The class of the charge picks the courtroom.

• Felony: one of two district courts. Bandera County shares the 198th, and Gillespie County shares the 216th. The District Clerk handles their paperwork.
• Misdemeanors that can bring jail (Class A and Class B): these belong to the County Court at Law. Locally the County Clerk keeps these files and the County Attorney brings the case. Its calendar runs from arraignment through pretrial hearings, a jail docket for people locked up on misdemeanors, and sentencing.
• Class C, the fine-only kind: a justice of the peace precinct court. When a city officer wrote it, the municipal court hears it.

After a conviction, an appeal climbs to an intermediate appeals court and can end at the highest Texas court for criminal matters. A short state pamphlet on the Texas courts draws the whole ladder.

In a July 19, 2026 notice, the county said water damage shut the courthouse at 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028 "for the unforeseeable future." Offices spread out across town. Several are back now, and a late-August notice let visitors onto the first floor and into reopened offices only. Phone ahead every time.

• District courts and District Clerk. The 198th and 216th share one office upstairs at 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-792-2290, open weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. The District Clerk's counter is open again in Suite 236 now that the elevator runs, 830-792-2281, open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. A 216th jury trial used the second-floor courtroom on October 26.
• County Court at Law. Its page gives Suite 123, 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-792-2207, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The July notice sent it to 3501 Legion Drive, Kerrville, TX 78028, and no return date has been named. Ask which building your hearing is in.
• County Clerk. Back in Suite 122, 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028 since September 2, 2026. Misdemeanor files live here.
• Magistrate Court. Inside the jail, 400 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The city and justice courts come next.

Kerrville Municipal Court takes Class C cases filed by the city's own officers, plus traffic and code tickets. Find it at 365 Clearwater Paseo, Suite 100, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-257-2388. You can settle a fine through its online ticket payment, over the phone, by mailing a check or money order, or at the window with cash or a card.

Ingram runs a police department at 226 Highway 39, Ingram, TX 78025, 830-367-2636. Ask there which court hears a ticket from an Ingram officer.

Fine-only cases from deputies, troopers and constables go to one of four justice courts:

• Precinct 1: listed at Room 102, 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-792-2230. The flood moved it for a while, so check where it sits now.
• Precinct 2: in the jail building, 400 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028, next to the visitation lobby door on the right side.
• Precinct 3: Allie Burton Annex, 550 Earl Garrett Street, Kerrville, TX 78028.
• Precinct 4: West Kerr Annex, 510 College Street, Ingram, TX 78025, 830-367-3663.

For a working number at Precinct 2 or 3, ask the Sheriff's Office, 830-896-1216.

Every adult booked here goes before a magistrate whose courtroom sits inside the jail at 400 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028. Officers have 48 hours from arrest to bring them there, a deadline set by art. 15.17 of the state's Code of Criminal Procedure. The county says the magistrate covers the charges, the person's rights, bond amounts, types and conditions, and choices for a lawyer.

• The person learns they may stay quiet, may have a lawyer, may stop any questioning, and may ask for an examining trial.
• The magistrate helps them fill out the paper asking for a free lawyer.
• Bail gets set, usually with a public safety report in hand.
• Staff screen each new arrival for mental illness and intellectual disability.
• Family violence charges can lead to an emergency protective order. It may last 91 days, or 121 in some cases.

Relatives may follow the hearing on a TV in the jail's visitation lobby. Emails about inmates get no answer from this court, so phone the jail, 830-896-1257, to hear whether the hearing has happened. The county's prompt magistration plan lays out each step.

A first-offense DWI, a low-dollar theft or a fight with no serious injury usually ends up before the County Court at Law. The charging paper says which class applies, since that depends on the facts. A typical Class A or B case looks like this:

1. A prosecutor at the County Attorney's office reads the officer's report and files a formal charge. That paper is called an information.
2. At arraignment, the judge records the plea and the name of the defense lawyer (art. 26.01).
3. Over several pretrial settings, both sides swap evidence and may bargain.
4. When a plea bargain is reached, the judge announces whether to accept it. Should the judge reject it, the accused may withdraw the plea (art. 26.13).
5. Without a bargain, a jury or the judge alone decides guilt.

