Marion routes each criminal file by its Texas grade, the same ladder found in the state's court system guide.

• Felonies from Marion go before the 115th District Court or the 276th. Both meet in Room 303 of the Jefferson courthouse, where that clerk holds the felony files.
• Misdemeanors of Class A or B grade get a Marion trial in County Court, where the County Judge sits. Those Marion files sit with the County Clerk in Room 206.
• Class C fine-only Marion cases belong to the two justice courts. Tickets written inside Jefferson can go to the city's municipal court.

The 115th District Court splits its time with Upshur County. The 276th also covers Camp, Morris and Titus. So Jefferson felony settings can bunch up on certain weeks. Ask the District Clerk which days your relative's Marion case is set.

• Marion courthouse, 102 W. Austin Street, Jefferson, TX 75657, main line 903-665-3261, which is also the County Judge's number.
• District Clerk for the 115th and 276th District Courts, 102 W. Austin Street, Room 303, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-2441. Weekdays 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., then 1 to 5 p.m. Mail goes to P.O. Box 628, Jefferson, TX 75657.
• County Clerk for the County Court, 102 W. Austin Street, Room 206, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-3971. Same Jefferson weekday hours with a lunch closing.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, 114 W. Austin Street, Room 204, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-2392. Open Monday to Wednesday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday mornings. No Friday hours.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2, 8249 SH 49, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-3581. Closed weekends and holidays.
• Jefferson Municipal Court, at City Hall, 102 N. Polk, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-7159.
• District Attorney and County Attorney, 102 W. Austin Street, Room 201, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-2611.

Yes. Jefferson Municipal Court handles the city's own fine-only Class C cases. Its line is 903-665-7159, and City Hall stands at 102 N. Polk, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-3922. The city court page links online payment for citations, and tickets can also be dropped off at the Jefferson police station.

Outside town, Class C cases go to the Marion justice court for that precinct. The county's justice court page has each court's ticket payment link.

• The top Class C penalty is a $500 fine, never jail (Penal Code 12.23).
• Except for public intoxication, a Marion officer may hand out a Class C citation rather than make an arrest (CCP 14.06).
• Short on money for a Jefferson fine? Ask that Marion judge about paying in parts, community service credited at $150 per 8 hours, or a waiver of the fine. Texas law (CCP 45A.252 to 45A.261) allows jail over an unpaid Marion fine only after a hearing where the Marion judge decides the person never made an honest effort to pay.

The first stop is the Marion magistrate, within 48 hours of arrest (CCP 15.17). It is a short hearing, sometimes by video from the Dallas Street jail. The magistrate:

1. names the Texas charge;
2. warns that statements can be used, and that the accused may stay quiet, have a lawyer, and end any questioning;
3. mentions the examining-trial right on Marion felonies;
4. offers help filing for a free Marion lawyer;
5. sets bail, reading the safety report first on any Class B or more serious Marion charge (CCP 17.022).

That examining trial is a Jefferson probable-cause hearing, open to a felony suspect any time before the grand jury acts. The magistrate there may revisit bail as well (CCP 16.01). An indictment ends the right.

On Austin Street, a Marion misdemeanor of Class A or B starts with an information. That is the Marion prosecutor's written charge, filed with the County Clerk. Next comes:

1. Arraignment. In Jefferson, the Marion defendant learns the charge and pleads (CCP 26.01). A lawyer may waive this step on paper.
2. Pretrial settings. Marion lawyers swap evidence and may bargain.
3. Plea or trial. With a deal on the table, the County Judge announces in open court whether to follow it. Rejecting it lets the Marion defendant take that plea back (CCP 26.13).

What Texas allows for Marion misdemeanors:

• Class B (Penal Code 12.22): a Marion fine to $2,000, Jefferson jail to 180 days, or both together.
• Class A (Penal Code 12.21): up to a year in the Jefferson jail, a Marion fine as high as $4,000, or both.

Deferred adjudication is another Marion outcome. No guilty finding goes on the record yet, and the Jefferson judge dismisses the charge once every term is met. A misdemeanor version lasts up to two years (CCP 42A.101; 42A.103; 42A.111). Marion's ordinary probation on a misdemeanor also stops at two years (CCP 42A.053). Probation here is run by the Upshur County adult probation department, 415 US Hwy 271 N, Gilmer, TX 75644, 903-843-3006.

