Houston County Criminal Court Cases
Houston County divides criminal files by charge level. The 3rd and 349th Judicial District Courts share felony trial jurisdiction, while the Houston County District Clerk keeps their felony records. Class A and B misdemeanors, plus appeals from Class C cases, belong to the County Court at Law and County Clerk. Crockett Municipal Court and the county's justice courts retain their own fine-only dockets. A search in one office therefore cannot rule out a case held by another.
The courts sit in a multi-county judicial system, but that does not move a Houston County felony file to Anderson or Henderson County. The filing county controls the custodian. The Houston County District Clerk expressly identifies felony records as its responsibility. This official page also links online records, future settings, local rules, and local expunction material.
The District Clerk source shows the local felony-record gateway.
That office is the right source for a certified Houston County felony judgment, not a jail list or a statewide name result.
Two Houston County Felony Courts
The 3rd and 349th District Courts both hear Houston County felonies. Each uses the same county coordinator contact at the courthouse, yet each remains a distinct court. The County Court at Law handles the county-level criminal docket instead. Matching the court name and number on the case record prevents a same-name or wrong-docket mistake.
| Court or Office | Criminal Record | Local Contact |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd District Court | Houston County felony cases | 401 E. Houston Ave.; 936-544-3255 |
| 349th District Court | Houston County felony cases | 401 E. Houston Ave.; 936-544-3255 |
| County Court at Law | Class A/B cases and Class C appeals | Suite H; ext. 230 |
| District Clerk | Felony case files and certified copies | Suite E; ext. 235 |
| County Clerk | County misdemeanor records | Criminal deputy; ext. 242 |
The County Court at Law page publishes criminal dockets and identifies the court's jurisdiction.
Those dated dockets can help confirm a setting, but the County Clerk remains the source for the filed misdemeanor record.
Searching Houston County Case Records
The county's official clerk pages route readers to LGS Online Records Search. Search is free, and Guest Login allows index searching and image previews. Full image purchases need an account. Because available filters change after the user chooses an office and record type, Houston County research does not support a fixed list of every live field. A case number is the best key when it is known.
- Open the correct District Clerk or County Clerk page and follow its LGS criminal-record link.
- Choose the office and criminal record type before entering search terms.
- Use the case number when possible, or try the name fields the live screen provides.
- Open More Information, confirm the court and filing date, then review docket and image links.
- Ask the proper clerk for inspection, a plain copy, or a certified copy when the online file is incomplete.
| Field or Control | Type | Required | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Office | Select | Yes | Choose District Clerk or County Clerk. |
| Record type | Select | Yes | Select the criminal case family offered live. |
| Case number | Text | No | Most reliable local search key when known. |
| Last name | Text | No | Official FAQ uses this as a search example. |
| More Information | Result control | No | Opens the case-level detail made public. |
| Images | Result control | No | Shows available public document images. |
The official LGS records interface is the county portal linked by both clerk offices.
Its office-first design is why selecting the correct custodian matters before entering a name.
Missing Houston County Case Images
A visible index entry does not guarantee that each pleading or judgment is available online. LGS Guest Login permits previews but not full-image purchases. A registered user may buy up to five images before a subscription is required, and each purchase adds a mandatory $0.30 transaction fee. Per-image prices and subscriptions vary by office.
For an older, non-digitized, or image-restricted Houston County case, record the case number, court, filing date, and document title. Contact the right clerk instead of assuming the document is absent. The District Clerk fee sheet effective in 2024 lists a $5 record search per name, $1 per copy page, and $5 more for certification. Confirm current charges before ordering.
Houston County District Clerk
401 E. Houston Avenue, Suite E
Crockett, TX 75835
936-544-3255 ext. 235
districtclerk@co.houston.tx.us
Houston County Clerk
401 E. Houston Avenue
Crockett, TX 75835
936-544-3255 ext. 242
Public hours: 8:15 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
The County Clerk's official page supplies the misdemeanor-record route and public-information forms.
Use that clerk for Class A and B files rather than sending every request to the felony desk.