Possible punishment by class (Penal Code ch. 12):

• Class A: a county jail sentence as long as 12 months plus a $4,000 fine, or just one of the two (12.21).
• Class B: a jail sentence as long as 180 days plus a $2,000 fine, or just one of the two (12.22).
• Class C: the penalty stops at a $500 fine (12.23).

Some people get deferred adjudication instead. The person follows court rules for a set time, two years at most, and then the case is dismissed with no conviction (arts. 42A.101-42A.111). Misdemeanor probation can run two years too (art. 42A.053). Can't afford a fine-only penalty? Ask for a payment plan or community service, which knocks $150 off the fine for every 8 hours worked. A hearing must come before anyone is jailed for not paying (arts. 45A.252-45A.261).

Felony cases belong to the 198th or the 216th District Court, and each court has its own district attorney.

1. Magistration at the jail sets the bond and starts the request for a lawyer.
2. Examining trial. This optional hearing comes before indictment. A judge weighs the evidence and decides if probable cause exists (art. 16.01).
3. Grand jury. Of the twelve grand jurors, at least nine must agree (art. 20A.301) before an indictment can issue.
4. Arraignment. In district court the accused hears the indictment and pleads.
5. Pretrial months of discovery, motions and talks.
6. Plea deal or jury trial.

On top of time, any felony grade lets the judge or jury tack on a $10,000 fine (Penal Code 12.32-12.35):

• A first-degree conviction: life, or anywhere from 5 years up to 99.
• A second-degree conviction: 2 years at least, 20 at most.
• A third-degree conviction: 2 years at least, 10 at most.
• A state jail conviction: a stay in a state jail facility, at least half a year and no more than 2.

Earlier convictions can raise a range (Penal Code 12.42), and some state jail cases are punished as a Class A instead (Penal Code 12.44). Felony probation or deferred adjudication may last 10 years. The district courts' office, 830-792-2290, gives settings.

The courtroom path is the same, but getting out is much harder.

• Personal bonds are off the table for anything on the state's list of violent offenses (art. 17.03).
• Bail can be refused outright under Proposition 3. Voters approved it in 2025. Covered: capital murder and murder, plus aggravated sexual assault, trafficking, certain aggravated assaults, indecency with a child, aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping. First, prosecutors must persuade a judge, at a hearing, that release would let the person run or hurt someone. That rule is in the Texas Constitution, art. I, §11d.
• Appeals of small bail. In the listed violent cases, prosecutors can take a bail they find too small to a higher court. Nobody walks out while that appeal is pending, and the higher court gets 20 days to rule (art. 44.01).
• Capital murder leaves an adult facing the death penalty or a parole-free life sentence. Under Penal Code 12.31, a teen convicted for a crime committed before turning 18 gets life.

Family violence cases add extra steps. If the magistrate expects more violence, the jail may keep the person up to four hours past posting bond (art. 17.291). The victim must be told before release (art. 17.29). A magistrate's order can keep the accused away for weeks (art. 17.292), and the County Attorney, 830-792-2220, helps victims make an order last longer.

The prosecutors

• 216th District Attorney, for felonies in that court: Suite 400, 402 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-896-4744, weekdays 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Its web page carries court calendars and expunction steps.
• 198th District Attorney, for felonies in that court: the same annex, 402 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028. The district courts' office, 830-792-2290, can tell you which DA has your case.
• County Attorney, for misdemeanors, juvenile cases and protective orders: 830-792-2220. Its listing says Suite BA103, 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, a basement office the flood emptied, so ask where staff are working.

The defense, when money is short

When a judge appoints counsel here, the case usually goes to the Hill Country Regional Public Defender's Office. You'll find it at the Allie Burton Annex, 550 Earl Garrett Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-315-2788. Request a lawyer while in front of the magistrate. In a county this size, a judge has three working days after getting that request to name counsel. Once named, the lawyer must attempt contact within one more working day (arts. 1.051, 26.04). The district courts also post a standing order on pay for appointed lawyers.

Start at the top of this list and work down:

• The District Clerk's portal. Its public records search covers district court files.
• The 216th DA's calendars. That office's web page carries upcoming court settings.
• re:SearchTX. This statewide records service costs nothing once you sign up. Use it for filings and judgments, and call the clerk for hearing dates.
• A phone call. Felony: the District Clerk, 830-792-2281. Misdemeanor: the County Court at Law, 830-792-2207. City ticket: the municipal court, 830-257-2388.

