Motley County Jail

A magistrate. Texas gives officers 48 hours at the most to bring a prisoner before one, per CCP arts. 14.06 and 15.17. The October 2025 plan used by Briscoe, Dickens, Floyd and Motley courts holds to that too. Since Motley prisoners are boarded out, deputies at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234, can say where the hearing happens.

Expect the magistrate to explain the accusation and the rights that go with it, including silence and counsel. Next comes a question: does the person want a lawyer at county expense? If yes, the magistrate helps fill in the request. Last, under CCP art. 17.028, the magistrate sets bail and conditions, keeping them as light as safety allows.

For Class B and up, CCP arts. 17.021 and 17.022 call for a public safety report beforehand. It recaps the record and may hold no risk score.

CCP art. 17.01 names two families of bail. One is the bail bond, paid in cash or backed by a surety. The personal bond, signed with no money down, is its partner.

• Cash. Someone deposits the entire amount, and it is returned once the bond is done, if every rule was kept.
• Surety. A bondsman, or a person with enough property, promises the court the full sum.
• Personal. Release on a signed promise, with zero dollars down (CCP art. 17.03). There can be a fee, so ask.

The law blocks personal bonds in many violent cases, certain protective order matters and gun cases against felons. On a fine-only Class C ticket, the person may simply walk out with a court date in writing (CCP art. 15.17). Drivers facing a repeat DWI must install an ignition interlock (CCP art. 17.441) while on bond. Want more background? Our Texas bail laws page has it.

Bail in Texas is priced case by case, with no state chart. Under CCP art. 17.15, the magistrate balances showing up for court, the nature of the crime, what the family can really pay, danger to the victim and the town, past record and citizenship. The law also says bail cannot be a tool to oppress.

Here are the only fixed figures. After a warrantless arrest, a finding of probable cause has a deadline, and missing it means release. On a misdemeanor that release comes by hour 24 with bond capped at $5,000. On a felony it comes by hour 48 with a $10,000 cap (CCP art. 17.033).

For the actual number, ask the Sheriff's Office, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234.

Most bonds get posted at whatever jail is boarding the person. A simple plan:

1. Phone the Sheriff's Office in the courthouse, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, at 806-347-2234. Ask which county took the prisoner.
2. Get each charge and the bond on it.
3. Call that out-of-county jail. Ask bond window hours, payments taken and who a money order goes to.
4. Ask about holds before handing over a dime.
5. Bring photo ID. Save each receipt.

A hired bondsman can handle the filing at that jail instead.

Call ahead. Cash bail sits on deposit with the court under CCP art. 17.02. The clerk can say whether to bring it to Matador. Inside the courthouse:

• County and District Clerk, one combined office: 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244. Mailing: P.O. Box 660, Matador, TX 79244. Phone 806-347-2621. Weekdays 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• Justice of the Peace, same building. Mailing: P.O. Box 657, Matador, TX 79244. Phone 806-347-2204. Weekdays 9:00 a.m. to noon.

Ask which payments are accepted and how soon the boarding jail frees someone after the clerk files a bond.

Payment rules belong to each jail, so check with the boarding jail before you drive. Never mail cash.

For tickets and fines, the Justice of the Peace takes credit and debit cards on a payment website listed on its county page. Bail can't go through there. For bond money, call the Sheriff's Office at 806-347-2234. Both the JP and the Sheriff work at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244.

Under Occupations Code 1704.002, bail bond boards are required in counties of 110,000 or more, which leaves Motley out. Without a board, CCP art. 17.141 lets a sheriff post the names of sureties it will take. Deputies at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234, can say whose bonds they accept.

• Whatever you pay a bondsman is gone for good, and Texas sets no maximum.
• Get a receipt every time. Recruiting clients inside a jail is against the rules (Occupations Code 1704.301, 1704.304).
• Pledged a truck title or other collateral? After the case, put your request on paper; from then the surety has a month, 30 days, to give it up (Occupations Code 1704.305).
• A defense attorney of record may write the bond personally.
• Before surrendering a client, a surety must warn the defense attorney and file an affidavit (CCP art. 17.19).

A paid bond settles that single Motley charge and no other. Other snags:

• A warrant from elsewhere. Under CCP art. 15.18, a magistrate near the arrest can accept bail for that county's charge and mail the bond there.
• Immigration. Covered in the ICE question near the bottom.
• Parole. A parole violator stays put until the hearing (Government Code 508.254).
• Family violence. A magistrate who sees a risk of more violence triggers a 4-hour wait past bonding out, and a signed order may extend it to 48 (CCP art. 17.291).
• Probation. A fresh arrest may count as a violation. Motley's probation office is in Floyd County Courthouse, Room 114, 100 S Main St., Floydada, TX 79235, 806-983-4919.

