Texas grades crimes by the worst punishment possible, and each grade lands in a different courtroom here:

• Felony. The 121st District Court, whose judge also serves neighboring Yoakum County. The District Clerk holds those files.
• Class A or B misdemeanor. These can carry county jail time and go before the elected County Judge in County Court. Files stay at the County Clerk's office.
• Class C misdemeanor. Only a fine is possible. The Justice of the Peace hears it, unless a city officer wrote it inside Brownfield, in which case it usually lands in municipal court.

The county-level courts share the courthouse block at 500 West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, main number 806-637-7230. The city court meets at 218 West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-7776. Appeals of criminal convictions may go as far as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the final stop in state court.

Keep this list handy. Each office is in Brownfield:

• District Clerk (keeps the 121st District Court's felony records): 500 West Main Street, Room 209E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4202. Weekday hours are 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
• District Judge's office: 500 West Main Street, Room 302W, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-7742.
• County Clerk: 500 West Main Street, Room 105, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-8551.
• County Judge: 500 West Main Street, Room 102, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-6421.
• Justice of the Peace: works from Annex B; send mail or payments to 507B West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4757.
• Adult probation department: 500 West Main Street, Room 5B, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-6146.

All keep regular weekday business hours. Dockets shift, so a quick call before driving over is smart.

Yes. Brownfield Municipal Court sits at 218 West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-7776. It deals with fine-only state charges and city ordinance tickets from within city limits. Rural Class C cases instead reach the Justice of the Peace, 507B West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4757, whose docket also includes evictions, truancy and civil claims up to $10,000.

Most fine-only offenses can end with a ticket rather than handcuffs. Public intoxication is the one Class C that still brings an arrest. In these low-level courts, a personal bond is the standard way out (CCP art. 45A.107). CCP is short for the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

Money tight? Ask the judge about a payment schedule, a waiver, or working off the fine through community service, credited at $150 for every 8 hours. Nobody should be jailed over a fine without first getting a hearing on whether they truly tried to pay.

Ignore a JP citation and things get worse. The justice court's page warns of a $367.00 failure-to-appear charge, an arrest warrant and a possible suspended license.

Within two days of the arrest, every adult meets a magistrate, either in the same room or by video. One local official who does this is the Justice of the Peace, 507B West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4757. In a few minutes, the magistrate will:

1. name the accusation;
2. list the person's rights: silence, a hired lawyer, a lawyer during questions, stopping an interview, and an examining trial;
3. explain the steps for requesting appointed counsel and help fill in the form;
4. decide bail and any conditions attached.

Family violence arrests can bring an emergency protective order on the spot. The order normally holds for 61 to 91 days. A weapon or bad injury pushes that to 91 to 121 days. If the magistrate decides there was no probable cause, written findings follow within a day.

On a felony, the defense can request an examining trial ahead of indictment to test the evidence. Ask the jail, 806-637-2212, about this week's magistration times.

Misdemeanor cases usually begin with an "information," a charge the prosecutor writes and files, so no grand jury votes. Then come:

1. Arraignment, when the defendant hears the charge and answers guilty or not guilty.
2. Pretrial settings, for swapping evidence and discussing a deal.
3. Plea or trial. Judges aren't bound by plea deals, but if one is rejected, the guilty plea can be pulled back.

Maximum punishments under the Penal Code:

• Class C carries a fine capped at $500. Jail is not allowed.
• Class B: the judge may order jail for 180 days or less, a fine of $2,000 or less, or both.
• Class A: no more than twelve months behind bars locally and a maximum $4,000 fine, alone or together.

Some cases end in deferred adjudication. There's no guilty finding, and finishing up to two years of conditions gets the case dismissed. Regular probation on a misdemeanor runs two years at most. Files sit with the County Clerk, 500 West Main Street, Room 105, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-8551.

Every felony here belongs to the 121st District Court. Expect this order of events:

1. Arrest, then magistrate warnings and bail.
2. An examining trial, but only if the defense requests it.
3. Grand jury. An indictment needs nine or more of the grand jurors on board.
4. Arraignment before the district judge.
5. Motions, hearings and plea bargaining.
6. A negotiated plea or a jury or bench trial, then the sentence.

Sentence ranges by felony level:

• State jail felony: half a year at least, two years at most, inside a state jail unit.
• Third degree: two years minimum, ten maximum.
• Second degree: two years minimum, twenty maximum.
• First degree: a floor of five years and a ceiling of 99 years or life.

Any felony level allows a fine as high as $10,000. Prior records can bump a case to a tougher range. Deferred adjudication and probation on felonies may stretch to ten years. The District Clerk, 500 West Main Street, Room 209E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4202, holds the files and puts out the dockets.

Violent felonies use the same 121st District Court steps, but the stakes climb.

• Personal bonds are barred for the state's list of violent offenses.
• On a violent charge, only a magistrate sets the dollar amount, never a jailer.
• Proposition 3 passed in November 2025. On murder and certain other listed charges, the prosecutor may ask for a no-bail hearing. Showing either that the person may skip town or that the community needs protection leads to no bail at all (Tex. Const. art. I, § 11d).
• A capital murder conviction carries death or life without parole. Teen offenders, those under 18 when it happened, face life.
• A first-degree felony brings five to 99 years, or life.

Capital defense under the local plan goes to a regional public defender office that handles only capital cases. Victims' safety must factor into bail. The prosecutor is the County and District Attorney, 500 West Main Street, Room 208E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4984.