Clerks search by name, so spell the legal name exactly and have the birth date ready. To see someone's past Texas convictions, use the DPS conviction database, which charges a fee.

Deputies in the Sheriff's Warrant Division at 400 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-896-1216, serve county warrants, and constables serve some too. Look through the Sheriff's most wanted page, the city's warrant information and the state's Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives. For one particular name, phone the Sheriff or the court. A warrant is cleared when the person turns themselves in, ideally with a lawyer, or when the issuing court sets a fresh date. The District Clerk keeps felony warrant files: Suite 236, 700 Main Street, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-792-2281.

Federal charges from these hills are tried in San Antonio by the federal trial court for western Texas. The district clerk sits at 262 West Nueva Street, Room 1-400, San Antonio, TX 78207, 210-472-6550.

• First hearing. In San Antonio, a federal magistrate judge reads the charge aloud. A separate detention hearing settles release before trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Who holds them. Until trial, a federal defendant is kept by the U.S. Marshals Service: 262 West Nueva Street, Room 2-300, San Antonio, TX 78207, 210-332-6800.
• Who prosecutes. The U.S. Attorney: 601 NW Loop 410, Suite 600, San Antonio, TX 78216, 210-384-7100.
• Who defends. The Federal Public Defender: 300 Convent Street, Room 2300, San Antonio, TX 78205, 210-472-6700.
• After a sentence. Use the Bureau of Prisons federal inmate finder.

An ICE hold doesn't touch the Texas charge itself. It matters only on the day the person would walk free.

1. It starts with Form I-247A. ICE sends that form to the jail and names the inmate it wants kept.
2. Federal rules let that hold last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Article 2A.060 then binds the jail to obey unless someone shows the person is here legally. Gov't Code 752.053 also bars any town or county policy that limits enforcement of immigration law.
4. Next comes S.B. 8, whose 287(g) clock runs out December 1, 2026. By that day, a sheriff who runs a jail must have ICE's 287(g) partnership signed. To learn where the Kerr jail stands, call the Sheriff's Office, 830-896-1216.
5. After the transfer, try the ICE Online Detainee Locator. ICE runs a San Antonio field office at 3523 Crosspoint Drive, San Antonio, TX 78217, 210-564-3300.

Say ICE takes the person while the Texas case is still open. Their lawyer should let the judge know fast. That way a missed hearing is not mistaken for skipping court.

Every Texas prison and every state jail is part of one agency, TDCJ. A first-, second- or third-degree sentence means prison, and a state jail sentence means a state jail (Penal Code 12.31-12.35). Once sentenced, most people stay at 400 Clearwater Paseo, Kerrville, TX 78028 until TDCJ has room at intake. TDCJ then picks a unit.

• Use the TDCJ offender search. TDCJ refreshes it on business days, so results lag at least a day behind.
• Our guide to Texas prisons covers every unit, with visiting and mail rules.

Juvenile ages come from Family Code 51.02. A child must be 10 or more and under 17 when the act took place. Once 17, the case belongs to adult court. Prosecution of youth cases here falls to the County Attorney's office.

• Under Family Code 52.02, police holding a child must promptly try to reach a parent or guardian.
• Under Family Code 54.01, a detention hearing is due within two working days. The child has an appointed lawyer there, and the judge rules on whether detention continues.
• A judge may move certain serious felony cases to adult court once a child is 14 (Family Code 54.02).

Every referral is screened by the Juvenile Probation Department, 3501 Legion Drive, Kerrville, TX 78028, 830-896-9013, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It offers intensive supervision, community service restitution, drug testing, help with substance abuse, a 12-week parenting class and support for parents. Staff there know where your child is being held and which judge has the case.

Crime victims' rights in Texas sit in Code of Criminal Procedure art. 56A.051. For example, a judge fixing bail must factor in danger to the victim. Victims can also request word of each hearing and can file a written impact statement.

• Victims Services: the upper floor of the Allie Burton Annex, 550 Earl Garrett Street, Kerrville, TX 78028.
• Protective orders: the County Attorney, 830-792-2220, or the Hill Country Crisis Council, 830-257-7088.
• Release and transfer alerts: sign up free with IVSS-Counties, or phone 866-268-8959. Your contact details stay private.
• Help with bills: the Attorney General's office handles Crime Victims' Compensation claims, worth up to $50,000 for doctor bills, missed paychecks and other costs, 800-983-9933.