Panola County Detention Center Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate. In Panola, as everywhere in Texas, a person must stand before the magistrate no more than 48 hours from the moment of arrest (Tex. CCP 14.06, 15.17). Sometimes that happens over a video link. Judges of many kinds, justices of the peace included, can sit as magistrates (Tex. CCP 2A.151).

This first appearance is brief. The magistrate will:

• name each charge
• explain silence and counsel rights, which hold even while police ask questions
• for felonies, note the right to an examining trial, where the proof gets tested before indictment
• pass along the form for requesting a free lawyer, and help fill it out
• fix bail and any conditions, picking the mildest set that still works (Tex. CCP 17.028)

Charges at Class B level and higher come with a public safety report that Panola magistrates read before naming a bail figure. It sums up the record, but carries no risk rating and recommends nothing (Tex. CCP 17.021, 17.022). Jail staff at 903-693-0359 know the hearing time.

Panola magistrates pick from the two kinds of bail found in the statute book: personal bonds and bail bonds (Tex. CCP 17.01 to 17.03). Most Carthage families end up choosing among these:

• Personal bond. Only a signed pledge. No dollars change hands up front, and no bondsman is involved.
• Cash bond. The court holds the entire bail amount in cash, paid by a relative or friend. Refunds come after the case.
• Surety bond. A Panola family pays a licensed bondsman, who then signs as guarantor. You owe the bondsman a fee you will never recover.

Rules can be added to any bond. A stay-away order, drug tests and a GPS ankle unit are common. An ignition interlock, the breath-test lock, is required for repeat DWI, DWI carrying a child, intoxication assault and intoxication manslaughter (Tex. CCP 17.441).

Some people can't sign out on a personal bond. That bar covers many violent crimes. It also covers a gun found on a convicted felon, certain protective order breaches, and a violent new arrest while on supervision (Tex. CCP 17.03).

Every bond in Texas is sized one case at a time; no statewide schedule exists. The magistrate must balance several things (Tex. CCP 17.15):

• set at a level that brings the accused back
• never so high it amounts to oppression
• the offense and its circumstances
• the accused's real means
• danger to the victim, law enforcement and the community
• criminal history
• citizenship

Warrantless arrests carry two caps. Suppose probable cause has not been decided on time. Then a misdemeanor bond may not exceed $5,000, with release owed at hour 24; a felony bond may not exceed $10,000, with release owed at hour 48. Anyone too poor for that sum walks out on a personal bond instead (Tex. CCP 17.033).

Ask the jail, 903-693-0359, for the figure set in your case. Filed bail forms from across Texas are posted on TOPICs, the state courts' bail form site.

You will be going to 319 W. Wellington, Carthage, TX 75633. The Sheriff's Office is opposite, at 314 W. Wellington, Carthage, TX 75633. Go step by step:

1. Phone 903-693-0359 and spell the full legal name.
2. Jot down the bond on each charge, and confirm the magistrate hearing has already taken place.
3. See if the bond can be posted right at the jail, in what form, and during which hours.
4. Have staff check for parole warrants, warrants from other counties, or any other hold.
5. Arrive with picture ID and the precise total. Pocket every receipt.

If nobody picks up, dial the Sheriff's Office, 903-693-0333. Hiring a bondsman? That company takes care of filing with the jail.

Phone ahead; each office sets its own practice. They all share the county courthouse on South Sycamore:

• District Clerk, for felony cases: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 227, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0306. Open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, straight through noon.
• County Clerk, for jailable misdemeanors: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 201, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0302. Business hours.
• JP Court, Pct. 1 and 4, for fine-only cases: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 105, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0375.
• JP Court, Pct. 2 and 3: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 103, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0377.

Questions worth asking each one: Do you take bond money? Which payment forms? Does the jail learn of it right away? Since the City of Carthage names the county Detention Center as its jail, city cases are bonded there too.

Accepted payment can change. Confirm with the jail at 903-693-0359 before driving in. Cover cash, money orders, cashier's checks and plastic. For money orders, confirm the exact payee. Bring the amount in exact bills. Mailing cash is a bad idea.

The two JP courts accept online payment for tickets and fines:

• Pct. 1 and 4 online payments
• Pct. 2 and 3 online payments

Those were built for tickets, so phone the court before trying to pay a bond there. The District Clerk's card line, by phone or web, covers copies and certain felony costs after probation or parole. Bail can't be paid that way.

Texas law calls bondsmen sureties. Each one guarantees the court the whole amount, and you buy that guarantee. Texas leaves the price uncapped, and it stays with the surety (see Occupations Code ch. 1704).

