Which courtroom gets a case depends on the top penalty the charge allows. Here is how that plays out in Sinton:

• District Courts get every felony, all the way up through capital murder. Locally that means the 36th, 156th or 343rd, with filings handled by the District Clerk.
• The two County Courts at Law (the second is called No. 2) hear Class A and B misdemeanors, where a jail sentence is possible. The County Clerk dockets their filings.
• Justice of the Peace courts handle fine-only Class C offenses. Six precincts split up the county.
• Municipal courts take Class C cases written by city police inside city limits.
• The last word on criminal appeals belongs to Austin's Court of Criminal Appeals.

Felonies rarely start in district court. A magistrate handles the first hearing, and only after a grand jury indictment does the file move up.

The courthouse sits at 400 W Sinton St, Sinton, TX 78387. Its main number is 361-364-9300, and the doors are open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Check the room number before you walk in:

• 36th, 156th and 343rd District Courts (felonies), court office 361-364-9310. These three judges also cover Aransas, Bee, Live Oak and McMullen counties, so dockets are planned around travel.
• District Clerk, 400 West Sinton Street, Room 144, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9377. Press 2 for records. The office keeps 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. hours and files everything electronically.
• County Court at Law, misdemeanor court, 361-364-9325.
• County Court at Law No. 2, 361-587-3418.
• County Clerk, keeper of the misdemeanor records, 400 West Sinton Street #124, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9350.
• District Attorney, 400 W. Sinton St., Room 233, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9390. Staff work 8 to 5 and break for lunch from twelve to one.
• County Attorney, 400 W. Sinton St. #108, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9338.

Both county courts at law share the courthouse street address. The magistrate hearings for new arrests also happen in this building.

Class C cases, the fine-only kind, start in a justice court when a deputy, constable or trooper writes the ticket. The precincts here carry the numbers 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8. Each one sits in a different town:

• Precinct 1, 300 N. Rachal, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9620
• Precinct 2, 322 Main St, Odem, TX 78370, 361-587-3600
• Precinct 4, 900 Austin St., Portland, TX 78374, 361-587-3620
• Precinct 5, 619 N. Frio St., Mathis, TX 78368, 361-587-3640
• Precinct 6, 225 W. Wheeler, Aransas Pass, TX 78336, 361-587-3660
• Precinct 8, 215 McIntyre Ave, Taft, TX 78390, 361-587-3680

A ticket from a city officer in Portland, Aransas Pass, Ingleside, Sinton, Mathis, Taft, Odem or Gregory goes to that city's municipal court instead. The address and due date print on the citation. If it is lost, phone the police department that wrote it.

Short on money for a ticket? Texas gives judges several tools: paying over time, working off the amount through community service (each 8 hours knocks off $150), or waiving part of it. Jail for an unpaid fine comes last (the CCP covers this in arts. 45A.252 through 45A.261), after a hearing that shows the person had the money but refused.

Each adult booked in Sinton has a right to see a magistrate within 48 hours of arrest, either face to face or over a jailhouse video hookup. Two articles of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, or CCP, set that clock: art. 14.06(a), then art. 15.17(a) for the warnings. This county runs a Central Magistrate at the courthouse on weekdays, streaming each session through a Microsoft Teams link on the Sheriff's Office page.

• First the charge is spelled out, along with a reminder of rights like silence and counsel.
• If they want a free lawyer, the magistrate makes sure the request form gets filled out.
• Bail is set, often after the magistrate reads a public safety report.
• Family violence charges often bring a magistrate's emergency protection order, usually good for 61 to 91 days (art. 17.292).

When a warrantless arrest lacks enough evidence in the magistrate's view, a written finding is due within one day (art. 15.17(h), added in 2025). Keep in mind that this hearing decides custody, not guilt, so no plea is taken.

Each Class A or B case gets assigned to County Court at Law or its sister court, No. 2. Prosecutors charge them with a document called an information rather than an indictment. From there:

1. Arraignment. Out loud, in open court, the accusation gets read, and a plea follows (art. 26.01).
2. Settings before trial. Lawyers swap evidence such as body camera footage or lab reports and discuss a plea offer.
3. Plea deal or jury. If lawyers reach a bargain, the judge must say up front whether to go along with it. Turning a bargain down means the plea can be taken back, too (art. 26.13).