Ask the Sheriff's Office, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234, to run every hold first.

Nearly everyone accused in Texas may be bailed. Article I, § 11 of the Texas Constitution carves out capital cases when the proof is evident. Narrow add-ons in §§ 11a, 11b and 11c reach some repeat felons, felonies charged while out on bail and some violations of bond terms or protective orders.

Voters approved § 11d on November 4, 2025. It lists serious violent crimes, murder and trafficking among them. In those cases a judge must withhold bail if the prosecutor proves, at a hearing, flight risk or danger. That motion belongs to the prosecutor alone. Granting bail anyway takes written findings.

Motley felonies are prosecuted by the 110th District Attorney, 105 South Main Street, Room 200, Floydada, TX 79235, 806-983-2197. Misdemeanor questions go to the County Attorney at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2333.

A defense lawyer files a motion. It helps to bring:

1. Honest numbers on what the family can gather, since bail may not oppress (CCP art. 17.15).
2. Pay stubs, a lease and relatives living near Matador.
3. Conditions the judge can trust, like staying clear of the alleged victim.

The calendar matters. If prosecutors can't announce ready within 90 days on a felony, CCP art. 17.151 entitles the accused to walk out on a personal bond, or on a lower figure. Misdemeanors run on tighter clocks. Prosecutors, for their part, gained a 2025 right to have a district judge look over felony bail (CCP art. 17.029). Hearing dates: clerk, 806-347-2621.

Can't afford a lawyer? Ask for one. The four-county plan works like this:

1. Say so to the magistrate, who must help complete the request.
2. The clerk also gives out and collects request forms.
3. Motley's Justice of the Peace appoints counsel in misdemeanors and felonies alike: 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2204.
4. Expect a named attorney by the third working day once the JP holds the paperwork.

Motley's plan hands the High Plains Regional Public Defender's Office the bulk of appointed work. Death-penalty-eligible cases belong to the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases. The Texas Indigent Defense Commission oversees this: 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

• Courthouse, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2621. Class A and B misdemeanors are tried in County Court, where the County Judge presides. Class C goes to the JP. A single clerk files both county and district papers.
• 110th District Court for felonies. One judge covers Briscoe, Dickens, Floyd and Motley out of Floydada, 806-983-3384. Felony files from here remain with the courthouse clerk.
• Federal court, Lubbock Division, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

When a cash bond is released, the depositor named on the receipt is repaid, minus fees (CCP art. 17.02). If a conviction or deferred adjudication closes the file, Motley's clerk is allowed a 5% cut, capped at $50 (Local Government Code 117.055). Leftover deposit money can also settle fines and costs, as CCP art. 17.53 allows.

Skip court and the bond is in danger. The court starts by entering a judgment nisi, a conditional forfeiture (CCP art. 22.02). A bondsman is off the hook if the person returns to jail in 180 days on a misdemeanor or 270 on a felony. That defense sits in CCP art. 22.13. Prosecutors may file a separate bail jumping count too (Penal Code 38.10).

Refunds: call the Motley clerk at 806-347-2621 with your receipt in hand.

The boarding jail keeps the person's belongings and any account balance under its own rules. Deputies at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234, can name that jail. Then ask the jail about refunding the account and a pickup time.

Carry ID. A friend collecting on the prisoner's behalf might need a signed authorization. For how jail trust accounts usually work, visit our inmate money page.

Federal prosecutions from Motley go before the federal bench in Lubbock. That courthouse belongs to the Northern District: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

• Release is decided at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142). It is usually held at the first appearance.
• Federal prisoners awaiting trial stay with the U.S. Marshals Service. The Lubbock Marshals, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room C-126, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655, know which jail holds a federal prisoner.
• Federal Public Defender in Lubbock: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 507, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7236.
• After a federal prison sentence, try the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Posting bail on the Texas case leaves the detainer standing. Here's the path it takes:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sends the boarding jail its Form I-247A request.
2. Jailers may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, so agents can arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Every Texas jail has to honor the detainer unless the prisoner proves lawful status (CCP art. 2A.060). Also, since 2017 Government Code 752.053 has outlawed county or city rules that hinder federal immigration work.
4. Counties with jails got a 2025 order: apply to ICE for a 287(g) deal, and do it before December 1, 2026. Ask Motley deputies at 806-347-2234 what that means here.
5. Once ICE has the person, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, which wants the name and birth country. ICE's Dallas Field Office, serving North Texas, is at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

Under Penal Code 12.35, someone convicted of a state jail felony spends from 180 days to two years in one of the state jails. Graver felony sentences are served in TDCJ prisons. Its intake staff sort each newcomer, and a transfer to a matching unit follows.

