail. Here, five justices of the peace serve as the magistrates. They hold these hearings face to face at the jail, decide if the arrest had a good legal reason, set bail and ask whether the person wants a free lawyer (Texas Indigent Defense Commission review, 2024). The county's justice of the peace page even links a live stream of jail magistrate hearings while they run.

Texas puts a deadline on this. The Code of Criminal Procedure says anyone arrested must reach a magistrate within 48 hours, in a room with them or on a video link (arts. 14.06, 15.17). The magistrate explains the charge, the right to stay quiet, the right to hire or request a lawyer, and the right to an examining trial (art. 15.17). The bail ruling must also land inside 48 hours. It is made for each person alone, with no tighter strings than the case needs (art. 17.028).

Class B and up also requires a look at a public safety report (arts. 17.021, 17.022). It is a printout of the person's record, without a risk score and without a suggested amount. Precinct 1's justice court sits in the courthouse at 200 N. Almond Street, Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-5719.

Texas statute (arts. 17.01–17.03) recognizes just two release types, bail bonds and personal bonds. At the Cameron Street window that becomes three choices:

• Cash bond. A relative or friend pays 100% of the bond to the county. The clerk holds it while the case runs, and it can be returned later.
• Surety bond. A licensed bondsman guarantees all of it. Whatever fee that bondsman charges stays with the bondsman for good.
• Personal bond. Nobody pays cash and no bondsman signs. Instead, your loved one signs paperwork swearing to appear and to follow each condition.

Personal bonds are closed to some people. Article 17.03 rules them out on named violent crimes and for a felon caught holding a gun. The same goes for terroristic threat at Class A level or worse, and some protective order violations. A burglary, organized crime or listed drug felony case needs the trial judge's personal okay first.

A magistrate may tack conditions onto any bond, say a no-contact order. Second DWIs, and DWIs with a kid riding along, call for an ignition interlock (art. 17.441). Want the whole statewide picture? Our Texas bail rules page lays it out.

Each magistrate sets the figure for that one case. Texas has no statewide price list, and any local schedule must still bend to state rules (art. 17.028(d)). To learn the figure on a real booking, phone the Sheriff's Office at 361-668-0341. Have their legal name and birthday handy.

State law gives the magistrate a checklist (art. 17.15):

• enough money to make showing up for court the smart choice
• never a tool of oppression
• what the crime was and how it happened
• the money the accused really has
• how safe the victim, the officers and the town will be
• old arrests and convictions, plus that safety report
• citizenship

Two dollar caps are written into the code (art. 17.033). Say officers jailed someone on Cameron Street with no warrant, and the magistrate's probable cause call comes late. Misdemeanor arrestees go free by hour 24, and their bond can't top $5,000. Felony arrestees go free by hour 48, and their bond can't top $10,000.

Call to confirm any figure before you bring money.

The Sheriff's Office takes bail for people it holds, says its page on the county website. The jail and the Sheriff's Office share 300 N Cameron Street, Alice, TX 78332. Front office hours run Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

1. Phone 361-668-0341 before leaving the house.
2. Spell the full name and say the date of birth. Jot down each count's bond and case number.
3. Ask what the bond desk accepts today. Also ask who should be named as payee.
4. Ask whether any hold will keep your loved one after the money is in.
5. Bring photo ID plus the bond amount, to the dollar. Guard that receipt, since the clerk later refunds cash only to the person it names.

Release is seldom instant. Jail staff still finish records checks and paperwork first.

Ask before you go, since the clerks handle money tied to filed cases. Both offices are inside the courthouse on Almond Street.

• District Clerk, keeper of felony files: 200 N. Almond Street, Suite 207, Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-5717. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mail goes to P.O. Drawer 2219, Alice, TX 78333.
• County Clerk, keeper of the misdemeanor files: 200 N. Almond Street, Suite 103, Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-5702. Hours are Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. This office keeps a standing order on how cash bonds are accepted and guarded.

Ring the clerk on your case. Ask whether a bond can be filed at that window, what payment it takes, and who tells the jail once it clears.

Rules differ office to office, so phone ahead. Windows rarely refuse a cashier's check or money order with that office named as payee.

• The District Clerk accepts cards on criminal cases through Certified Payments, its online pay service. Each payment needs the case number and full name. It is built for fines and court costs, so phone 361-668-5717 before trying it for anything else.
• The County Clerk's web page carries its own link for criminal case payments. Ask that office at 361-668-5702 what the link covers.
• Checks, money orders or cashier's checks for the District Clerk can be mailed to P.O. Drawer 2219, Alice, TX 78333.

For a bond at the jail itself, the staff at 361-668-0341 can say what they accept. Cash never belongs in an envelope.

