Texas sorts criminal cases by the worst punishment the charge can bring. Locally, that sorting looks like this:

• Felonies go to the district courts. Four of them (the 7th, 114th, 241st and 475th) hear criminal and civil cases. The 321st sticks to family law. The District Clerk holds every felony file.
• Jailable misdemeanors (Class A and Class B) go to the County Court at Law plus Courts at Law No. 2 and No. 3. Appeals from justice and city courts land there too. The County Clerk keeps those records.
• Class C cases, punished by a fine alone, belong to the five justice of the peace courts and the city municipal courts.
• A criminal appeal can climb as high as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which has the last word.

County Court at Law No. 3 also serves as the juvenile court. A 2022 county jail study notes that people arrested on Class C charges alone are no longer booked into the jail.

• Smith County Courthouse, 100 N. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75702. Enter on the west side, from Broadway Avenue. The district courts and the County Courts at Law sit here. The District Clerk, Room 204, answers at 903-590-1660, Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and stops taking payments at 4:30 p.m.
• Courthouse Annex (the Ferguson Building), 200 E. Ferguson Street, Tyler, TX 75702. The County Clerk is on the third floor, Suite 300, 903-590-4670, during business hours. Park in the county garage next door, 210 East Ferguson Street, Tyler, TX 75702.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1: 200 E. Ferguson Street, Suite 501, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-2601.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2: 15405 Highway 155 S, Tyler, TX 75703.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 3: 313 E. Duval Street, Troup, TX 75789, 903-590-4729.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4: 14152 Highway 155 N, Winona, TX 75792.
• Justice of the Peace, Precinct 5: 2616 S. Main, Lindale, TX 75771.

For the Precinct 2, 4 and 5 courts, call the county's main number, 903-590-4605, and ask to be connected.

Texas gives each incorporated city a municipal court for Class C cases, where the only penalty is a fine. The county counts ten cities: Arp, Bullard, Hideaway, Lindale, Noonday, Overton, Troup, Tyler, Whitehouse and Winona.

When a city officer writes the ticket, it normally ends up in that town's court. A deputy's ticket normally goes to a justice of the peace. The department behind the ticket can tell you the court and the date:

• Tyler Police Department, 711 W. Ferguson St., Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-1100
• Lindale Police Department, 105 Ballard Drive, Lindale, TX 75771, 903-882-3313
• Whitehouse Police Department, 101 B Bascom Road, Whitehouse, TX 75791, 903-510-7550
• Bullard Police Department, 204 W. Main St., Bullard, TX 75757, 903-894-7788

Tickets from Arp, Troup, Winona and the other small towns, or from deputies, can be traced through the Sheriff's Office at 903-590-2661.

Texas law gives officers 48 hours, at most, to bring an arrested person before a magistrate (CCP art. 15.17). Here, that hearing takes place at the County Jail, either in a room or over video. It is short, and nobody is found guilty. At it, the magistrate:

• reads the accusation out loud
• covers the warnings: staying silent, hiring counsel, having counsel present when police ask questions, and ending an interview at any time
• in a felony, mentions that an examining trial can be requested
• cautions that statements can be used as evidence
• asks about a court-appointed lawyer, and jail staff help with the forms
• sets bail and any release rules

Since 2025, art. 15.17(h) makes a magistrate who finds no probable cause write down the reasons within 24 hours. The jail at 903-590-2800 can tell you whether this step is done.

For a misdemeanor, the prosecutor's paperwork is an "information," filed by the Criminal District Attorney. That file lands in a County Court at Law. The steps:

1. Arraignment. Sessions begin at 8 a.m. in the Central Jury Room, first floor of the courthouse at 100 N. Broadway, Tyler, TX 75702. An interpreter attends. Please don't bring kids. Anyone waiving arraignment files a written waiver, with the cause number, before 8 a.m. that day. Dates appear on the 2026 arraignment schedule.
2. Pretrial settings. The lawyers talk about a plea deal, and most cases settle here.
3. Trial to a judge or a jury when there is no deal.
4. Sentence. Options include jail, a fine, probation or deferred adjudication. On a misdemeanor, deferred adjudication may run as long as two years, and completing it leads to dismissal under arts. 42A.103 and 42A.111.

