Seriousness picks the courtroom in Texas. For an arrest made by Tipton Street deputies, it plays out this way:

• Felonies land in the 452nd District Court, a five-county court shared with Edwards, Kimble, Mason and McCulloch. Its papers sit with the District Clerk.
• Jail-eligible misdemeanors, from Class B up to Class A, go to the County Judge's own bench, the constitutional County Court. The combined clerk's office stores those files as well.
• Class C misdemeanors, where a fine is the whole penalty, stay with the San Saba Avenue JP, Precinct 1.
• Appeals in criminal matters can rise, step by step, until they reach the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin.

For a picture of the full ladder, open the judicial branch's court structure pamphlet.

The clerk and the Justice of the Peace both work in the Menard County Courthouse, 206 E. San Saba Ave., Menard, TX 76859, and court days are set there. The county's main line, 325-396-4789, also reaches the County Judge.

• District and County Clerk: one counter serves both the 452nd's felony files and the County Court's misdemeanor files. Phone 325-396-4682, or mail P.O. Box 1038, Menard, TX 76859. Open Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1: phone 325-396-2239, mail P.O. Box 1095, Menard, TX 76859. Open Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m., Friday 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Attorneys e-file District Court papers through eFileTexas. Relatives can just phone the clerk.

The City of Menard is the only incorporated town in the county's regional listings. Fine-only Class C cases filed countywide are heard by the Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace at the courthouse, 325-396-2239.

Look at the ticket itself for the court's name. Still puzzled? City Hall can help: P.O. Box 145, Menard, TX 76859, 325-396-4616.

Here, the first judge most arrested people meet is the county's JP, who doubles as the on-call magistrate around the clock. Texas allows up to 48 hours from the arrest for this, with the magistrate present or appearing by video (CCP §§14.06(a), 15.17(a)). What happens:

1. The charge is read aloud.
2. Rights come next. The person may hire a lawyer and stay quiet. Counsel can join any questioning session, and the person can end it whenever they choose. An examining trial may be requested too.
3. The JP walks through the request for appointed counsel and helps fill in the papers (CCP §15.17(a)).
4. Bail gets set. Anything from Class B up requires reading the person's public safety report first (CCP §17.022).

Should the JP find no probable cause, a signed write-up of that ruling follows inside a day's time (CCP §15.17(h)). And when Tipton Street jailers suspect a mental illness or intellectual disability, they have 12 hours to tell the magistrate (CCP §16.22).

On the misdemeanor side, the County Attorney brings the charge and the County Judge rules. First-offense DWI, lower-dollar theft and assault without serious injury are typical. Penal Code limits:

• Class C: no jail at all, and $500 is the highest fine (PC §12.23).
• Class B: a $2,000 fine cap, jail up to 180 days, or the two combined (PC §12.22).
• Class A: a $4,000 fine cap, jail up to a year, or the two combined (PC §12.21).

These cases begin with an "information." That is the County Attorney's written charge. Endings include dismissal, a plea bargain, a trial, up to two years of probation, or deferred adjudication. Under deferred adjudication the judge never enters a finding of guilt, and finishing the terms leads to dismissal (CCP §§42A.053, 42A.103).

Broke and facing a Class C fine? The JP can let a person pay over time, work it off through community service, or excuse it. Before anyone sits in jail for nonpayment, the JP must first look into their ability to pay (CCP §§45A.252-45A.261).

Felony charges from this county are the job of the 452nd District Attorney, and they are tried in the 452nd District Court. Most follow this road:

1. Magistrate hearing and bail, within two days of arrest.
2. Examining trial, at the defense's request, where a judge checks whether probable cause exists for holding the accused (CCP §16.01).
3. Grand jury. Twelve residents weigh the evidence in private. Without nine votes from the twelve, no indictment issues (CCP §20A.301).
4. Arraignment: the charge from the grand jury is read to the accused, who answers it with a plea (CCP §26.01).
5. Pretrial settings and bargaining. If the 452nd's judge won't honor the bargain, withdrawing the plea is allowed (CCP §26.13).
6. Trial or sentencing.

Penalty ranges climb with the grade. The lightest felony, the state jail kind, puts someone in a state jail unit; the floor is 180 days and the ceiling 2 years. Third degree carries 2 to 10 years behind TDCJ walls, and second degree stretches that to 20. The heaviest, first degree, runs 5 to 99 years or life. Every grade also permits a fine as high as $10,000 (PC §§12.32-12.35).

Felony probation can last a decade. Adult supervision for this county is run out of the McCulloch County office, 116 W Main St, Brady, TX 76825, 325-597-3416.

Capital murder is the one charge that can bring a death sentence. Otherwise an adult gets life with no parole, while a defendant younger than 18 when it happened gets life (PC §12.31). Older convictions can also push the punishment range one grade higher (PC §12.42).

Release is tougher in violent cases. CCP §17.03 bars a personal bond for many of them. Since a November 2025 vote on Proposition 3, bail must be refused in murder, aggravated robbery and some other grave cases (Tex. Const. art. I, §11d). That happens when, at a hearing, prosecutors persuade the judge that freeing the accused risks a skipped court date or harm to others.

Prosecutors may also take a too-low bail in those listed cases up on appeal. The appeals court rules within 20 days while the accused stays in custody (CCP art. 44.01). Ask the District Clerk, 325-396-4682, about upcoming settings.

The state's lawyers.