Big Texas counties, those past 110,000 people, must license bondsmen through a county board. This county had 38,804 people in mid-2025 (Census Bureau estimate), so it needs none (Occupations Code 1704.002). Where none exists, a sheriff may display a roll of sureties whose financial backing has been reviewed (art. 17.141). Phone 361-668-0341 and request that list.

• Fees are whatever the bondsman sets, since state law caps nothing. Get the number on paper.
• Insist on paper proof each time money or a pledge changes hands, as Occupations Code 1704.305 requires.
• Soliciting clients behind jail walls is banned for bondsmen (1704.304).
• Got a truck title or other collateral tied up? Write to the bondsman asking for it when the final case wraps up. Thirty days is the legal limit to hand it back (1704.301).
• If a lawyer already represents your loved one in the case, that lawyer can post bond as well (1704.163).
• A bondsman who surrenders a client must give notice to the defense lawyer first. Felonies need notice to the prosecutor too. The court then receives an affidavit explaining why (art. 17.19).

A bond clears just the charge it was set on. Have the jail at 361-668-0341 look for each of these:

• Immigration detainer. The Cameron Street jail has to keep honoring it until your loved one proves citizenship or lawful status, as art. 2A.060 directs.
• Parole warrant, nicknamed a blue warrant. As a rule it holds the person in custody until the parole panel's violation hearing is done (Government Code 508.254(c)).
• Warrant out of a different county. Under art. 15.18, bail on it can be set and taken right here in Jim Wells. The bond papers then travel to the county that wants the person.
• Family violence. When the violence seems likely to continue, bond does not mean instant release. Four more hours pass first. Under art. 17.291, a signed order from a magistrate may lengthen that hold up to 48 hours.
• Probation. Fresh charges can lead to a motion to revoke. The Adult Probation Department is at 610 E. Second St., Alice, TX 78332, 361-664-9199.

Only rarely. The Texas Constitution says nearly everyone is bailable, with the main exception being a capital case when the proof is strong (art. I, §11). Narrow rules also allow denial for some repeat or on-bond felonies, safety breaks and protective order breaks (art. I, §§11a, 11b, 11c).

Texas voters added art. I, §11d through Proposition 3 in November 2025. Charges in reach: any murder, capital or not, plus human trafficking, robbery or kidnapping in their aggravated forms, sexual assault in its aggravated form, and indecency with a child. Aggravated assault joins the list when it left serious injury or involved a weapon. For those charges, a prosecutor may ask for a hearing. If the judge finds the accused may run, or endangers people, bail is off the table. Nobody but the prosecutor can trigger this. Should a judge grant bail regardless, written findings must follow.

A 2025 change lets prosecutors appeal a bail they consider too light on certain violent charges (art. 44.01). In this county, two offices argue bail for the state:

• 79th Judicial District Attorney (felonies): 200 N. Almond Street, Suite 201, Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-5716
• County Attorney (misdemeanors): 200 N. Almond Street, Suite 202, Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-5700, ask for the County Attorney

Usually your loved one's lawyer files a written ask with whichever judge has the case, then argues it at a hearing. Gather what shows the judge your loved one will return:

1. Proof of local roots: a lease, pay stubs or a class schedule.
2. Relatives ready to drive them to every court date.
3. A true household budget, since art. 17.15 tells the judge to weigh what the family can raise.

Slow prosecutions help in another way (art. 17.151). Prosecutors have 90 days on a felony for the state to be trial-ready, and fine-only cases get 5. For a misdemeanor with jail time, the clock is 30 days if the maximum is over 180 days, and 15 days for the rest. After the deadline passes, a personal bond or lowered bail follows, with a few exceptions.

On a felony, the District Clerk answers at 361-668-5717. On a misdemeanor, the County Clerk answers at 361-668-5702.

During the jail hearing, the magistrate asks about a court-appointed lawyer and marks the answer on the warning form. After that, jail staff hand out a sworn money form, called an affidavit of indigence, gather it back, and carry it across the street to the court. A judge rules on it. A 2024 state review found this paper path caused delays and lost forms in this county.

• Ask your loved one if they requested counsel and signed that form.
• Then confirm it reached the court: District Clerk 361-668-5717 on felonies, County Clerk 361-668-5702 on misdemeanors.
• In Jim Wells, a county of under 250,000, art. 1.051 sets a three-working-day limit, starting when the request arrives, for naming counsel. Art. 26.04 then has the lawyer reach out to the client quickly, by the close of the following workday.

Every county files a plan for appointed counsel with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. Read it through the county plan finder, or reach the commission at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Most courts share the county courthouse at 200 N. Almond Street, Alice, TX 78332, main line 361-668-5700.

