Criminal Court Cases in McMullen County
McMullen County criminal court cases are divided by the level of the filed charge. Felonies go to the 36th, 156th, or 343rd Judicial District Court. These are traveling courts that also sit in Aransas, Bee, Live Oak, and San Patricio counties. When their calendars bring them to McMullen County, they sit at the county courthouse in Tilden. The official district court directory lists each judge and court administrator. It helps confirm which district court owns a felony file before a copy request is sent.
Class A and B misdemeanors are handled in McMullen County Court. Fine-only charges, citations, and some early magistrate work belong to the Justice Court. That split matters. A district cause number will not be found by asking only the Justice Court, and a citation file does not move to a district clerk merely because it is criminal in nature. The combined County/District Clerk is the main custodian for district and county case files, but the Justice Court keeps its own lower-court record.
Search McMullen Court Cases Through Clerk
McMullen County uses one combined County/District Clerk office rather than separate felony and misdemeanor clerk counters. The clerk's official contact page identifies Mattie S. Martinez and gives the counter at 501 River Street, Tilden, Texas 78072. Clerk mail goes to P.O. Box 235. The main line is (361) 274-3215, the fax is (361) 274-3858, and the office email is Mattie.Martinez@mcmullencounty.org. Courthouse hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Ask for felony district cases and county misdemeanors as separate searches. Supply the full name, any prior name, an approximate filing year, and a cause number when one is known. Share a date of birth only through a channel the clerk approves. The clerk can explain whether the file is electronic, on paper, or available for inspection. The state court office reports that McMullen County uses Local Government Solutions, or LGS, for case management, but the county has not posted a public LGS search link.
McMullen County/District Clerk
501 River Street
Tilden, TX 78072
P.O. Box 235
(361) 274-3215
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
McMullen County Case Record Searches
Use the local clerk and re:SearchTX together. The local office remains the source for certified copies and older paper records. The statewide service is useful for e-filed cases, filings, hearings, and available documents. Registration is required, and court coverage can vary. Follow this order so an online gap does not become a false conclusion about a McMullen County criminal case.
- Identify whether the charge is a felony, county misdemeanor, or fine-only matter, then choose the district, County Court, or Justice Court channel.
- Sign in or register at re:SearchTX, enter a name, case phrase, or known cause number, and select the Cases tab.
- Use the case, filing, hearing, and document controls to narrow the results. Check the named court, filing date, and case type before opening a detail page.
- Contact the combined clerk if no result appears, if the file predates electronic coverage, or if the displayed docket lacks a needed order.
- Ask the custodian for the copy charge and request a certified disposition when proof of the final court outcome is needed.
The official re:SearchTX quick reference describes these controls. They are broad search tools, not proof that every McMullen County paper file has been placed online.
| Field or Control | Type | Required | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search | Keyword text | Yes for basic search | Enter a name, cause number, or case phrase. |
| Cases | Tab | No | Limits results to case records. |
| Filings | Tab | No | Searches filing entries and available documents. |
| Text in Documents | Tab | No | Full-text access depends on the court and document. |
| Hearings | Tab | No | Finds hearing records and detail dialogs. |
| Filters | Facets | No | Narrows the displayed results. |
| Save Search / Export | Account action | No | Retains a query or exports its results. |
Which McMullen Criminal Court Holds File
A court name is more reliable than the building address. All three district courts can sit at the same McMullen County courthouse, so “filed in Tilden” does not identify the right district. Read the case number, caption, and court field together. If the record names the 36th, 156th, or 343rd Judicial District Court, ask for that exact district file. Court administrators can confirm calendars, but the combined clerk is the custodian for copies.
For a Class A or B misdemeanor, use the McMullen County Court channel. Questions about the charge are directed to the County Attorney at (361) 274-3723, while records and copies remain clerk work. A fine-only citation usually stays with the McMullen Justice Court at 504 Courthouse Drive, (361) 274-3372. Its phone line runs from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., although office hours continue until 4:00 p.m. The official notice directs case messages to court clerks, not the judge.
Note: One courthouse can host several McMullen County criminal courts, so match the court name before requesting a file.
What a Criminal Case File Contains
A McMullen County criminal case file follows the prosecution, not just the arrest. It may begin with a complaint, misdemeanor information, or felony indictment. Later entries can show bond orders, arraignment, pleas, discovery, motions, settings, trial activity, a dismissal, judgment, sentence, costs, and a capias. Online detail may show only the index and accessible filings. The local clerk can say which underlying documents are public and whether a certified copy is available.
| Case Number and Court | Identifies the cause and the district, County Court, or Justice Court that owns it. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | Shows the filed complaint, information, or indictment and the stated charge. |
| Parties and Attorneys | Lists the named parties and counsel recorded in the case. |
| Docket Entries | Chronicles filings, settings, motions, orders, and other court events. |
| Hearings and Pleas | Records scheduled proceedings and the formal response to a charge. |
| Disposition and Judgment | States the outcome, such as dismissal, acquittal, deferred adjudication, or conviction. |
| Sentence and Costs | Shows punishment, community supervision, financial entries, and other ordered terms. |
These fields help separate one McMullen County case from a similar name match. A disposition deserves close attention. A dismissal ends the filed charge without a conviction, while deferred adjudication is not an acquittal. A no-bill means the grand jury declined the indictment presented to it. None of those terms should be replaced with a guess based on the initial arrest charge.