• Sureties get their licenses from a bail bond board where the law demands one, in counties of 110,000 or more; smaller counties choose. Absent a board, the sheriff can post approved sureties (Tex. CCP 17.141). The Sheriff's Office, 903-693-0333, can tell you whose bonds it honors.
• Get paper proof, a signed receipt, for whatever you hand the surety (OC 1704.305).
• No soliciting inside the jail is allowed, and no jailer may steer you toward a particular surety (OC 1704.304).
• Collateral, like the pink slip to a pickup, must reach you within a month of asking for it in writing, once all cases end (OC 1704.301).
• An attorney of record on the case can act as surety without a bondsman license (OC 1704.163).
• A surety who wants to give the client back to the Panola jail must first alert defense counsel, and on felonies the prosecutor as well (Tex. CCP 17.19).

Paying covers just the one charge that bond was written for. Watch for these other snags:

• Another county's warrant. Panola magistrates can accept bail on an out-of-county warrant here, then forward the bond to the issuing county (Tex. CCP 15.18). Ask the jail how that will go.
• Blue warrant. This parole violation warrant generally keeps someone inside until the parole hearing.
• Probation warrant. Its bond terms may differ. Adult probation: 313 West Panola, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0351.
• Several charges. Every one needs a posted bond.
• Family violence. A 4-hour minimum wait follows the bond; see the family violence answer.
• ICE detainer. Since 2025, certain appointed magistrates are forbidden to release on bail when ICE has lodged one (Tex. CCP 17.027).
• Federal hold. The U.S. Marshals control that release.

Ask staff at 903-693-0359 for a full hold list first; then pay.

Rarely, but it happens. Texas' constitution grants bail to the great majority of accused people. Capital charges with evident proof remain the historic exception (Tex. Const. art. I, §11). In Panola, the 123rd's judge, after a hearing, may also refuse it on some felonies, for instance with two prior felony convictions or a new felony committed while on felony bond (Tex. Const. art. I, §11a). Violating a protective order or a safety condition is another route (Tex. Const. art. I, §§11b, 11c).

Proposition 3, which Panola and the rest of Texas passed on November 4, 2025, is now Tex. Const. art. I, §11d. That section covers murder, trafficking, aggravated robbery and other grave violent or sex crimes. In such a Panola case, bail must be refused once the prosecutor proves the person might skip Panola court dates or hurt someone. Nobody else may request it. A judge allowing bail anyway owes written findings.

Two more 2025 changes: Panola prosecutors can ask the 123rd District Court to review a magistrate's felony bail, and can appeal some low bails in violent cases (Tex. CCP 17.029, 44.01). Local prosecution comes from the Criminal District Attorney's Office, 108 S. Sycamore St., Room 301, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0310.

Yes. Under a 2025 change, someone arrested for family violence where more violence looks likely stays an added 4 hours once bond is posted. In writing, a magistrate may lengthen it by up to 48 hours (Tex. CCP 17.291). Staff also must attempt to warn the victim ahead of release (Tex. CCP 17.29).

Victims may also get a magistrate's emergency protection order right at that first appearance. Serious injury or a weapon makes it mandatory. Ordinary orders last 61 to 91 days, the stronger version 91 to 121 (Tex. CCP 17.292). Terms can ban contact, require distance from the victim's house and workplace, and remove firearms. Breaking those terms can end bail entirely (Tex. CCP 17.152).

Yes. Defense counsel asks the Panola trial court, in writing, to cut the bond. Families can help. Collect recent paychecks, rent or mortgage papers, names of relatives nearby and a realistic budget. Ability to pay is a required factor (Tex. CCP 17.15).

Prosecution delays also open a door. When prosecutors still aren't trial-ready, a defendant held in jail can push for a personal bond or a lower figure once the delay reaches:

• 90 days if charged with a felony
• 30 days for a Class A misdemeanor
• 15 days for a Class B
• 5 days for a fine-only Class C

Some violent offenses don't qualify (Tex. CCP 17.151). Felony motions run through the District Clerk, 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 227, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0306. Misdemeanor ones go through the County Clerk in Room 201 of the same building, 903-693-0302.

The fastest route is the magistrate hearing itself. The magistrate there hands over the lawyer request form and helps complete it (Tex. CCP 15.17). The request reaches the appointing judge inside a day. Panola, far smaller than 250,000 residents, is allowed three working days to complete that appointment (Tex. CCP 1.051). The new lawyer's first job, due by the next workday's end, is reaching out to the client (Tex. CCP 26.04).

Judges weigh income, debts and dependents. Having bail money, on its own, can't disqualify someone (Tex. CCP 26.04). Every county publishes an appointment plan; this one is on the TIDC county plan finder. Plan questions: Texas Indigent Defense Commission, 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Local questions about appointments go to the District Clerk for felonies (Room 227) or the County Clerk for misdemeanors (Room 201), 110 S. Sycamore St., Carthage, TX 75633.