• 79th District Court, for felonies: records with the District Clerk in Suite 207, 361-668-5717. The same judicial district also serves Brooks County.
• County Court-at-Law, the main misdemeanor court: Suite B-111, 361-668-5898.
• County Judge, who runs the constitutional county court: Suite 101, 361-668-5706.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1: inside the courthouse, 361-668-5719.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3: P.O. Box 150, Sandia, TX 78383, 361-415-7763.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4: P.O. Drawer H, Premont, TX 78375, 361-348-2773.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5: P.O. Box 331, Orange Grove, TX 78372, 361-384-2486.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 6: P.O. Box 746, Alice, TX 78333, 361-664-9987.
• Federal court: 1133 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3142.

A ticket written by city officers in Alice belongs to the city's own court. Reach it through City Hall, 500 E. Main St., Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-7210.

The person on the receipt gets cash bail back once the case wraps up with all conditions met, minus any fee (art. 17.02). That fee, 5% and capped at $50, applies after a conviction or deferred adjudication only. Before refunding, the clerk may take the defendant's unpaid fines and costs out of the cash (art. 17.53).

• The clerk's motion form for releasing cash bail funds is free once the case is final.
• A skipped court date gives the judge power to forfeit the whole bond (arts. 22.01, 22.02).
• A bondsman owes nothing on a forfeited bond if the missing person lands back in jail fast enough (art. 22.13). Misdemeanor cases allow half a year. Felony cases allow nine months.
• Missing court is also a new crime (Penal Code 38.10). A ticket-level case makes it Class C. Skipping a felony court date is itself a third-degree felony. Most others make it Class A.

Refunds on felony bonds: District Clerk, 361-668-5717. Refunds on misdemeanor bonds: County Clerk, 361-668-5702.

Raise cash and personal items before release, or right at the door. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 361-668-0341 during weekday office hours, 8:00 a.m. to noon or 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Ask about refunding the balance on the jail account and a pickup time for property at 300 N Cameron Street, Alice, TX 78332.

Have photo ID with you. When the items belong to another adult, staff may want a signed release from that person first. For how jail accounts generally run, see our guide to inmate money.

Federal arrests from this county land in Corpus Christi, at the federal courthouse, 1133 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3142. This building houses the Southern District of Texas's Corpus Christi Division.

• A detention hearing, often at the first federal appearance, decides custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Custody before trial falls to the U.S. Marshals Service. Its prisoners are often boarded at county jails by contract. The Corpus Christi Marshals office is at 1133 North Shoreline Boulevard, Suite 109, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3154.
• Federal defenders there work from 500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Room 301, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3532.
• Once sentenced to prison, look them up on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Paying the bond does not cancel an immigration detainer. Expect these steps:

1. A detainer, Form I-247A, comes to the Cameron Street jail from federal immigration officers. On it, they ask for extra jail time beyond the normal release. The agency is Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE.
2. The Cameron Street jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas makes every jail comply with these requests (art. 2A.060). Shown proof of citizenship or lawful presence, though, the jail must let the person go. A 2017 statute forbids cities and counties from blocking immigration work by local policy (Government Code 752.053). A 2025 statute adds a duty for counties with jails: joining ICE's 287(g) program, with paperwork signed no later than December 1, 2026.
4. ICE's Harlingen Field Office covers this county: 1717 Zoy Street, Harlingen, TX 78552, 956-389-7800. One ICE site nearby is the Coastal Bend Detention Center, 4909 FM 2826, Robstown, TX 78380, 361-767-3400.
5. Look the person up on the ICE Online Detainee Locator. If immigration papers show an A-number, search with it. Name and birth country together also work.

Felony terms are served away from Cameron Street. Texas Department of Criminal Justice units, both state prisons and state jails, take those prisoners. People call the agency TDCJ. Someone guilty of a state jail felony serves between 180 days and two years (Penal Code 12.35). Most people wait out the gap after sentencing in the county jail, until TDCJ transport arrives to take them to intake. Intake staff then sort each prisoner and pick a unit.

• Plug a TDCJ number, or a surname paired with one initial, into TDCJ's own prisoner lookup. That data gets new entries on weekdays, not holidays.
• Our Texas state prisons page has facts on each unit.
• Victims can reach TDCJ Victim Services at 800-848-4284.

Ten through sixteen is the juvenile court age range in Texas, measured on the day of the alleged act (Family Code 51.02). Anyone 17 is treated as an adult. A parent must get prompt word from the officers (52.02). Section 54.01 promises a detention hearing, with appointed counsel, inside two working days. Was the youth taken on a Friday or Saturday? Then the limit is the next working day.

The judge uses that hearing to decide on release to a parent. For the youth's location and hearing time, call the Juvenile Probation Department, 900 E. First Street, Alice, TX 78332, 361-668-5708. Its hours are weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.