Grade decides the room in Center:

• Felony: the 123rd or 273rd District Court, upstairs in the San Augustine Street courthouse. Felony papers live with the District Clerk there.
• Class A or B misdemeanor, a first DWI being the classic: the County Court. Shelby's website calls it the County Court at Law. Those papers stay on Austin Street, in the County Clerk's vault.
• Class C: fine-only, so a Shelby JP takes it, or a town's municipal court when town officers wrote it.
• Appeals: past a court of appeals, a Shelby case can still reach Austin, at the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Those five JPs wear a second hat too: they set bail for the Hurst Street jail as magistrates.

Center holds the main ones. Hours are as the county posts them.

• Shelby County Courthouse, 200 San Augustine Street, Center, TX 75935: home of the 123rd and 273rd District Courts. The 273rd's judge also rides to Hemphill and to the town of San Augustine.
• Felony clerk's window, Suite B, 200 San Augustine Street, Center, TX 75935, 936-598-4164. Weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Austin Street clerk (the County Clerk), 124 Austin St., Center, TX 75935, 936-598-6361. Phone for hours.
• Precinct 1 JP, 518 Nacogdoches St., Center, TX 75935, 936-598-3735. Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Friday 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Precinct 2 JP, 174 FM 417E, Shelbyville, TX 75973, 936-598-7797. Tuesday to Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to noon.
• Precinct 3 JP, 12723 US Hwy 84 East, Suite 1, Joaquin, TX 75954, 936-269-3152. Monday 9:00 a.m. to noon; Tuesday 2:00 to 5:30 p.m.; Thursday 9:00 a.m. to noon.
• Precinct 4 JP, temporary site at 140 Ed Wall St., Tenaha, TX 75974, 936-248-4001. Monday to Thursday, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
• Precinct 5 JP, 501 Austin Street, Timpson, TX 75975, 936-254-3922. Monday to Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to noon.

Texas hands every incorporated town its own municipal court, and in Shelby those courts split fine-only tickets with the JPs. A Center police ticket, or one from another Shelby town that keeps officers, may land in that town's own court.

The ticket itself names its court, so read it first. Still unsure? The Austin Street clerk, 936-598-6361, can steer you. Tickets that deputies or troopers write on rural Shelby roads go to that precinct's JP, like Tenaha's Precinct 4, 936-248-4001, or Timpson's Precinct 5, 936-254-3922.

A Shelby JP runs it, often by video from Hurst Street. Shelby's plan says JPs magistrate every day, and Texas allows no more than 48 hours.

1. The JP tells the person what they're accused of and what rights they hold. On a felony, the JP adds that an examining trial is theirs for the asking.
2. Next, the JP asks if they want a free lawyer and walks them through the money form. Shelby routes that form to the District Judge's staff within one day.
3. Then the JP picks a bail. For Class B and above, a public safety report has to come first.
4. In a family violence case, the JP may sign an emergency protection order. In Shelby these usually run 61 to 91 days, longer if a gun, knife or bad injury was involved.

Once Booking, 936-598-5601, confirms the JP has finished, ask two things: the bail number and which Center court has the case.

On a Shelby misdemeanor, Shelby's prosecutor files an "information" (the misdemeanor charging paper) with the County Court. After it:

1. Arraignment in Center. The charge gets read and the plea goes on record.
2. Pretrial settings at Center, where both sides trade evidence and talk deals.
3. Plea or trial. If a Shelby judge rejects the deal the lawyers made, the defendant can take the plea back.

What the grades carry under the Penal Code:

• Class C: a fine of $500 or less, and no time in jail.
• Class B: a fine up to $2,000, plus as long as 180 days on Hurst Street.
• Class A: a fine up to $4,000, plus as long as one year on Hurst Street.

Shelby misdemeanor cases can also close with deferred adjudication of two years or less, then a dismissal when it's done. Ordinary probation on a Shelby misdemeanor stops at two years too. A Shelby JP may offer payments, community service or a waiver when a Shelby defendant is too broke for a Class C fine.