Each misdemeanor class has its own cap in Penal Code chapter 12. A Class C ticket can cost $500 at most and never means jail (12.23). Class B raises the stakes: 180 days behind bars, a $2,000 fine, or the two together (12.22). For Class A, the ceiling climbs to one year and $4,000 (12.21).

Plenty of first-time defendants receive deferred adjudication. No conviction is entered, they're supervised for a misdemeanor term capped at two years, and the charge is dismissed once they finish (arts. 42A.101, 42A.103, 42A.111). Ask the County Clerk at 361-364-9350 which court has the case.

Felony files take longer and pass through more stages:

1. Examining trial. Optional, and only if the defense asks. While no indictment has issued yet, the judge tests whether probable cause exists, as CCP art. 16.01 allows.
2. Indictment vote. Grand jurors hear what the District Attorney has, and nine yes votes are needed to indict (art. 20A.301).
3. Arraignment in district court (art. 26.01).
4. Motions and negotiation while both sides prepare.
5. Plea or jury trial, then sentencing.

Penalties climb with each felony grade. At the bottom, a state jail felony sends someone away for anywhere from 180 days to 2 years, always inside a state jail unit and never a regular prison (Penal Code 12.35). Third-degree felonies call for 2 to 10 years of TDCJ time (12.34). Second-degree cases share that 2-year minimum but stretch to 20 (12.33). First-degree cases begin at 5 years and can end at 99, or at life (12.32).

Every felony grade allows a fine of up to $10,000, and a record of prior felonies can move the case into a higher bracket (12.42). Felony probation, called community supervision, and felony deferred adjudication can each last a full decade (CCP art. 42A.053, plus art. 42A.103). To confirm the court and cause number, ring the District Clerk at 361-364-9377.

The most serious cases bring the longest sentences and the hardest bail fights.

• Capital murder leaves a judge two choices for an adult: execution, or life with no parole. For a defendant who hadn't turned 18 on the date of the crime, the sentence is life, with parole possible (Penal Code 12.31).
• Most other violent felonies, such as aggravated robbery, are first or second degree.
• A new section of the state constitution, added by voters in late 2025, covers murder, aggravated robbery and a handful of similar charges. If prosecutors prove at a hearing that release is too risky, the judge has to say no to bail (Texas Constitution, art. I, §11d).
• A personal bond, the kind with nothing paid up front, can't be granted for the violent offenses on the state list (CCP art. 17.03).

The District Attorney's office, 400 W. Sinton St., Room 233, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9390, handles them. Plan on many months, often more than a year, of court settings. A strong defense lawyer matters most here, so request one the first time you see a magistrate.

Who brings the charges. The District Attorney prosecutes felonies from 400 W. Sinton St., Room 233, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9390. The County Attorney's office is down the hall at 400 W. Sinton St. #108, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9338. To learn which office has a misdemeanor, call the County Clerk at 361-364-9350.

A lawyer for someone who can't pay. Tell the magistrate if you can't afford counsel and might be jailed. Within 24 hours that request must be forwarded to whoever appoints counsel. Here, an appointment then follows within three working days, under CCP art. 15.17(a) and art. 1.051(c). Next, the attorney named to the case must get in touch with the client the very next working day, at the latest (art. 26.04).

Each county writes an indigent defense plan that explains who qualifies and how lawyers are picked. This county's version is on the TIDC plan page. TIDC itself, the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, is at 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Start with the case number. The fastest way to get it is a call to the clerk who keeps the file:

• Felonies: District Clerk, 400 West Sinton Street, Room 144, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9377, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The District Clerk's page has forms and links.
• Misdemeanors: County Clerk, 400 West Sinton Street #124, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9350.
• The district courts keep their own site at 36-156-343districtcourts.org, and the County Court at Law has sanpatricioccal.com.

Anyone can open a free login and read many Texas filings, judgments included, at re:SearchTX. Hearing times are missing there, so the clerk remains the final word on dates. Older convictions turn up on the DPS conviction name search; expect a fee every time you use it.

Deputies, the six precinct constables and city officers all serve warrants in this county. The jail's parent agency, the Sheriff's Office, 361-364-9600, can say whether one is active; so can a clerk, once given a legal name and birth date. The most dangerous fugitives statewide are posted to the DPS Texas 10 Most Wanted list. Calling a defense lawyer before anything else is the smart move. Counsel can set up a planned walk-in at the jail, 300 North Rachal, Sinton, TX 78387, or file to get the case reset with the judge who signed it. Felony warrants come out of files kept by the District Clerk, 361-364-9377; misdemeanor ones, out of the County Clerk's, 361-364-9350.

