Sherman County Jail Inmate Bail & Bonds

A magistrate. Texas allows 48 hours, tops, from handcuffs to this hearing, and sooner is better under the law (CCP art. 15.17(a)). A camera link counts, so the person may never leave the Stratford jail for it. A justice of the peace, the county judge, a district judge or a city judge may each sit as a magistrate (CCP art. 2A.151).

In that short hearing the magistrate:

• reads out the accusation;
• explains that the person may stay silent and may have an attorney present for any police interview;
• hands over the paperwork for a court-paid lawyer and helps fill it in;
• fixes bail with the mildest terms likely to bring the person back for court dates (CCP art. 17.028).

When the charge is a Class A or B misdemeanor or any felony, the magistrate must first go over a public safety report. That report covers past arrests and cases, and the law keeps scores and bail suggestions out of it. Ask jail staff at 806-366-5551 what time the hearing is expected.

Two kinds of bail exist under Texas law (CCP art. 17.01):

• Bail bond. Money stands behind the promise to return. A relative can hand the court the whole amount in cash, or a surety, most often a bondsman, can sign for it and charge a fee (CCP art. 17.02).
• Personal bond. The person leaves on their signature alone. Nobody pays cash and no surety signs (CCP art. 17.03).

Some charges shut the door on a personal bond. The list covers many violent crimes, a Class A or worse terroristic threat, certain breaks of a protective order, and a felon with a gun. Burglary, organized crime and some drug felonies can get one, but only the judge who has the trial may grant it.

A magistrate may attach conditions, for example a ban on any contact with the complaining witness. For repeat drunk driving and a few related crimes, a car breath-test lock is part of the deal (CCP art. 17.441). On a fine-only charge, the magistrate may skip bond entirely and hand over a court date on paper (CCP art. 15.17(b)). Our state bail rules page spells out more choices.

No price chart covers Texas. Bail is set for one person at a time, so two neighbors with the same charge may walk out with different figures. A local schedule, where one is used, must bend to the same rules (CCP art. 17.028(d)). Before naming a number, a magistrate considers these factors, listed in CCP art. 17.15(a):

• whether the person will come back to court;
• keeping bail from turning into a tool of oppression;
• what is charged and how it happened, violence included;
• what the family can truly raise;
• safety for the victim, officers and the town;
• earlier convictions, open cases and skipped court dates;
• citizenship.

Two dollar caps do exist. Picture a warrantless arrest where no judge decides probable cause in time. Release then comes by hour 24 for a misdemeanor arrestee, on a bond no higher than $5,000, or by hour 48 on a felony, capped at $10,000 (CCP art. 17.033). For your person's figure, call the jail at 806-366-5551. Completed bail forms from across the state sit on the TOPICs bail form portal.

Deputies and jailers work for the Sheriff's Office, P.O. Box 526, Stratford, TX 79084. Don't just show up. A short call tells you the street location, when bonds are taken and what forms of money work.

1. Dial 806-366-5551 and ask for jail staff.
2. Say the person's legal name slowly and offer their birth date.
3. Write down each bond amount next to its charge.
4. Ask whether a hold from anywhere else is on file.
5. Ask how they handle cash, a money order, or a bondsman's forms.
6. Carry a government ID with your picture, and save each receipt.

Whoever takes bail at a jail has to run a criminal history check first. On a violent charge, only a magistrate may decide the amount, so a jailer cannot (CCP arts. 17.20, 17.22). Expect a short wait while that check is done.

It can. A cash bond is really a deposit the court holds, which is why clerks sometimes accept it (CCP art. 17.02). The District Clerk files felonies. The County Clerk files Class A and B cases. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 806-366-5551 which window takes money on your case, and when it opens.

On a felony, the 69th District Court's office in Dumas handles court-side questions: 715 S. Dumas Avenue, Room 302, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-2700.

Tickets that carry only a fine follow their own track. Justice and city judges lean on personal bonds there, and a cash or surety bond is allowed only once a person has missed court and the judge finds they can pay it (CCP art. 45A.107). A call to the court on the ticket clears it up.

The statute speaks of current U.S. money for a cash bond (CCP art. 17.02). Money orders, cashier's checks and cards are up to the local office, so ask by phone first at 806-366-5551. Also ask exactly how the payee should be written on a money order.