• Find a prisoner with the TDCJ inmate search. Search by surname, TDCJ number or SID; data refreshes each working day.
• JailExchange profiles every unit on our Texas state prisons list.

Family Code 51.02 makes kids aged 10 through 16 juveniles, while a 17-year-old faces adult court. Here, youth cases fall to the 110th District juvenile board, shared by Briscoe, Dickens, Floyd and Motley.

• Under Family Code 52.02, officers owe parents prompt notice.
• Family Code 54.01 covers the next step. Kids kept in detention get a hearing inside two working days, cut to one if they were picked up Friday or Saturday. Appointed counsel comes before the hearing.
• The child is released then, unless a reason in the statute applies.

Parents can phone the deputies at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234. Ask where the child is held. Also ask which juvenile probation office has the case.

Texas grades crimes by class, and each class lands in a different Motley courtroom:

• Class C: a fine of $500 or less, never jail (Penal Code 12.23). Heard by the Justice of the Peace.
• Class B: Penal Code 12.22 allows 180 days in jail, a $2,000 fine, or both, at the most.
• Class A: under Penal Code 12.21, twelve months of jail time, and a fine reaching $4,000. Both Class A and Class B go before Motley's County Judge in County Court.
• Felonies: the 110th District Court, which Motley shares with Briscoe, Dickens and Floyd.

Appeals climb from there. Last stop: the Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin, the state's top criminal court.

• County and District Clerk, a single office for both kinds of files: 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244. Mail: P.O. Box 660, Matador, TX 79244. Call 806-347-2621. Open weekdays 9:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. County Court and felony settings come from here.
• Justice of the Peace, in that same building. Mail: P.O. Box 657, Matador, TX 79244. Call 806-347-2204. Weekday mornings, 9:00 a.m. to noon.
• 110th District Court, with its judge based in Floydada and covering four counties. Court office: 806-983-3384. Felony papers from Motley are filed with the clerk in the courthouse above.

Fine-only Class C tickets from anywhere in the county, Roaring Springs and the ranch country included, are within the reach of the Justice of the Peace at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2204. Those tickets can be paid by card through the JP's county web page.

A ticket that names some other court? Call the Town of Matador at 706 Dundee Avenue, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2255, and ask where it was filed.

No later than 48 hours after arrest, the person faces a magistrate (CCP art. 15.17). That hearing may happen in a courtroom or by video, often from the boarding jail. Here is what the magistrate covers:

• what crime is alleged, plus any affidavit filed with it
• that a lawyer may be hired, or appointed at no cost
• that silence is allowed, with a lawyer present for questioning
• that an interview can be stopped whenever the person wants
• for felony charges, a right to an examining trial
• a warning that anything the person says may be used against them

Next the magistrate helps with any lawyer request and decides bail. If jail staff spot possible mental illness, CCP art. 16.22 starts a 12-hour clock for alerting the magistrate. To learn where the hearing happens, ask the Sheriff's Office, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2234.

Facts like the dollar value of property or earlier convictions set the class, so ask the defense lawyer which one applies. In County Court, a prosecutor opens each Class A or B case by filing a charging paper. Lawyers call it an information. After that:

1. Arraignment. Under CCP art. 26.01, this is where identity is fixed and a plea is heard. Defense counsel can file a waiver to skip it.
2. Bargaining. Plenty of Motley cases close with a plea deal. If the judge rejects a plea bargain, the defendant may withdraw the plea (CCP art. 26.13).
3. Deferred adjudication. The judge can hold off on finding guilt, for no more than two misdemeanor years, then dismiss when the terms are met (CCP arts. 42A.103, 42A.111).
4. Trial when no agreement is reached.

Motley's adult probation office is at Floyd County Courthouse, Room 114, 100 S Main St., Floydada, TX 79235, 806-983-4919, and the clerk at 806-347-2621 gives out County Court dates.

1. Examining trial. Before indictment, the accused may insist, citing CCP art. 16.01, that a magistrate weigh whether the evidence shows probable cause.
2. Indictment. Grand jurors meet in secret, and nine or more must agree to charge a felony (CCP art. 20A.301).
3. Arraignment, when the district judge hears the plea.
4. Pretrial dates and offers. One judge serves four counties, so get each new Motley setting from the clerk.
5. Plea or jury verdict, then punishment.

Sentencing ranges come from Penal Code chapter 12. On a state jail felony, Motley defendants face no less than half a year and no more than two in a state jail. A third-degree felony carries a two-year floor and a ten-year ceiling. Second degree also starts at two years but tops out at twenty. First degree spans a five-year floor up to 99 years or life. Each level allows a fine of up to $10,000. Instead of prison, a judge may order felony probation or deferral lasting a decade or less (CCP arts. 42A.053, 42A.103).