A Shelby felony winds toward the 123rd or the 273rd like this:

1. JP magistrate on Hurst Street, inside 48 hours.
2. Examining trial, Shelby's version of a probable cause check the defense can ask for before any indictment.
3. Grand jury in Center. An indictment needs nine of its members to agree.
4. Arraignment and settings in the 123rd or 273rd.
5. Plea or trial, followed by sentencing.

Penal Code ranges by grade:

• State jail felony: a Shelby defendant can draw 180 days to 2 years, done at a TDCJ state jail rather than Hurst Street.
• Third-degree felony: a 10-year ceiling, 2-year floor, TDCJ prison.
• Second degree: a 20-year ceiling, same 2-year floor.
• First degree: a 99-year or life ceiling, 5-year floor.
• A fine of as much as $10,000 can ride along with any grade.

Prior felonies on someone's record can raise those numbers. On Shelby felonies, probation or deferred adjudication can keep someone reporting for up to a decade. For Shelby's felony docket, phone the District Clerk at 936-598-4164.

They are, in ways a Center family will feel:

• Capital murder: An adult convicted in Center faces one of two outcomes, death or a no-parole life term. Teens younger than 18 at the offense can get life, never death.
• No bail possible. Since Proposition 3 won in November 2025, art. I, §11d of the Texas constitution lets Shelby's prosecutor fight release. For murder, aggravated robbery and other listed violent charges, the DA can ask a Center judge for no bail at all.
• No personal bond on charges from the state's violent offense list.
• The DA can fight a low bail. On those listed charges, Shelby's prosecutor can ask a higher court to raise a Center bail the DA thinks is too low. Meanwhile the person stays on Hurst Street.
• Family violence means a 4-hour hold after bond is posted, and frequently an emergency protection order.

Murder mostly can't end in deferred adjudication. Center's District Attorney handles Shelby's violent felonies from the San Augustine Street courthouse, 936-598-2489.

Prosecutors. Felonies go through the District Attorney's Office in the Shelby County Courthouse, 200 San Augustine St., Center, TX 75935, 936-598-2489. The County Attorney's Office answers at 936-598-6100. For a misdemeanor, the clerk can say which office is on it.

Defense. Center has no public defender. Instead, Shelby's judges pick private lawyers off a rotating list under the Shelby district court plan, with a separate plan for the County Court.

• Request one from the JP at magistration, or call Shelby's Court Coordinator at 936-598-3201.
• Shelby falls under the small-county clock: once the court has the request, Shelby's judges get three business days to name counsel.
• The Texas Indigent Defense Commission reviews county plans: 209 West 14th Street, Room 202, Austin, TX 78701, 512-936-6994.

Try these Shelby and state tools:

• County docket pages: district court settings, docket calls and trial settings, all on Shelby's county website.
• Austin Street records: the County Clerk's public records search. Ask the clerk at 936-598-6361 which records it holds.
• re:SearchTX: Texas courts' records portal, free once you register. It shows a case index and some filings, like an indictment or a judgment. Hearing times still come from Center.
• Felony questions by phone: District Clerk, 936-598-4164, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

A cause number speeds things up. Lacking one, give Center's clerks the full name plus a birth date.

Shelby warrants are served by Sheriff's deputies, 936-598-5601, and the five county constables. The Precinct 1 constable is at 936-591-4283. Statewide, a short DPS list called Texas 10 Most Wanted tracks the top fugitives, though most Shelby warrants are for far smaller matters. The Sheriff's Office in Center can say if one is out. The Center court that signed it can also tell you, through its clerk. Talk to a lawyer before anything else. The lawyer may set up a walk-in surrender at 100 Hurst Street, Center, TX 75935, or file to get a new court date. Shelby felony warrants sit on file at the District Clerk, 200 San Augustine Street, Suite B, Center, TX 75935, 936-598-4164.