The Penal Code sets the ceiling for each class. A Class A can bring as much as a year in the county jail and a $4,000 fine (12.21). A Class B carries no more than 180 days and a $2,000 fine (12.22). A Class C means a fine of $500 or less, with no jail (12.23).

Pay misdemeanor fines and costs at the County Clerk, 200 E. Ferguson Street, Suite 300, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-4670.

1. Magistration at the jail, where bail gets set.
2. Examining trial. Ahead of any indictment, the accused can ask a magistrate to look for probable cause. Bail can be reviewed there too (CCP art. 16.01).
3. Grand jury. Meetings are secret, and art. 20A.301 requires at least nine grand jurors to vote for an indictment.
4. Arraignment in district court. The judge checks identity, reads the indictment and hears a plea (CCP art. 26.01).
5. Plea bargaining. When a deal exists, the judge tells the court openly whether it will be honored. If the judge refuses it, the person may then pull the plea back under art. 26.13.
6. Trial, then sentencing.

Prison time depends on the felony level (Penal Code 12.32 to 12.35). State jail felonies: 180 days minimum, two years maximum, in a state jail facility. A third degree felony carries two to ten years. A second degree felony runs two to twenty years. A first degree felony runs from five years to 99, or life. Any level may add a fine as high as $10,000.

On a felony, deferred adjudication can stretch to 10 years (CCP art. 42A.103). Probation is supervised by Adult Probation, 217 East Line Street, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-2700. The District Clerk at 903-590-1660 keeps felony records.

Violent and repeat cases follow stricter rules at almost every step:

• Capital murder. An adult convicted of it receives a death sentence or life without parole; if under 18 at the time, the punishment is life instead (Penal Code 12.31).
• Bail may be withheld. Proposition 3, passed in November 2025, lets a judge deny bail on charges like murder, aggravated robbery and aggravated sexual assault when the prosecutor shows, at a hearing, a flight risk or a danger (Tex. Const. art. I, sec. 11d).
• Prior records. Earlier felony convictions can raise the punishment one level. After two prior prison felonies in a row, Penal Code 12.42 raises the range to 25 years up to 99 or life.
• Release on a signed promise (a personal bond) is not allowed for many violent counts (CCP art. 17.03).
• Weapons. Using or showing a deadly weapon turns a state jail felony into third degree punishment (Penal Code 12.35).
• Deferred adjudication is barred for most murder charges and certain other listed crimes (CCP art. 42A.102).

Case questions go to the Criminal District Attorney at 903-590-1720.

Prosecution. One office, the Criminal District Attorney, brings felony, misdemeanor and juvenile criminal cases. Find it at 100 North Broadway Avenue, Floor 4, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1720. Hours are weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a lunch closure from noon to 1 p.m. It staffs four felony courts and three misdemeanor courts. Bad check cases go to its Hot Check Division, 200 E. Ferguson Street, Suite 209, Tyler, TX 75702.

Defense. The county has no public defender office. Appointed work is split this way:

• Three contract lawyers are assigned to each felony district court, and they take almost all of its appointed cases.
• Misdemeanor appointments go in turn to lawyers on an approved list.
• A 2023 state review found that roughly three of every four felony defendants, and one in ten misdemeanor defendants, had appointed counsel.

Ask for a lawyer at magistration. The court then has a deadline of a few working days, under CCP art. 1.051, to name one. Read the county's indigent defense plan or call the state commission that oversees it at 866-499-0656.

• County records portal. The Smith County Public Search Site pulls up jail and court records by name or cause number.
• Statewide filings. re:SearchTX asks you to register for free. It lists filed charges and judgments, though hearing dates come from the county.
• Misdemeanor arraignments. Check the 2026 arraignment schedule.
• Old convictions. A paid DPS conviction search covers people convicted or given deferred adjudication.

By phone, the District Clerk at 903-590-1660 gives felony settings and the County Clerk at 903-590-4670 gives misdemeanor settings. They will ask for the defendant's name, spelled out, and date of birth.