Prosecutor. The County and District Attorney's office handles every level, from Class B to capital murder. It is at 500 West Main Street, Room 208E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4984.

Defense for those who can't pay. Terry and Yoakum share one appointment plan:

• Forms are available at the jail, from court coordinators, or online through the state commission. Give it back to the jail administrator or a coordinator.
• The County Judge appoints on misdemeanors. The 121st District Judge appoints on felonies.
• Plainview's High Plains Regional Public Defender's Office, 806-598-6886, gets the first shot at most felony cases. It can take up to 85 percent of non-capital felonies, plus some misdemeanors and appeals.
• Counsel is due by the close of the third working day once the form arrives. After appointment, the attorney should reach out to the client by the following working day.

Full text: the Terry and Yoakum indigent defense plan. The District Clerk, 500 West Main Street, Room 209E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4202, keeps the 2026 list of approved appointed attorneys.

Phoning the clerk that holds the file is quickest. Be ready with the defendant's exact spelling and birthday.

• Felony cases: District Clerk, 500 West Main Street, Room 209E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4202. Its web page carries the court's year schedules and the latest criminal jury and non-jury dockets.
• Jailable misdemeanors: County Clerk, 500 West Main Street, Room 105, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-8551.
• Rural tickets: Justice of the Peace, 507B West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4757.
• City tickets: municipal court, 218 West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-7776.

Texas also runs re:SearchTX, free with sign-up, which shows charges and judgments from courts that use it but no hearing dates. Current charges for anyone in custody appear on the Sheriff's roster. The District Clerk's page also hosts the petition used to seal certain records, known as an order of nondisclosure.

Countywide, Sheriff's deputies carry out warrants, and Brownfield police may serve them in town. Call the Sheriff's Office, open 24 hours at 806-637-2212; it can say if a warrant exists. Texas DPS also posts a Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitive page for the whole state. You can also check felony warrants with the District Clerk, 500 West Main Street, Room 209E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4202. Warrants over skipped tickets are issued by the Justice of the Peace, 507B West Main Street, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4757. Clearing one starts with a lawyer. Next, either surrender at the jail, 1311 Tahoka Road, Brownfield, TX 79316, or phone the issuing judge's clerk about a new setting.

Federal prosecutions from here are filed in Lubbock. The clerk's office: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 209, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-1900.

• A U.S. magistrate judge presides over the first appearance and rules on release. When prosecutors seek to keep the person locked up, a detention hearing is held, and either side can request a few days' delay (18 U.S.C. 3142).
• Before trial, federal prisoners stay in U.S. Marshals Service custody, sometimes in a nearby county jail. Lubbock office: 1205 Texas Avenue, Room C-126, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7655.
• Appointed defense comes from the Federal Public Defender's Lubbock branch, 1205 Texas Avenue, Room 507, Lubbock, TX 79401, 806-472-7236.
• Once a prison term is imposed, find the person on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

An immigration hold won't stop the state prosecution. It does shape what happens once bond is posted or the sentence ends:

1. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sends Brownfield jailers a detainer on Form I-247A.
2. That lets the Tahoka Road staff hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. State law tells every Texas jail to honor such detainers. Only proof of lawful status gets around it, as CCP art. 2A.060 states. Since 2017, local governments also may not restrict immigration enforcement.
4. A 2025 statute gives sheriffs with jails one deadline, December 1, 2026, for requesting 287(g) status from ICE. Call 806-637-2212 to ask where the local application stands.
5. After ICE pickup, search the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Talk to the defense lawyer about immigration effects before taking any plea offer.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice handles all felony confinement. A state jail term is spent in a state jail unit; longer terms on higher felonies are spent in prison. After sentencing, the person stays in the Brownfield jail until TDCJ hauls them to an intake center for testing, then on to a permanent unit.

• Type a surname plus first initial into the TDCJ inmate search. Searching by TDCJ or SID number is another option.
• Our Texas state prisons page gives the bigger picture.

Misdemeanor jail sentences, by contrast, are served right at the county jail on Tahoka Road.

Texas treats a young person as a juvenile when the offense happened between ages 10 and 16. Seventeen-year-olds face adult charges. The local juvenile board decides which court sits as juvenile court.

• Parents get prompt notice after the child is detained. The child's detention gets reviewed by a judge inside two working days, with counsel named beforehand.
• Certification can send a youth's felony to adult court. Fourteen-year-olds can be certified when charged with capital murder, any first-degree felony, or an aggravated drug crime. For the remaining felonies, the cutoff is 15.
• Juvenile Probation: 500 West Main Street, Room 301E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-6941.
• A detained youth goes to a center beyond the county line. The closest registered ones are the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center, 2025 N. Akron Ave, Lubbock, TX 79415, 806-775-1800. Post, in Garza County, has the other: the Garza County Regional Juvenile Center, 806-495-0266.

Juvenile defense lawyers are appointed under the Terry juvenile board plan.

Victims in Texas can ask to have their safety weighed at bail, to be notified of hearings, and to give a victim impact statement. Case questions go to the County and District Attorney, 500 West Main Street, Room 208E, Brownfield, TX 79316, 806-637-4984.

• Release notices. Register through Texas IVSS-Counties, or call 866-268-8959 at any hour, in English or Spanish. It's free, and the person in jail never learns you signed up. It took over from VINE, so skip old pages that still point to VINELink.
• Repaying losses. The Attorney General's victims' compensation fund covers up to $50,000 in crime-related costs. Phone 800-983-9933.
• Protection. In family violence cases, an emergency protective order can be issued by the magistrate during warnings.