Inside a Houston County Case File
A criminal court file records what prosecutors filed and what the court did. It can contain facts that a DPS public criminal-history result compresses or omits. Fields vary by case and by the documents released, so an online blank should not be read as proof that an event never occurred.
| Case Number and Court | Identifies the local proceeding, trial court, and file. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | Shows the complaint, information, or indictment and the filed offense. |
| Docket Entries | Lists filings, settings, motions, and other recorded events. |
| Parties and Counsel | May identify the prosecutor and defense counsel shown in the public file. |
| Bond and Warrants | May show bond terms or linked warrant activity when public. |
| Disposition and Judgment | States how the charge ended and the court's formal judgment. |
| Sentence and Costs | Records punishment, community supervision, court costs, and related terms. |
Read each stage in order: “arrested for” does not mean “filed as,” and “filed as” does not mean “convicted of.” A dismissal, acquittal, no-bill, deferred adjudication, and conviction each describe a different result.
Houston County Versus re:SearchTX
re:SearchTX is Texas's statewide court platform, but it is not a complete statewide criminal-case search. The Texas Judicial Council reported that its large document collection dating from 2016 excluded criminal cases. Houston County readers should therefore use LGS and the appropriate clerk for local criminal case records.
The statewide screen may help with participating civil records, yet a no-hit there does not clear a person or close a Houston County criminal search.
A DPS public name result is also different. It is an identity-oriented state compilation of public conviction and deferred-adjudication information. The local court file remains the stronger source for the charging document, docket, judgment, and certified disposition. Fingerprints are the only positive identity linkage according to DPS.
Note: A same-name portal result should be matched against court, filing date, charge, and other reliable identifiers before it is treated as relevant.
How a Criminal Case Moves
After arrest and magistration, a prosecutor decides what charge to file. A felony may proceed through complaint and grand-jury indictment. A county misdemeanor commonly proceeds by information. Arraignment states the charge and receives a plea, followed by discovery, motions, settings, a negotiated plea or trial, and the final disposition. Post-judgment motions or an appeal can add later entries.
Case flow: Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
Texas law generally calls for an arrested person to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours. That early event concerns warnings, probable cause, and bond. It is not the final judgment. A jail charge may change before the filed Houston County case reaches disposition.
Crockett Cases Stay Separate
Crockett Municipal Court keeps traffic, ordinance, and other limited fine-only misdemeanor files at 200 N. 5th Street. Those records should not be assumed to appear with Houston County felonies or county misdemeanors. Justice Court Precincts 1 and 2 also handle criminal matters within their limited jurisdiction.
- Felony
- A higher-level charge filed in a Houston County district court and kept by the District Clerk.
- Class A or B misdemeanor
- A county-level case heard by the County Court at Law and kept by the County Clerk.
- Class C misdemeanor
- A fine-only matter generally heard by a municipal or justice court, with an appeal routed to County Court at Law.
- Capias
- A court order directing custody, often tied to a filed case or an unpaid fine-only judgment.
If the issuing court is unclear, use the official Texas Judicial Directory to verify the current court contact. Do not send a municipal warrant question to the District Clerk merely because the event occurred within Houston County.
Federal Cases From Houston County
Federal prosecutions from Houston County lie in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. They do not appear as county district-court cases. PACER provides federal dockets and documents after registration under the federal judiciary's current fee schedule.
PACER is the official electronic search layer for federal case files, while the Houston County clerks remain the custodians of state and local court records.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons locator concerns federal custody, not the case docket. Likewise, a federal warrant question belongs with the U.S. Marshals Service for the Eastern District of Texas. Keeping docket, custody, and warrant sources separate avoids false gaps.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Public court access is broad, but not unlimited. Juvenile justice information, sealed or expunged records, protected victim data, and some identifiers do not belong in an ordinary public Houston County case search. Online access may also show less than the clerk's paper file. Government Code Chapter 552 governs executive-agency public information, while judicial records can follow court and common-law access rules.
The Texas Public Information Act does not require an office to create a new answer. For a pleading or judgment, use the clerk's inspection and copy process. If a Houston County case vanished after expunction or nondisclosure, ask about access status rather than requesting that restricted data be disclosed.
Record boundary: A dismissal does not by itself erase each booking and repository entry. Chapter 55A expunction and Chapter 411 nondisclosure are separate remedies with distinct effects.
When a public docket seems incomplete, preserve the case number and ask the custodian what can be inspected or certified. For broader county criminal-history context, the Houston County criminal history overview separates court, jail, sheriff, and DPS records.