Deputies with the Sheriff's Office, 903-590-2661, serve warrants across the county, along with constables and city officers. In Tyler, police can be reached at 903-531-1100 and keep a city Most Wanted page. Statewide, DPS shows the Texas 10 Most Wanted. Name checks are done by phone through the Sheriff's Office, or online on the county records portal. Clearing a warrant usually goes best with a lawyer. Options are a planned surrender at the Central Jail, 206 E. Elm Street, Tyler, TX 75702, or phoning the issuing court to request a new setting. Felony warrant papers are kept by the District Clerk, 100 North Broadway, Room 204, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1660.

Federal charges from here are handled in Tyler by the Eastern District of Texas. Its courtroom building is the William M. Steger federal courthouse, 211 West Ferguson Street, Room 106, Tyler, TX 75702. The clerk's office number is 903-590-1000.

1. When prosecutors seek detention, a magistrate judge holds a hearing on jail or release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Before trial, the person stays a federal prisoner. The U.S. Marshals Service, 211 West Ferguson Street, Floor 4, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1370, decides where they are held. The county jail stopped taking new federal inmates in 2022, so the Marshals know where the person is housed.
3. The U.S. Attorney's Office, 110 North College, Suite 700, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1400, brings the charges.
4. The Federal Public Defender, Plaza Tower, 110 North College Avenue, Suite 1122, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-531-9233, represents defendants who can't pay.
5. Look the person up after sentencing on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

A detainer can shape how the case should end, so mention it to the defense lawyer right away. A Texas judge must warn a non-citizen, both orally and on paper, that a guilty or no contest plea could bring deportation (CCP art. 26.13). On the jail side:

1. ICE's request comes on Form I-247A, and Smith County jailers receive it.
2. That paper lets staff keep custody up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Texas jails must obey such a request. The exception is a person with proof of U.S. citizenship or lawful immigration status (art. 2A.060). Since 2017, Gov't Code 752.053 has kept local governments from limiting immigration enforcement.
4. Under S.B. 8 (2025), each Texas county with a jail needs a 287(g) agreement with ICE in place by December 1, 2026. How far the Sheriff's Office has gotten is a question for 903-590-2661.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator once ICE has the person.

A blank result means it's time to phone ICE's Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Freeway, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.

State jail felonies are served in state jails. Third, second and first degree felonies, plus capital ones, send people to TDCJ, the state's prison system (Penal Code 12.31 to 12.35). The wait for transfer happens at the county jail. Then TDCJ intake sorts each person and assigns a fitting unit.

• Look up a last name plus first initial, or a TDCJ number, on the TDCJ inmate search.
• Visiting and mailing rules for state units are on our Texas state prisons page.

Ask the jail at 903-590-2800 whether a transfer date has been set.

A child who was 10 or older, but younger than 17, when the offense happened goes to juvenile court. Seventeen is adult age for criminal charges in Texas (Family Code 51.02). In this county, juvenile court is County Court at Law No. 3, and the Criminal District Attorney handles the prosecution.

• Juvenile Services Department: 2630 Morningside Drive, Suite 300, Tyler, TX 75708, 903-535-0850. Juvenile probation fees are paid in this building, called the Juvenile Attention Center.
• Detention: the Juvenile Detention Center, on the same Morningside Drive campus.

A court must review detention fast. The limit is two working days, cut to one for a child picked up on a Friday or Saturday. A lawyer for the child must be in place by then (Family Code 54.01). Older teens can be sent to adult court: from age 14 for capital, first degree and aggravated drug felonies, or from 15 for other felonies, but only after a full hearing and investigation (Family Code 54.02).

Texas spells out victim rights in CCP art. 56A.051. Among them: bail decisions must weigh the victim's safety, a victim who asks is told about hearings, and a written impact statement can reach the judge before sentencing.

• Victim Services sits inside the Criminal District Attorney's Office, 100 North Broadway Avenue, Floor 4, Tyler, TX 75702, 903-590-1720. More on the county's Victim Services page.
• Release notices. Sign up through Texas IVSS-Counties online, or by phone at 866-268-8959, day or night. Registration is free and confidential.
• Help with bills. Through the Office of the Attorney General, Crime Victims' Compensation can cover up to $50,000 in medical, counseling and lost-wage costs. Start an application or call 800-983-9933.