Texas grades every charge, and each grade has its own courtroom in this county:

• Felonies belong to the 112th District Court, whose judge travels a circuit of Crockett, Pecos, Reagan, Sutton and Upton counties.
• Class A and B misdemeanors carry possible jail, and the elected County Judge hears them in County Court.
• Class C misdemeanors carry only a fine. County tickets land with the Justice of the Peace, while city tickets land at Big Lake Municipal Court.

An appeal from Big Lake goes first to an intermediate court and, at the very top, to Austin's Court of Criminal Appeals, the last word on Texas criminal law. The state's court system guide maps out the full ladder.

Local courtrooms are in the courthouse facing the jail across North Plaza Avenue in Big Lake. Each office keeps weekday business hours, so phone first.

• County and District Clerk, which keeps every criminal file from the 112th and the County Court, 325-884-2442; postal address PO Box 100, Big Lake, TX 76932.
• County Judge, who presides over County Court, 325-884-2665.
• Justice of the Peace, 325-884-3482. Staff can tell you where the JP holds court.
• 112th District Court office, which builds the felony calendar for all five counties, Crockett County Courthouse, 909 Ave D, Ozona, TX 76943, 325-392-5225.

Yes. Tickets that police the city's own limits, such as traffic stops and code problems, go to Big Lake Municipal Court in City Hall, 608 N. Plaza, Big Lake, TX 76932. Call 325-884-2511 and ask for the court, or email municipalcourt@cityofbiglaketx.org.

• Open Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
• Besides set court dates, the judge runs a walk-in docket.
• Counter payments may be cash or plastic, or else paper (money order or cashier's check) written to the city.
• From home, pay over the phone or send one by mail.
• Online payment links sit on the city court page.

Tickets written outside town limits are the JP's to hear.

Every arrest in the county leads to a magistrate inside 48 hours. Sometimes this happens by camera from the jail (CCP arts. 15.17, 14.06). No one decides guilt here. The magistrate:

1. tells the person the accusation in plain terms
2. covers the rights to hire a lawyer, to say nothing, to end an interview and to request an examining trial
3. warns that what the person says may come up later in court
4. hands over the request for an appointed lawyer and helps complete it
5. fixes bail and any rules for release (CCP art. 17.028)

When family violence is charged, the magistrate can also issue an emergency protective order on the spot. Its usual life is 61 to 91 days. Add a gun, knife or other weapon, or a badly hurt victim, and the order stretches to a 91-day floor and a 121-day ceiling. Article 17.292 sets these limits. The jail at 325-884-2424 can tell you when this hearing is set.

In Reagan, Class A and B cases start with an information filed by the County Attorney, the misdemeanor version of a formal charge. At arraignment, the person hears the charge read and pleads (CCP art. 26.01). Plenty of cases end with a plea bargain. Under article 26.13, the County Judge tells the defendant up front whether the agreed sentence will stand. A rejected deal frees the defendant to pull the plea back. The rest go to trial.

Texas penalty ranges for misdemeanors (Penal Code ch. 12):

• Class A (PC 12.21): jail as long as one year, a fine as big as $4,000, or the two together
• Class B (PC 12.22): a fine as big as $2,000, jail as long as 180 days, or the two together
• Class C (PC 12.23): a fine as big as $500 and no jail

Deferred adjudication is another path. With no guilty finding entered, a misdemeanor defendant can be given court terms lasting up to two years; the County Judge dismisses the charge when they are done (CCP arts. 42A.111, 42A.103, 42A.101).

The 112th District Attorney prosecutes felonies, and the 112th District Court decides them. Most go this way:

1. Examining trial. Article 16.01 lets the accused ask for this hearing before indictment. A judge checks whether the evidence shows probable cause.
2. Grand jury. Article 20A.301 requires nine grand jurors to agree before an indictment, the written felony charge, is returned.
3. Arraignment. In open court, the indictment is read to the accused, who enters a plea.
4. Motions and offers. Hearings on evidence disputes and on plea deals.
5. Plea or trial, followed by sentencing.

Sections 12.35 back through 12.31 of the Penal Code set the felony ranges:

• State jail felony: two years tops, 180 days at the low end, in a state jail facility run by TDCJ
• Third degree: 10 years tops, 2 at the low end, in a TDCJ unit
• Second degree: 20 years tops, again 2 at the low end
• First degree: 99 years or life tops, 5 at the low end
• Capital: death, or life with parole ruled out; life for anyone who was under 18

All but capital cases can bring a fine of as much as $10,000. Prior felonies may bump the range higher (PC 12.42). Under article 42A.053, a felony probation term, which Texas calls community supervision, usually tops out at 10 years.

Extra rules apply almost from booking:

• No release on a promise. Article 17.03 bars personal bonds on a set list of violent crimes and on some gun and protective order charges.
• Bail may be denied. Texas voters added section 11d to the constitution's bill of rights in November 2025 through Proposition 3. Murder heads the list, with aggravated robbery, sexual assault in its aggravated form and several other crimes also named. If the 112th District Attorney shows a judge, at a hearing, that flight or danger to others is likely in one of those cases, bail must be refused.
• Prosecutor appeals. A bail the DA thinks too low on a listed violent charge can go up to a higher court, and the accused stays put until it rules (CCP art. 44.01).
• Family violence. Expect a 4-hour wait after posting bond, and often an emergency protective order too (CCP arts. 17.292, 17.291).
• Death-penalty charges. A Lubbock team that handles nothing but capital cases defends the accused, not a lawyer from the local appointment list.