1. Magistrate and bail at the Dallas Street jail.
2. Examining trial, if asked for before indictment (CCP 16.01).
3. Grand jury. Marion grand jurors meet in secret, and under CCP 20A.301 nine of them must vote yes before a Jefferson indictment issues.
4. Arraignment in the 115th or 276th District Court, Room 303.
5. Hearings, then a plea or trial. Plea deals settle most Texas felony files.

Marion felony ranges by grade, from lowest:

• State jail felony: Penal Code 12.35 sets a Marion range of 180 days to 2 years. The Marion inmate does that time at a state jail, not on Dallas Street. A judge may use Class A punishment instead (12.44).
• Third degree (12.34): Marion judges and juries can give 2 to 10 years.
• Second degree (12.33): a Marion prison term of 2 to 20 years at that grade.
• First degree (12.32): Marion terms run 5 to 99 years, with life also allowed.

A fine reaching $10,000 can come with any Marion felony grade. A defendant's prior record can push the range higher (12.42). On felonies, deferred adjudication may stretch 10 years, and regular probation usually tops out there too (CCP 42A.053, 42A.103). For drug, veterans or mental health dockets, search the Texas specialty court registry, or ask your Jefferson defense lawyer if any serves Marion.

A Marion adult convicted of a capital felony gets death or life without parole. When the accused was under 18 at the offense, Penal Code 12.31 sets the sentence at life. A Marion murder charge is a first-degree felony, with 5 to 99 years or life possible.

• No personal bond for the violent offenses the bail law lists (CCP 17.03).
• Bail can be denied. Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11d, added by Proposition 3 in 2025, makes a Jefferson judge refuse bail for murder, aggravated sexual assault or another listed crime once a Marion prosecutor proves the defendant may flee or endanger others.
• Capital defense for a Marion defendant who can't pay is handled by the statewide capital public defender office, 806-696-3740.
• Victims can ask for notice of Jefferson hearings and may give an impact statement (CCP 56A.051).

These Jefferson cases often run longer. The District Clerk, 903-665-2441, can read you each Room 303 setting.

Prosecutors. The District Attorney and the County Attorney each have a page on the county site, and both list 102 W. Austin Street, Room 201, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-2611. Call that Marion office to learn which one has your relative's case, and whether a pretrial diversion program exists.

Defense. Marion has no public defender office. If the family can't pay, a private Marion attorney from a rotating contract list takes the case.

• Ask at the magistrate hearing. The form then goes to whichever Marion justice of the peace is on duty, Precinct 1 at 903-665-2392 or Precinct 2 at 903-665-3581.
• That judge rules by the third working day (CCP 1.051).
• Food stamp, Medicaid, TANF, SSI or public housing help counts as proof of need under the Marion plan.
• CCP 26.04 has the appointed Jefferson lawyer reach out to the Marion client by the next working day.

Read the whole Marion lawyer plan. Marion files that plan with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Start with the clerk who holds the Jefferson file, since the clerk can read out the next setting.

• District Clerk, for felonies: 903-665-2441.
• County Clerk, for Class A or B misdemeanors: 903-665-3971.
• The Precinct 1 or Precinct 2 justice court, for Class C outside Jefferson.
• Jefferson Municipal Court, for Class C inside the city: 903-665-7159.

Once you register for free, the state's re:SearchTX portal shows filed Marion charges and judgments. Hearing dates still come from the Jefferson clerk. The DPS conviction name search costs money and covers final outcomes.

In Marion, warrants go out with Sheriff's deputies, 903-665-7201, the Precinct 1 constable at 114 W. Austin Street, Room 208, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-7892, the Precinct 2 constable at 8249 SH 49E, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-578-5200, and Jefferson police, 903-665-2432. Marion families can check the statewide DPS list, Texas 10 Most Wanted, too. For a Marion warrant, ask the Sheriff's Office or the Jefferson clerk by phone. To clear a Marion warrant, surrender with your lawyer at the Marion court that issued it, or ask that Jefferson court by phone for a new date. Felony warrants are handled through the District Clerk, 102 W. Austin Street, Room 303, Jefferson, TX 75657, 903-665-2441.