Charges brought by federal prosecutors from here are heard at 1133 N. Shoreline Blvd., Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3142. Federal judges there sit for the Southern District's Corpus Christi Division.

• The first court date is before a U.S. magistrate judge. If prosecutors want the person kept in custody, a detention hearing decides it (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal defendants held while their cases are pending answer to the U.S. Marshals, who rent beds in county jails across South Texas. The Marshals' office is at 1133 North Shoreline Boulevard, Suite 109, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3154.
• The U.S. Attorney's office prosecutes from 800 N. Shoreline Blvd., Suite 500, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3111.
• The Federal Public Defender is at 500 N. Shoreline Blvd., Room 301, Corpus Christi, TX 78401, 361-888-3532.
• Federal prisoners who've been sentenced show up on the BOP inmate locator.

Criminal charges and immigration matters move on separate tracks. This is where they cross:

1. ICE sends the jail a detainer, its Form I-247A, asking for a hold.
2. The jail may hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails have to follow those detainers (CCP art. 2A.060). Paperwork showing citizenship or lawful presence usually ends one.
4. Since 2017, Senate Bill 4 has barred local governments from blocking immigration enforcement, sanctuary-style.
5. Senate Bill 8 (2025) tells each sheriff who operates a jail to join the 287(g) partnership run by ICE, and lawmakers made December 1, 2026 the deadline. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 361-364-9600 to hear the county's status.
6. ICE's Harlingen Field Office covers this county: 1717 Zoy Street, Harlingen, TX 78552, 956-389-7800.
7. The ICE Online Detainee Locator shows who ICE is holding.

A plea in state court can change someone's immigration future. Ask the defense lawyer before any plea.

Time for a state jail felony gets served in a state jail, which is a separate kind of lockup from a regular prison. Anything higher means a prison term with TDCJ, the state's prison agency. Most people sit in the Sinton jail for a while after sentencing. Then TDCJ moves them to intake, where staff assess them before choosing a unit.

• The TDCJ inmate search takes either ID number (TDCJ or SID) or a precisely spelled last name and the first initial. Results refresh every workday.
• Unit-by-unit addresses and visit times live on our Texas state prisons page.

A youngster charged in Texas stays in juvenile court only if the conduct happened between the 10th and 17th birthdays. From 17 on, Texas prosecutes a person in adult court (Family Code 51.02).

• Sinton is also home to the county's own juvenile detention center, a locked 20-bed unit for boys and girls awaiting court. Seven nearby counties send youths there too. The state registry lists its phone as 361-364-9506.
• Any youth locked up at the center must get a detention hearing fast; the law allows no more than two working days. A lawyer is named beforehand (54.01).
• In a serious felony, prosecutors can seek to transfer a youth aged 14 or above to the adult system (54.02).

The 36th Judicial District Juvenile Probation office handles intake. It is at 107 W. 5th Street, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-9500. Phone them to learn which court is handling it and when the youth is due back.

Under CCP art. 56A.051, victims have rights. Their safety counts in bail decisions, they get court dates when they ask, and they may speak to the court through an impact statement.

• The District Attorney has a Crime Victim's Coordinator. Reach that staff through 361-364-9390.
• Medical bills and similar costs, up to $50,000, could get covered through Crime Victims' Compensation, a fund in Austin overseen by the state's top lawyer. Call 800-983-9933.
• To get an alert the moment someone walks out of the county jail, sign up at Texas IVSS-Counties (free) or dial 866-268-8959.
• After a transfer to state prison, TDCJ Victim Services takes over: 800-848-4284.

Adult probation here is run by the local community supervision department, which also covers Aransas, Bee, Live Oak and McMullen counties. Its office is at 404 West Market Street, Sinton, TX 78387, 361-364-4243, open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The county's Pretrial Services office uses the same address and phone.

A probation officer checks that the person follows the judge's rules, such as reporting, drug tests, classes or community service. Breaking a rule can lead to a motion to revoke and a new arrest. Ask the officer early if a job or move makes a rule hard to follow.