Shelby's federal cases are filed in Lufkin, in the Eastern District of Texas. Shelby defendants go before a judge at the Ward R. Burke U.S. Courthouse, 104 North Third Street, Lufkin, TX 75901, 936-632-2739.

• The first Lufkin appearance includes a detention hearing. The judge decides custody or release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Federal custody for Shelby defendants is a U.S. Marshals Service job, and the Marshals rent county jail beds for it. Call its Lufkin office at 936-219-6412.
• Federal prosecutors keep a Lufkin branch at 415 South 1st Street, Suite 201, Lufkin, TX 75901. Calls route through Beaumont at 409-839-2538.
• Shelby defendants short on money can get the district's Federal Public Defender, based in Tyler at 110 North College Avenue, Suite 1122, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-9233.
• After sentencing to federal prison, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

To read Lufkin filings in a Shelby defendant's case, use PACER. It charges by the page.

Yes. The Shelby case keeps going, but a detainer shapes what release looks like:

1. Federal immigration officers file Form I-247A with Hurst Street.
2. Jail staff may hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must honor ICE detainers. Hurst Street releases the person early only on proof of citizenship or other lawful status. S.B. 4 (2017) bars Shelby County and its towns from curbing immigration enforcement.
4. Austin's 2025 follow-up was S.B. 8. It tells each Texas sheriff with a jail, Center's included, to seek 287(g) status from ICE, with requests due by December 1, 2026. For Shelby's status, ask the Sheriff's Office at 936-598-5601.
5. ICE carries the person to a site tied to a field office. Houston's covers Southeast Texas: 126 Northpoint Drive, Houston, TX 77060, 281-774-4816.
6. Families in Center can search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number. Lacking that number, a Center family types the full name, then picks the birth country.

A Shelby judge must warn any non-citizen that deportation could follow, and must do so before taking the guilty or no-contest plea.

Jail sentences on Class A or B charges are served on Hurst Street. State jail felonies go to a TDCJ state jail, and Shelby's third-degree and worse felonies go off to Texas Department of Criminal Justice units. From Center, a sentenced person first heads to TDCJ intake for testing and a classification, and later to a unit.

• Once a Shelby defendant leaves Center, try the TDCJ inmate search using whichever the family has: SID, TDCJ number or surname. Its data refreshes each business day but trails by about a day.
• Planning a trip from Center to a unit? Check visiting days and mail rules first, unit by unit, on our Texas state prisons page before the drive.

Shelby kids land in juvenile court if, on the offense date, they were 10 or older but not yet 17. A 17-year-old from Center lands in adult court. Shelby keeps a juvenile board lawyer plan on file with the state.

• Deputies must promptly reach a parent and explain the custody.
• A detained Shelby youth sees a judge within two business days, with appointed counsel lined up first.
• For some felonies, starting at 14 or 15, a judge may hold a hearing on sending a Shelby youth's case to adult court.

The Sheriff's Office, 936-598-5601, can tell a parent where the child went. Beyond Shelby, state youth lockups answer to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.

Victims in Texas have rights set by law. When a Shelby magistrate sets bail, the victim's safety must count. On request, victims hear about upcoming settings, and before sentencing they may speak or write about the harm done.

• Jail alerts: for a Hurst Street release alert, join Texas IVSS-Counties online, or dial 866-268-8959 around the clock, English or Spanish. It's free and private, and in 2025 it replaced the former notice service.
• Prison releases: for anyone in TDCJ custody, TDCJ Victim Services answers at 800-848-4284.
• Costs: a Shelby victim may send a claim to the Attorney General's Crime Victims' Compensation. It may pay up to $50,000 toward medical bills, counseling and lost pay. Phone 800-983-9933.
• Case updates: the District Attorney's Office, 936-598-2489, can share hearing dates and plea news.