• Keep cash out of the mail.
• Check that your own name prints on the receipt, since a cash refund goes back to that name (CCP art. 17.02).
• Working with a bondsman? Get the fee, the collateral and any payment plan written down before signing.

A bondsman, or surety, signs for the whole bail and keeps a fee. Texas makes larger counties, those with at least 110,000 residents, set up a bail bond board to license sureties, and a smaller county may choose to start one (Occupations Code 1704.002, 1704.051). Counties without a board may still have a sheriff's list of approved sureties, as CCP art. 17.141 allows. Jail staff at 806-366-5551 can say if such a list is kept here.

• Ask the bondsman for the fee in writing, and whether a slice of it ever comes back.
• Find out what collateral, such as a pickup title, is wanted and how you get it back.
• Under CCP art. 17.19, a surety ending its bond gives notice to the defense lawyer, and to the prosecutor in felony cases, before it files a sworn surrender with the court.

A paid bond releases the person from that one charge only. Other holds include:

• Another county's warrant. A local magistrate may set bail on that warrant, then mail the bond over to the county that wrote it (CCP art. 15.18). Until that happens, the person stays put.
• Parole trouble. A parole violation warrant from the state can keep someone in, whatever happens with the new bail.
• Family violence. If officers believe the abuse could continue, release is delayed four hours even after bond is paid. Only a signed order from a magistrate can lengthen that, and by two days at most (CCP art. 17.291).
• A felony charge picked up while out on felony bail. The judge on the first case takes a fresh look at that first bond (CCP art. 17.027).
• ICE. Read the detainer question further down.

Get jail staff at 806-366-5551 to read every hold aloud, then pay.

Rarely, but yes. Under the Texas Constitution, bail is the normal outcome on nearly any charge. Capital cases with strong proof are the exception (art. I, sec. 11). Sections 11a through 11c give a district judge power to withhold bail, following a hearing, in a few more cases, for example two earlier felony convictions, or breaking a safety rule on a past bond.

On November 4, 2025, a statewide vote approved Proposition 3, adding section 11d. It applies to murder or capital murder, indecency with a child, human trafficking, aggravated kidnapping, robbery or sexual assault, and aggravated assault where a weapon was involved or a victim suffered grave harm. The prosecutor may then block bail at a hearing by showing a likely flight (greater weight of the evidence) or a threat to others' safety (clear and convincing proof). Only the prosecutor can ask for that hearing. If the judge lets the person out anyway, the judge has to give written reasons.

For felonies here, that prosecutor is the 69th Judicial District Attorney, Moore County Courthouse, 715 S. Dumas Avenue, Room 304, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-5654.

A defense lawyer makes each of these easier.

1. An affidavit about money. With a Class B or more serious charge, the person can sign under oath that they cannot raise the bail. The court then has to review it quickly (CCP art. 17.028).
2. A motion. The lawyer asks the trial judge to drop the amount or ease the rules. In a felony, an examining trial gives the magistrate another look at bail (CCP art. 16.01).
3. The state's clock. If the prosecution still cannot go to trial after a set time, the person gets a personal bond or smaller bail. A fine-only case gets 5 days; Class B, 15; Class A, 30; and a felony, 90 (CCP art. 17.151). Certain serious cases don't qualify.

Prosecutors have a review path of their own, asking a district judge to look over a felony bail set by a magistrate. Felony court questions go to 806-935-2700 in Dumas.

Say at the first hearing that there is no money for a defense attorney. Within 24 hours that request must reach the judge who appoints counsel. Counties below 250,000 people get three working days after that to name a lawyer, and the named attorney then has one working day to try calling or visiting (CCP arts. 1.051, 15.17, 26.04).

Income, savings, debts and the people the person supports all count. Posting bail can't be the only reason to turn someone down. This county is served by a managed assigned counsel office, which lines up appointed lawyers:

• Panhandle Area Managed Assigned Counsel in the Santa Fe Building, 900 S. Polk, Suite 206, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-242-3415
• Read the local appointment plan through the indigent defense plan lookup from the state's defense commission.