Charges come from two offices:

• 112th District Attorney, for felonies: 325-392-2025, P.O. Box 1187, Ozona, TX 76943. Its main office is at 400 South Nelson, Fort Stockton, TX 79735, 432-336-6294.
• County Attorney, for misdemeanors: 325-884-2247; letters to PO Box 100, Big Lake, TX 76932.

Reagan pays private lawyers, picked in turn from a list, to defend people who can't afford one. The request form is filed with the clerk who handles the case. Article 1.051 then gives the judge three working days to make the appointment. Details sit in the felony appointment plan and the misdemeanor appointment plan. Death penalty and other capital murder cases are defended from Lubbock, 806-696-3740.

For hearing dates, nobody beats the clerk's office on North Plaza. Call 325-884-2442 and ask for the cause number, which court has the file (the 112th or County Court) and the coming setting. Have a birth date on hand to help staff find the right file.

Texas also runs re:SearchTX, a free court records site that asks you to register. It can show the cause number, the charges filed and papers like an indictment or judgment. Hearing times still come from the clerk. For a Big Lake city ticket, try the municipal court at 325-884-2511. For a county ticket, the JP's line is 325-884-3482.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Office serve warrants, both in town and across the rest of the county. The Sheriff's Office can say whether one is out: 325-884-2424. Families can also scan the DPS Texas 10 Most Wanted list of statewide fugitives. The County and District Clerk can check court files too: 325-884-2442, PO Box 100, Big Lake, TX 76932. Clearing a warrant is safest with a lawyer's help. Counsel can set a time for the person to walk in at the jail, 320 N. Plaza Ave., Big Lake, TX 76932, or ask the signing judge to reset the case.

A federal case from Reagan goes to San Angelo, to the Northern District's San Angelo Division courthouse, O.C. Fisher Federal Building, 33 E. Twohig Avenue, Room 202, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-655-4506.

1. A San Angelo magistrate judge rules on detention close to the start, choosing release or custody until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. A defendant kept in custody is a federal prisoner in the care of U.S. Marshals, whose local office at 33 East Twohig Street, Suite 106-D, San Angelo, TX 76903, 325-658-4056, is open during court terms.
3. Once a prison term starts, the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator shows where.

The state charge goes forward as usual, but getting out can take longer. Here's the sequence:

1. Federal immigration officers (ICE) lodge a detainer with the Big Lake lockup on Form I-247A.
2. The staff on North Plaza may then hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Under Texas law, the jail has to go along with the detainer (CCP art. 2A.060). If the person has papers proving they are a citizen or here lawfully, the hold ends. Texas towns and counties, under Government Code 752.053 (2017), may not adopt policies that hinder federal immigration work.
4. Under a 2025 state law, sheriffs who run jails have a deadline, December 1, 2026, to ask ICE to sign them up for 287(g). The Sheriff on North Plaza can say where that request stands.
5. If ICE moves the person, check the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

TDCJ runs both kinds of lockup for felony time. A state jail felony is served in one of its state jail facilities, while third degree and above go to a prison unit. (TDCJ is the state's Department of Criminal Justice.) Until a bed opens, the person normally stays in the Big Lake jail, then goes through TDCJ intake and on to an assigned unit.

• Look the person up by TDCJ number or last name through the TDCJ inmate search.
• Our Texas state prisons page profiles every unit.
• Supervision for adults on probation comes from the Pecos County office, 111 West Gallagher, Fort Stockton, TX 79735, 432-336-8562.

A juvenile judge takes the case when the child was between 10 and 16 at the time; a 17-year-old's case is heard as an adult one (FC 51.02). The youth is given a lawyer, and a detention hearing follows within days (FC 54.01). Certification is the rare step that moves a serious felony case into adult court, possible from age 14 for the gravest crimes and 15 for others (FC 54.02).

Upton/Reagan Juvenile Probation handles youth cases from here, out of the Upton County Courthouse, 205 E 10th St, Rankin, TX 79778, 432-693-2170. Appointed lawyers for youths follow a three-county juvenile plan. Rankin staff know which detention center is holding the youth and when the juvenile judge will hear the case.

Victims in Texas hold rights under CCP article 56A.051, and three matter most early on. Bail can't be set without thinking about the victim's safety. When they ask, they are kept posted on court dates. And a victim impact statement can be given to the judge ahead of sentencing.

• Sign up for custody alerts with Texas IVSS-Counties, or call 866-268-8959. It is free, private and open 24 hours, in English or Spanish.
• Hospital bills, therapy and missed paychecks can be repaid, up to $50,000, through the Attorney General's victim fund, called Crime Victims' Compensation. Its line is 800-983-9933.
• For questions about the case itself, call the prosecutor's office handling it.