Federal charges from Jefferson and the rest of Marion are filed in Texas's Eastern District and heard at its Marshall courthouse, 100 East Houston Street, Room 125, Marshall, TX 75670, 903-935-2912.

1. In Marshall, a federal magistrate judge sees the Marion defendant first.
2. A detention hearing then decides whether the Marion defendant goes home on conditions or stays jailed until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
3. Pretrial federal prisoners are U.S. Marshals Service charges, often housed in county jails. The Marshals' East Texas office: 211 West Ferguson Street, 4th Floor, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1370.
4. Federal prosecutors work from 110 North College, Suite 700, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1400. The Federal Public Defender sits in the same Tyler building, Suite 1122, 903-531-9233.
5. After sentencing, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows where the person serves time.

The Marion charge still moves ahead, yet getting out turns harder. Step by step:

1. ICE sends Dallas Street a detainer on Form I-247A.
2. Even after a Marion bond or a finished sentence, the jail can hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under CCP 2A.060, Marion jailers must follow detainers until lawful status is shown. A 2017 Texas law, Government Code 752.053, bars any local limit on immigration enforcement. Next, a 2025 statute required the Marion sheriff, along with Texas sheriffs elsewhere who run jails, to seek entry to ICE's 287(g) program. Marion's deadline is December 1, 2026. Ask the Marion Sheriff's Office where its request stands.
4. ICE takes custody and may transfer your relative far from Jefferson.
5. To find a Marion detainee, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Search with the A-number, or with your Marion relative's full name plus the country of birth.

Before any guilty or no-contest plea in Jefferson, the Marion judge must warn a non-citizen that the plea may lead to deportation (CCP 26.13). Talk to the defense lawyer before deciding.

Jail sentences on misdemeanors are served on Dallas Street. Longer Marion sentences follow the felony ranges in Penal Code chapter 12. A Marion state jail felony is served at a Texas state jail unit. Third-degree felonies and worse mean TDCJ, which is the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. There, each new Marion arrival goes through intake, then on to a unit.

Marion families can find a current TDCJ prisoner on the TDCJ inmate search. Released people drop off it, and it changes only on working days. Before visiting or writing, read our Texas state prisons page for Marion families.

Texas juvenile courts cover acts done at ages 10 through 16. A Marion 17-year-old charged with a crime goes to the adult courts on Austin Street (Family Code 51.02). Marion shares a juvenile board with Camp, Morris and Titus counties.

• Family Code 52.02 says an officer holding a Marion child must promptly tell a Marion parent or guardian about the arrest and why it happened.
• A Marion youth gets a detention hearing inside two working days. When the Marion custody starts on a Friday or a Saturday, the hearing is due on the following Jefferson workday. Family Code 54.01 has a Texas lawyer appointed for the Marion youth beforehand.
• After a full Marion hearing, a judge may transfer a juvenile case to the adult courts. Family Code 54.02 sets the ages: 14 and up when the Marion charge is a capital or first-degree felony, 15 and up for other felonies.

The shared Marion County Juvenile Probation Department is at 100 W. 1st Street, Suite 400, Mount Pleasant, TX 75455, 903-577-6737. Phone that Mount Pleasant office to find the child. Statewide oversight: Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.

Texas gives victims rights in every Jefferson court (CCP 56A.051). Among them:

• a magistrate who weighs the victim's safety in setting Marion bail;
• notice of Jefferson court dates when asked for;
• a chance to file an impact statement before a Marion sentence.

To hear when someone leaves the Dallas Street jail, register with Texas IVSS-Counties or phone 866-268-8959. It is free and confidential, and the Sheriff's page notes that alerts are no guarantee of safety. Once the offender is moved to a TDCJ prison, Marion victims can call TDCJ Victim Services, 800-848-4284.

Marion crime victims can apply for Crime Victims' Compensation through the Attorney General, 800-983-9933. It may cover up to $50,000 in Marion medical bills, counseling and lost wages. The District Clerk's page links the state's protective order forms. Marion prosecutors can be reached at 903-665-2611.