Rains County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate. Under the county's written plan for appointed lawyers, whoever made the arrest must get the person before a magistrate inside of 48 hours. That official rules on probable cause, fixes bail and gives the warnings Texas requires. State law allows the hearing over two-way video (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 14.06, 15.17).

Judges of many kinds qualify, from district and county judges to justices of the peace and municipal judges (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 2A.151). Training in bail is required before any of them may set it on felonies or jailable misdemeanors (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 17.023, 17.024).

• The decision is due inside 48 hours and must look at this one person, with conditions no tighter than needed (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.028).
• Any Class B charge or worse calls for a public safety report. Magistrates read it before ruling. Inside is the person's record, with no score and no recommended dollar figure (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 17.021-17.022).
• When a jailer on North Street sees signs of mental illness, the magistrate gets word inside 12 hours (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 16.22).

Hearing times come from the jail: 903-473-3181.

Texas law allows a bail bond or a personal bond, and a magistrate may hang conditions on whichever is used (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 17.01-17.03).

• Cash bond. You hand the court all of the bail in cash. Show up for every setting and it is refunded later.
• Surety bond. A licensed bondsman takes your fee and in return backs all of it. Count that fee as spent.
• Personal bond, or PR bond. Zero dollars go down on day one. The full sum comes due only if the signer misses court.
• Rules on release. Expect things like staying away from the accuser, testing for drugs, a GPS ankle unit or an ignition lock on the car.

Certain charges are barred from personal bonds. These include many violent crimes, gun charges against felons, and some protective order cases. Lawmakers lengthened that list in 2025 (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.03). On fine-only Class C cases, people are often let go with a written date to appear and no bond at all (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 15.17(b)). Each bond type is spelled out further on our statewide bail rules page.

Each amount here is fixed by the magistrate for the person in front of them. No statewide price list exists in Texas. Instead, the law makes the magistrate think about (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.15):

• whether the figure will bring the accused back for court
• that bail never becomes a means of oppression
• which crime is charged and how it allegedly unfolded
• the size of the accused's wallet, honestly measured
• protecting the victim, the public and officers
• any criminal history, and citizenship status

The statute does set two ceilings. Say the arrest came without a warrant and the deadline for a probable cause ruling slipped by. The law then frees the person on a bond no bigger than $5,000 for a misdemeanor or $10,000 for a felony. A person unable to raise that leaves on a personal bond (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.033).

Texas courts file bail forms on the TOPICs portal, which anyone can search. To hear your person's exact figure, ring the jail at 903-473-3181.

Bonds start at the jail, 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440, inside the Sheriff's Office building. Go in this order:

1. Phone 903-473-3181 first, since a wasted drive costs time.
2. Spell the full legal name for staff and add the birth date. Request the bond on each charge, plus any attached rules.
3. Learn where this case's bond gets accepted, at what hours, and whether they take cash, card or money order.
4. Going through a bondsman? Ask staff whether the sheriff posts a list of approved sureties, then phone one.
5. Bring photo ID and the exact sum, then file away each paper staff hand you.

State law lets a sheriff or jailer accept bail, but only after running the person's record, and never with the right to set the amount on a violent charge (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 17.20, 17.22). Paperwork can take a few hours. A family violence arrest adds a mandatory 4-hour wait once bond is made (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.291(b)).

Cash bail counts as money handed to the court, so a clerk's window may handle it (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.02). One phone number reaches these offices: 903-473-5000. Name the office you want when someone picks up.

• District Clerk for felonies, Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Suite C, Emory, TX 75440. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a lunch closing from noon to 1:00 p.m.
• County Clerk, which files Class A and Class B misdemeanors, Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Suite B, Emory, TX 75440. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to noon, then 1:00 to 4:30 p.m. Misdemeanor forfeitures and commitments run through here.
• Justice of the Peace, the countywide Class C court, 167 E. Quitman Street, Suite 101, Emory, TX 75440. Weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., walk-ins fine.

Call ahead. Ask if this window will take the bond, what papers to bring, and how fast the jail frees the person after payment.

Each window sets its own rules. Here is what county pages state:

• At the Justice of the Peace, cash, money orders, cashier's checks and credit or debit cards are taken for that court's own charges.
• Traffic tickets from that court can be paid on its online ticket payment page. It handles citations and fines only, never a jail bond. Phone users should switch off pop-up blocking.
• The County Clerk asks visitors to bring nothing bigger than a $20 bill.

For bonds made at the jail, staff at 903-473-3181 can say which payments work today plus who the money order gets made payable to. Mailing cash is never safe.

A surety, the legal word for a bondsman, pledges the entire bail and owes it if your person disappears. You buy that pledge with a fee. No Texas statute caps the fee, so shop around.