• 452nd District Attorney, for felonies in all five counties of the district: P.O. Box 635, Mason, TX 76856, 325-347-8400.
• County Attorney: 206 E. San Saba Ave., Menard, TX 76859, 325-396-0866.

Free defense. Private lawyers are appointed by the judges under a five-county appointment plan.

• Answer yes to the JP's lawyer question at the first hearing, or pick up a form from the clerk, 325-396-4682.
• The finished form is filed with whichever court's clerk has the case. The County Judge picks counsel in misdemeanors. In felonies, it is the 452nd's judge.
• Expect a name within three working days after the judge receives the form (CCP §1.051(c)). The appointed lawyer then has until the following working day's end to try to reach the client (CCP §26.04(j)).
• Capital cases are assigned to a Lubbock-based team for capital defense, the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases: 806-696-3740, P.O. Box 2097, Lubbock, TX 79408.

1. Call the District and County Clerk, 325-396-4682, and have the accused's full legal name and birth date handy. Then get three answers: the cause number, the court that has the file, and the next calendar date for it.
2. For Class C tickets, dial the JP office, 325-396-2239.
3. Look on re:SearchTX, a statewide records site with free accounts. Public users can see case numbers, charges and some papers, such as indictments and judgments. Hearing dates are missing there, so the clerk is still your best source.
4. Old convictions: the Texas Department of Public Safety offers a paid conviction lookup that needs an account.

The defense lawyer also hears about every new setting and can pass it along.

Deputies serve warrants from the Sheriff's Office, 208 Tipton, Menard, TX 76859, 325-396-4705. Constable, Precinct 1 (P.O. Box 398, Menard, TX 76859) shares that number. For the state's top fugitives, DPS maintains the Texas 10 Most Wanted roll.

To learn if a warrant exists, call the Sheriff's Office or the court clerk. To clear one, talk to a defense attorney first. Counsel can plan a surrender date with the issuing court's staff. The attorney can also seek a fresh court date or a bond setting. Felony and misdemeanor warrants are handled at the District and County Clerk, 206 E. San Saba Ave., Menard, TX 76859, 325-396-4682.

Federal prosecutions from the county are filed in San Angelo, inside the Northern District of Texas. Its clerk keeps an office at the O.C. Fisher Federal Building, 33 E. Twohig Avenue, Room 202, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-655-4506.

• Bond in federal court works differently. Whether someone goes home or stays locked up before trial is a U.S. magistrate judge's call, often made at the first appearance (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal pretrial detainees are the U.S. Marshals' responsibility, and the Marshals frequently rent beds in county jails. The San Angelo office of the Marshals, 33 East Twohig Street, Suite 106-D, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-658-4056, is staffed during court terms.
• Federal prosecutors: the Dallas headquarters of the U.S. Attorney, 1100 Commerce Street, 3rd Floor, Dallas, TX 75242, 214-659-8600.
• Defense when money is short: the district's Federal Public Defender, main office 525 South Griffin Street, Suite 629, Dallas, TX 75202, 214-767-2746.
• Once a prison term begins, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator tracks the person.

The state charge stays on the docket. An ICE detainer changes only the release step:

1. Immigration agents file their detainer paperwork, Form I-247A, with the Tipton Street jail.
2. Deputies may then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must honor detainers, but anyone who shows lawful presence has to be released (CCP §2A.060). Under Gov't Code §752.053, adopted in 2017, local governments may not restrict immigration enforcement.
4. Sheriffs who run jails in Texas face a 2025 law requiring them to request 287(g) participation from ICE; their paperwork is due December 1, 2026. The Tipton Street office, 325-396-4705, knows the local status.
5. After transfer, try the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Tell the defense lawyer about any hold right away, because a plea deal in the state case could later matter for immigration.

After a felony sentence, the person waits in the Tipton Street jail until a state bus comes. A state jail term is served in a state jail unit. Longer terms mean a prison run by TDCJ, the state's prison agency, beginning with intake and then a unit assignment.

• The TDCJ inmate search takes a surname or a TDCJ number and is refreshed on workdays.
• For background on Texas prison units, see our Texas state prisons page, then return here.

Youth court in Texas covers acts done between a child's 10th and 17th birthdays. Acts at 17 and up are adult cases (Family Code §51.02). Which court sits as juvenile court is decided by the area's juvenile board.

• Juvenile probation: 452nd District Juvenile Probation, 1000 South Wall Street, Brady, TX 76825, 325-792-4163, serving this county plus Edwards, Kimble, Mason and McCulloch.
• Detention hearings for kids come within two working days. Weekend timing is tighter: a Friday or Saturday pickup means a hearing the next working day. The youth gets an appointed lawyer before facing the judge (Family Code §54.01).
• Certification as an adult can reach a teen as young as 14 when the felony is grave enough. It takes a full study of the child plus a waiver hearing (Family Code §54.02).
• Appointed counsel for youths follows its own juvenile board plan.

Under Texas law, a crime victim may ask that safety be weighed when bail is set and may ask for notice of hearings. A victim impact statement can also be given (CCP §56A.051). The prosecutors can explain each right: felonies 325-347-8400, misdemeanors 325-396-0866.

• Register on Texas IVSS-Counties or at 866-268-8959 for a call or message when custody changes. The service costs nothing, stays confidential and answers all day, every day, in English and Spanish.
• For medical care, counseling and lost income tied to the crime, the Texas Attorney General's compensation program may pay up to $50,000. Apply online or phone 800-983-9933.