2026 McMullen Misdemeanor Court Dates
McMullen County publishes only five County Court misdemeanor docket dates for 2026: January 12, April 13, August 10, October 12, and December 9. Each begins at 1:00 p.m. Those dates can explain why a case has a long gap between one docket event and the next. They do not apply to every district felony or Justice Court citation.
The official County Court dates page is the source for the captured docket view below.
The image reinforces that McMullen County misdemeanor settings use a short published calendar, so the current official page should be checked before any courthouse trip.
A self-represented person who needs a reset uses the county form and sends it to countycourt@mcmcullencounty.org. A represented person must work through counsel. A reset request is not an order, and sending one does not prove that the date changed. Confirm the resulting setting in the court file or with the proper clerk.
Criminal Case Stages in McMullen County
A local criminal case can start with an arrest or summons, followed by magistrate warnings and review of probable cause and bond. Texas law generally requires an arrested person to be taken before a magistrate without needless delay and no later than 48 hours after arrest. The prosecutor then screens the matter. A county misdemeanor can proceed by information, while a felony normally moves through a grand jury and indictment.
Case flow: Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
At arraignment, the accusation is addressed and a plea is taken. Discovery and motions come before a plea or trial. The disposition records what happened to each charge. If there is a conviction, judgment and sentence follow. A motion for new trial or appeal can add later entries. Because McMullen County's district courts travel, the court administrator's calendar and the clerk's docket can both matter when confirming the next setting.
- Arraignment
- The proceeding at which the accusation is addressed and a plea is taken.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a charge, including dismissal, acquittal, deferred adjudication, or conviction.
- Indictment
- A felony charging instrument returned as a true bill by a grand jury.
- Information
- A prosecutor-filed charging instrument commonly used for misdemeanors.
- Capias
- A court order that directs an arrest, often after a court event or judgment.
McMullen Court Records: LGS Versus re:SearchTX
LGS is the clerk's case-management system. McMullen County does not publish a public LGS lookup. re:SearchTX is a separate statewide service built from electronic court filing data. It can show cases, filings, hearings, parties, and documents where access exists, but its coverage is not a full mirror of every McMullen County clerk file. Older paper matters and some criminal filings may require a direct request.
The TxDPS criminal search support page shown below adds a third system to the comparison.
The support view relates to statewide criminal history, not the complete court docket, and it explains why offline state records may need staff processing.
The three channels answer different questions. The clerk file documents the actual prosecution. re:SearchTX offers a remote path to covered e-filed court data. The TxDPS Computerized Criminal History product reports the public slice of statewide conviction and deferred-adjudication data. A DPS name match is only a possible identity match unless fingerprints confirm it. A missing result in any one system does not erase a record held in another.
Access Rules for Case Records
Texas court files are governed by judicial rules and court authority, not simply every rule that applies to executive-agency records. The Texas judicial rules framework is therefore important when a McMullen County case record is sought. The Texas Public Information Act still governs many sheriff and county agency records. Its Government Code Chapter 552 provides access and prompt-production duties while also allowing law-enforcement and confidentiality exceptions.
Public access does not mean every field is open. Juvenile information, victim-identifying material, Social Security numbers, financial accounts, health data, and other protected details may be withheld or redacted. A sealed case or qualifying restricted record may not appear in an ordinary public search. If an online entry is absent, ask the proper clerk whether the cause exists, whether it is paper-only, and whether access is limited. Do not ask court staff to reveal information the law protects.
McMullen Criminal Cases: County or Federal
McMullen County lies within the Southern District of Texas, so a federal prosecution does not appear as a county criminal cause merely because the conduct occurred here. Federal dockets and filed documents are searched through PACER after account registration. The district has seven divisions, and the correct division should be confirmed through the current Southern District jurisdiction information rather than assumed from a county address.
The official PACER portal is the source for the federal court access image below.
The PACER view marks the shift from McMullen County court files to federal dockets, which use a separate account, court, case number, and fee schedule.
An FBI Identity History Summary is different again. It is the subject's own federal identity-history route, not a PACER docket and not the McMullen County clerk file. The FBI Electronic Departmental Order portal supplies the ordering view shown next.
The FBI portal image underscores that a personal identity summary, a federal court docket, and a McMullen County criminal case file are three distinct products.
For a local filed charge, return to the combined clerk. For a federal prosecution, use PACER and the federal court. For a fingerprint-linked review of one's own federal identity history, follow the FBI process. Keeping those channels separate prevents a missing county search result from being mistaken for a nationwide clearance.