• Texas makes bail bond boards mandatory where a county's population reaches 110,000, and this county is far smaller (see Occupations Code 1704.002). Here the sheriff may instead post eligible sureties by name (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.141). Request that list at the jail.
• Demand a written receipt whenever money or property leaves your hands (Occupations Code 1704.305). Jails are off limits to a bondsman looking for customers (Occupations Code 1704.304).
• Anything pledged, a truck title for instance, must be handed back to you 30 days after you ask in writing, provided all cases have ended (Occupations Code 1704.301).
• Lawyers are a special case: the attorney of record may sign a bond without a bail bond license (Occupations Code 1704.163).
• Since 2025, a surety who wants out must first tell the client's lawyer. It must also file a sworn affidavit that gives its reasons (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.19).

One bond, one case. Other papers can keep a door shut, so ask the jail at 903-473-3181 to name every hold before a dollar is spent. The usual suspects:

• Out-of-county warrants. A magistrate in Emory may set bail and ship the bond to whichever county issued the warrant (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 15.18), or the other county may send for the person.
• Parole "blue warrants." Under Government Code 508.254, a parolee can be kept locked up until the violation hearing.
• Immigration detainers. Texas jails are bound to honor them unless lawful status is shown (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 2A.060).
• Family violence waits. Four hours is automatic, and a magistrate may sign an order adding time, up to 48 hours in total (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.291). An emergency protective order from the magistrate may ride along with release (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.292).
• Stacked charges. Every charge carries its own bond, and a Class C ticket may need its own fine paid.

Rarely. Under the state constitution, bail stays open to almost anyone accused. For generations the one big exception has been capital cases where the evidence of guilt is plain, as Tex. Const. art. I, § 11 puts it in older words. Limited denials also apply to some repeat felons. They also reach people charged while out on felony bail, people who broke certain bond terms, and anyone accused of defying a protective order. Sections 11a, 11b and 11c of that article hold those rules.

Section 11d won voter approval on November 4, 2025. Its list starts with murder, capital murder and aggravated robbery. Aggravated kidnapping is on it. So are three crimes of sexual abuse or exploitation: child indecency, trafficking of persons and aggravated sexual assault. An aggravated assault qualifies if the victim was badly hurt, or if the assault involved a firearm, club, knife or explosive device. In any of these cases, a prosecutor who proves flight risk at a hearing gets bail refused, since the judge "shall" deny it. Clear and convincing proof of danger has the same effect. Only the prosecutor gets to ask. Should bail be granted anyway, Tex. Const. art. I, § 11d makes the judge spell out why in writing.

The 2025 session brought two more shifts. Prosecutors may now ask that a district judge revisit any felony bail. In some violent cases, the state may also appeal bail it calls too low (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 17.029, 44.01). Felonies and misdemeanors alike are prosecuted locally by the County/District Attorney, Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Suite D, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-5000.

Lean on the defense lawyer, who may file a motion to reduce the amount or loosen the conditions. Bring papers a judge can actually read:

1. recent paychecks, rent and utility bills, and bank statements that prove how much the family could truly gather
2. evidence of a steady address and work or classes in the area
3. relatives willing to drive the person to each setting

Texas forbids bail that oppresses and tells magistrates to weigh ability to pay (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.15). Anyone facing Class B or worse may swear an affidavit of inability to pay, which earns a prompt second look (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.028).

Delay by the state can force a lower bond too. Count from the first day in jail. The limits run 90 days on felonies. Class A charges get 30 days, Class B gets 15, and fine-only charges get 5. If the state still isn't ready, the judge must allow a personal bond or reduce the bail, apart from some exceptions (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.151). For hearing dates, call 903-473-5000. Ask for the District Clerk on a felony. Ask for the County Clerk on a misdemeanor.

The county has private lawyers take turns, rather than running a public defender office, under its indigent defense plan on file with a state commission. The path looks like this:

1. During magistration, the jailed person asks for counsel. The magistrate helps complete an Affidavit of Indigence, a sworn money statement.
2. Completed forms travel to the County Clerk's Office. Spare blanks sit at the Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Suite B, Emory, TX 75440, 903-473-5000.
3. Here, with a population under 250,000, the court must appoint someone by the close of working day three (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 1.051).
4. One working day later, at most, the lawyer must have tried to reach the client (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 26.04).

The 8th District Court's coordinator manages the rotation and fields plan complaints. Statewide, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission oversees plans like this one; call 866-499-0656.

Emory holds both county court buildings. Each office answers through 903-473-5000; say which one you need.