Serious violent cases face tighter rules from the first hearing on:

• Possible denial of bail. Section 11d of the Texas Constitution, approved by voters in November 2025, lets prosecutors ask for no bail at all in murder, aggravated robbery and like cases.
• No personal bond in many violent cases (CCP art. 17.03).
• Family violence protection. At the first hearing, a magistrate may order emergency protection that generally lasts 61 to 91 days, as CCP art. 17.292 sets out. The victim gets word before the defendant leaves jail (CCP art. 17.29).
• Limits on deferral. Under CCP art. 42A.102, murder and some sex and trafficking charges can't end in deferred adjudication.
• Capital murder. Penal Code 12.31 allows two sentences, death or life without parole, while those under 18 get life. For capital trials, the Regional Public Defender for Capital Cases is appointed.

Felonies: the 110th District Attorney, 105 South Main Street, Room 200, Floydada, TX 79235, 806-983-2197, prosecutes for Briscoe, Dickens, Floyd and Motley.

Misdemeanors: contact the County Attorney in the Matador courthouse, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244 (mail P.O. Box 678, Matador, TX 79244), 806-347-2333.

Defense: the four-county indigent defense plan makes Motley's Justice of the Peace, 806-347-2204, the one who appoints counsel in both misdemeanors and felonies. Most appointments go to the High Plains Regional Public Defender's Office. Under CCP art. 26.04, appointed counsel must make a real effort at contact before the next working day closes.

• Clerk's records. The County and District Clerk's page links an online search covering public records back to 2003.
• re:SearchTX. Texas courts run a statewide records portal. Registration is free. Expect charges and judgments, not hearing times.
• Phone. County Court and 110th District Court settings: clerk, 806-347-2621. Class C tickets: JP, 806-347-2204.

The clerk will want a full name and a date of birth.

Motley has no city police, so the Sheriff's Office serves warrants countywide. To ask whether one is out, call deputies at 806-347-2234. The state lists its most sought fugitives on DPS Texas 10 Most Wanted. Felony and County Court warrants can be checked at the clerk's counter, and ticket warrants at the JP's office. To take care of one, hire or ask for a lawyer first. Then surrender, or ask whichever court signed it for a new setting. The clerk works at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2621.

For a federal charge, Motley defendants go to the Northern District courthouse in Lubbock, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

• Pretrial release is settled at a detention hearing, typically at the first appearance (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal detainees ride and wait under U.S. Marshals Service control. Lubbock office: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room C-126, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655.
• For a federal defender, go to 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 507, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7236.
• Once sentenced, a prisoner can be found on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

The Texas charge still runs its course. Release may not:

1. Immigration agents fax or send the boarding jail Form I-247A, their detainer.
2. With it, the jailers can hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must honor it unless lawful presence is proven (CCP art. 2A.060). Counties and cities also can't curb immigration enforcement, a 2017 rule found in Government Code 752.053.
4. A judge taking a plea from a noncitizen has to warn about possible deportation (CCP art. 26.13).
5. If ICE takes custody, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator or call the Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

Penal Code 12.35 puts state jail felons in a state jail. Anyone sentenced on a higher felony becomes a TDCJ prisoner. Intake screening comes first, and a unit assignment follows.

• The TDCJ inmate search finds current prisoners, with data at least 24 hours old.
• Unit details are on JailExchange's Texas prisons directory.

Family Code 51.02 sends offenses by kids aged 10 to 16 to juvenile court. Charges against 17-year-olds go to adult court. The 110th District juvenile board oversees youth cases here.

• Family Code 52.02 says a parent hears quickly, along with why the child was picked up.
• Family Code 54.01 caps the wait for a detention hearing at two working days, and counsel is named ahead of time.
• Family Code 54.02 lets a judge, after a full hearing, transfer a teen to adult court. For capital or first-degree felonies, the teen must be at least 14. For other felonies, at least 15.

Families can ask the Sheriff's Office, 806-347-2234, where the teen is detained. The clerk, 806-347-2621, has hearing dates. Both work at 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244.

• Rights. A victim may request hearing notices, have safety weighed when bail is set and submit an impact statement (CCP art. 56A.051).
• Release alerts. Victims can enroll through Texas IVSS-Counties online or by dialing 866-268-8959 day or night, in English or Spanish. There is no charge, and the prisoner isn't told.
• Costs. Through Crime Victims' Compensation, the Attorney General may cover up to $50,000 in medical bills, counseling and lost wages. Phone 800-983-9933.
• Prosecutors. Felony victims can reach the 110th District Attorney, 105 South Main Street, Room 200, Floydada, TX 79235, 806-983-2197. Misdemeanor victims can call the County Attorney, 701 Dundee Ave, Matador, TX 79244, 806-347-2333.