The charge level decides the court:

• 69th District Court for felonies. The district takes in four Panhandle counties: Dallam, Hartley, Moore and this one. Its office is at 715 S. Dumas Avenue, Room 302, Dumas, TX 79029, 806-935-2700.
• County Court, which takes Class A and B misdemeanors. Texas gives every county this court.
• Justice court for Class C cases with only a fine, led by a justice of the peace.
• Municipal court for fine-only tickets from city officers.
• U.S. District Court in Amarillo for federal crimes, 205 SE 5th Avenue, Room 133, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-468-3800.

To get the street address and number of the county, justice or city court, ring the Sheriff's Office at 806-366-5551.

If the person makes each court date, cash bail is refunded when the case ends. The check goes to whoever the receipt lists, after any fee is taken out (CCP art. 17.02). Clerks may keep 5%, never over $50, but only when the case ends badly for the defendant: a conviction, or deferred adjudication. The judge can also take fines and costs out of that deposit. Ask the clerk for the release-of-funds form, which costs nothing.

Missing even one date can cost the whole bond, with a judgment against the defendant and any surety (CCP ch. 22). If the person is jailed again soon, a bondsman can be let off, but only if the person is locked up again within a set time: 180 days if the charge is a misdemeanor, 270 if a felony. Skipping court can also bring a fresh bail jumping charge. It is a Class C, a Class A or a third degree felony, based on how serious the first case was. Mark every court date on a calendar.

Settle the money and the belongings before release day ends. Phone jail staff at 806-366-5551 and ask two things: how the unspent balance gets paid out, and what day you may pick up the person's things. Bring picture ID. Collecting on someone's behalf? Ask whether the jail wants their signed permission. Our inmate trust account page walks through deposits and refunds.

Federal charges from this part of the Panhandle end up in federal court in Amarillo, part of the Northern District of Texas, 205 SE 5th Avenue, Room 133, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-468-3800. State bondsmen play no part.

• Release or detention is settled at a federal hearing, often the first appearance, where a judge weighs safety and flight risk (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Before trial the person is in Marshals Service custody. Call the Amarillo office, 205 SE 5th Street, Unit 214, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-324-2350, to learn which jail is housing them.
• The Federal Public Defender's Amarillo office represents people who can't pay: 600 S. Tyler Street, Suite 2300, Amarillo, TX 79101, 806-324-2370.
• Once sentenced, check the BOP's online inmate finder.

Yes. The money settles only the state charge. An immigration hold follows its own steps:

1. Step one is paperwork. On an I-247A detainer, ICE tells the jail that its agents want the person next.
2. Stratford can then hold them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Once that arrives, Texas jails are bound to follow it and tell the prisoner (CCP art. 2A.060). A prisoner who proves citizenship or legal status is let go from the hold. Separately, a 2017 state law bars local rules that limit help to immigration agents (Government Code 752.053).
4. Each jail county also has homework from S.B. 8 (2025): it has to send ICE a 287(g) request before December 1, 2026. Call 806-366-5551 to ask about this county.
5. Agents then take custody. ICE's field office in Dallas lists its area as North Texas and Oklahoma: 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
6. Track them on the ICE Online Detainee Locator using name, A-number or birth date, and birth country.

A state jail felony means six months to two years at a TDCJ state jail (Penal Code 12.35). Third, second and first degree felonies mean prison under TDCJ. After the judge sentences someone, they usually wait in the local jail for transport. TDCJ intake comes first, and a classification step picks the long-term unit.

• Search the TDCJ online offender lookup, refreshed on business days.
• Browse our guide to Texas state prisons.

Juvenile court is for anyone who had turned 10 but not 17 when the offense happened. Someone already 17 lands in adult court instead (Family Code 51.02). Police owe the parents a prompt call (Family Code 52.02). If the teen stays locked up, a lawyer is named and the detention hearing must come by the second business day. For a Friday or Saturday pickup, the deadline is the next business day (Family Code 54.01).

A judge, not a bond, decides if a teen goes home. The state's detention registry lists no center in this county. Any teen kept in custody goes to a center in some other county. Ask the Sheriff's Office at 806-366-5551 where and how to reach juvenile probation. State oversight: Texas Juvenile Justice Department, 1711 San Jacinto Blvd, Austin, TX 78701, 512-490-7130.