• Courthouse Annex, 220 W. Quitman Street, Emory, TX 75440. Felony cases go before the 8th and 354th District Courts; their clerk sits in Suite C. The County Court's misdemeanor docket (Class A and B) runs through the County Clerk in Suite B. The prosecutor works from Suite D.
• Rains County Courthouse, 167 E. Quitman Street, Suite 101, Emory, TX 75440: the single Justice of the Peace serving precincts 1 through 4 on Class C matters.
• Federal court, in Tyler's Steger federal courthouse, 211 West Ferguson Street, Room 106, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1000.

Citations written by a town's police can go to that town's court. Ask the County Clerk where a given ticket was filed.

After all bond conditions are met, the cash is paid back to the person the receipt names. Any fee the law allows may be taken out first (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.02). Store that slip like a check.

• Clerks can withhold 5%, never above $50, and only when a conviction or deferred adjudication closes the case (Loc. Government Code 117.055).
• It may be used to settle the defendant's own fines and court costs (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 17.53).
• No-shows trigger forfeiture (Code of Crim. Proc. arts. 22.01, 22.02). The bondsman is let off the hook once the absent person is back in a jail, as long as the arrest comes quickly enough. The window is about six months (180 days) on a misdemeanor case and nine months (270 days) on a felony case (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 22.13).
• Missing court is often charged as its own crime, and the skipped case sets the level (Penal Code 38.10). After a fine-only ticket, it is Class C. After any other misdemeanor, Class A. After a felony, a third degree felony.

Misdemeanor forfeitures sit with the County Clerk, and felony files with the District Clerk. Refund questions go to 903-473-5000; ask for whichever clerk holds the case.

Settle this on the day of release. Items logged at booking and any balance on the inmate's account stay with the jail, 313 E. North Street, Emory, TX 75440. Phone 903-473-3181 to learn:

• the way leftover account money gets paid out
• pickup times for stored items, and who is allowed to sign
• whether a written OK from the released person is needed

A photo ID is a must. For general deposit and refund know-how, see our inmate money page.

Federal prosecutions arising here are heard in Tyler. The county belongs to that city's division within the Eastern District of Texas. The federal clerk's office is at 211 West Ferguson Street, Room 106, Tyler, TX 75702, inside the Steger federal courthouse, 903-590-1000.

• At a detention hearing, a judge picks between release and a cell until trial. A federal judge holds it at the first appearance, and only short delays are allowed (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Before trial, the Marshals hold federal defendants, frequently in a county jail where they rent beds. Their Tyler office is upstairs, 211 West Ferguson Street, 4th Floor, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1370. Staff there can say where someone is housed.
• No money for a lawyer? Federal defenders in Tyler handle such cases from 110 North College Avenue, Suite 1122, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-9233.
• Once a sentence is imposed, check the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

A paid state bond doesn't touch an immigration hold. Events usually unfold like this:

1. Immigration officers fax or deliver Form I-247A. That form asks the Emory jail to go on holding the person.
2. The jail may then hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving agents time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must comply unless lawful presence is proven (Code of Crim. Proc. art. 2A.060). Lawmakers in 2017 outlawed local limits on enforcing immigration law (Government Code 752.053). In 2025, they made counties that hold inmates ask ICE for a 287(g) agreement, and they must do so by December 1, 2026. Ask about this county's status by calling the Sheriff's Office at 903-473-3181.
4. Custody then passes to agents tied to the Dallas Field Office, ICE's base for North Texas, at 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
5. Find the person through the ICE Online Detainee Locator, using the full name and birth country.

People sentenced for a state jail felony do that time inside a state jail. Higher felonies, graded first through third degree, mean state prison, which TDCJ runs (Penal Code 12.31-12.35). After the judge pronounces sentence, most people wait on North Street until TDCJ sends a transport. TDCJ's intake staff screen each new arrival before choosing where they go.

• Our state's prison database, the TDCJ inmate search, can be searched with a family name, an SID or a TDCJ number.
• For unit details plus visiting and mail rules, open JailExchange's Texas state prisons listings.

Under Family Code 51.02, a Texas juvenile court hears the case if the youth had reached age 10 but not 17 when it happened. Turning 17 first means adult court. Money bonds play no part for minors. A judge decides instead, at a detention hearing. It must be held by day two of custody, counting working days only. A Friday or Saturday detention moves that deadline up by a day. Counsel gets assigned ahead of time. Section 54.01 of the Family Code then requires release unless one of its listed reasons for detention fits.

Juvenile probation is shared with Delta, Franklin and Hopkins counties, at 228 Hinnant, Sulphur Springs, TX 75482, 903-885-8041. Officers there know where the youth is housed and the hearing time.