South Sycamore Street holds almost all of them:

• 123rd Judicial District Court, felony trials: 108 S. Sycamore St., Room 300, Carthage, TX 75633, judge's office 903-693-0315.
• District Clerk, felony files: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 227, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0306.
• County Court at Law and County Court, Class A and B cases, with files at the County Clerk: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 201, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0302.
• JP Court, Pct. 1 and 4: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 105, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0375.
• JP Court, Pct. 2 and 3: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 103, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0377.
• Municipal court, in-town tickets: clerk 903-693-5032; city offices at 812 W. Panola Street, Carthage, TX 75633.
• Federal court: 211 West Ferguson Street, Room 106, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1000.

Courthouse switchboard: 903-693-0300.

Whoever's name is on the cash bail receipt gets the refund after the final ruling, provided all conditions were obeyed (Tex. CCP 17.02). A 5% clerk fee, $50 at most, applies only following a conviction or deferred adjudication. Money on deposit may first be used for the defendant's fines and costs (Tex. CCP 17.53).

The clerk owes you a free refund request form after the case closes. Locally, the District Clerk also offers an Application for Release of Funds; ask which one applies. Office: 110 S. Sycamore St., Room 227, Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0306.

Skipping a court date endangers the bond. The court may declare it forfeited (Tex. CCP 22.02), and prosecutors may add bail jumping. How serious that charge is depends on the first case, and it can rise to a felony (Penal Code 38.10). A surety is released if the defendant is locked up again before day 180 (misdemeanor) or day 270 (felony) (Tex. CCP 22.13).

Handle it on release day if possible. Ring the Detention Center, 903-693-0359, and ask how the leftover account balance gets paid out and when stored clothes and items can be fetched.

Pickup happens at 319 W. Wellington, Carthage, TX 75633, with photo ID. If you pick up on someone's behalf, they may need to sign a release form, so ask. Our inmate money guide explains the basics of Panola-style jail accounts and refunds.

Tyler hosts the federal court for this part of East Texas, the Eastern District's Tyler Division. Clerk: William M. Steger courthouse, 211 West Ferguson Street, Room 106, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1000.

• In Tyler, a federal judge decides on custody at a detention hearing, which may come at the very first court date. Release terms are set, or the defendant stays held pending trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Until trial, federal defendants stay in whatever jail the U.S. Marshals Service picks, which may or may not be the Panola jail. Find its Tyler office at 211 West Ferguson Street, 4th Floor, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1370. That office can say where the person is housed.
• Free federal defense: the Federal Public Defender, Plaza Tower, 110 North College Avenue, Suite 1122, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-9233.
• After a federal prison sentence, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

It can. Posting a Texas bond does nothing to lift an immigration detainer. Here is the usual sequence:

1. Agents file Form I-247A at the jail. In it, ICE requests that staff keep the person in custody for pickup.
2. That hold can last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas makes the Panola jail honor that request. Papers proving citizenship or legal status, shown to Panola jailers, end that hold early (Tex. CCP 2A.060). Panola, like every Texas county and city, also may not adopt local policies that limit immigration enforcement, a 2017 rule that Panola officials follow (Gov't Code 752.053).
4. Panola also falls under S.B. 8 (2025). Every sheriff who runs a jail, Panola's included, faces a December 1, 2026 cutoff; a Panola 287(g) application to ICE is due from Wellington Street by that date. To learn Panola's status, phone the Sheriff's Office at 903-693-0333.
5. ICE takes custody and chooses the facility. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Enter a name with birth country, or use the A-number.
6. Still nothing? Ring an ICE field office, for example Houston, 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816, and ask which office holds the file.

State jail and prison sentences are served in units run by TDCJ, the state's prison agency. Someone sentenced in Panola can wait in the local jail before transfer. Intake happens first; after that, a long-term unit is picked.

• Use the TDCJ inmate search. It shows people once they are inside a TDCJ unit. Data runs a day or more behind.
• For unit-by-unit visits and mail, see our Texas state prisons page.

Yes. Panola juvenile court hears a case if the Panola offense date fell between the child's 10th and 17th birthdays, and 17-year-olds are handled as grown-ups (Family Code 51.02). Bondsmen have no role with children. Police owe a parent prompt notice (Family Code 52.02).

A detention hearing settles if the child can return home. The deadline is two working days after custody begins, shortened to one working day when custody starts Friday or Saturday. Before it starts, the child must have a lawyer (Family Code 54.01).

On the state's registry of detention centers, none sits inside this county. For a child's location, call Panola County Juvenile Probation, 110 S. Sycamore St., Carthage, TX 75633, 903-693-0352.