Frio County Criminal Court Cases
Frio County criminal court cases divide by jurisdiction. The 81st and 218th Judicial District Courts hear felony matters, and the Frio County District Clerk keeps those pleadings, orders, judgments, and archived district files. Both district courts serve several counties, yet a Frio filing remains a Frio County record. The constitutional County Court handles county-level criminal jurisdiction, with its file held by the County Clerk. Four justice courts and the Pearsall and Dilley municipal courts keep fine-only or ordinance matters within their own limited authority.
That split determines where to request a case file. A booking sheet from the Sheriff is not the court file. Nor is a docket calendar the complete file. Start with the level of the filed charge, then use the clerk that serves that court. If the level is unclear, a cause number, filing date, or docket heading can help the clerk route the request. The Frio County District Clerk is the felony custodian, while the Frio County Clerk maintains constitutional County Court criminal matters.
Frio County PDF Criminal Dockets
Frio County does not publish a verified countywide name-query box. Its most direct online route is a set of official PDF calendars. The 81st and 218th District Courts docket page lets a reader choose Frio County and a setting date. County Court calendars appear on the county's chronological County Court docket page. Both are browsing tools. They show scheduled court activity, not a full search across every case or year.
The official district-court site shows how the multi-county courts organize their work. Its landing screen is pictured below from that source.
The screen helps identify the right district resource before opening a Frio setting or asking the clerk for a document.
Searching Frio County Case Records
A sound Frio County criminal case search uses the PDF calendar as an index clue, not as the final answer. A name may appear on one setting and vanish from later calendars. Search by setting date when known, capture the cause number, and obtain the signed judgment from the custodian. For broader e-file coverage, re:SearchTX requires free registration, but participating-clerk coverage, security settings, public document access, and document charges can vary.
- Open the district or County Court docket page and choose the Frio setting or date range that fits the event.
- Find the full legal name, then record the cause number, court, filing date, and setting code without treating the listing as an outcome.
- Check re:SearchTX for any public e-file index or document that the participating Frio clerk has made available.
- Contact the County Clerk for a county criminal case or the District Clerk for a felony file, including older or non-indexed records.
- Ask for the signed judgment or disposition first. Order a certified copy only when an institution requires certification.
The public routes expose different controls. Frio PDF pages sort by county and date, while re:SearchTX can provide party or case access only where the clerk and security class permit it.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| County and setting date | Browse/select | Yes for PDF route | Choose Frio and the relevant calendar date. |
| Cause number | Text or PDF field | No | Best key for a clerk request once found. |
| Party name | Text or PDF text | No | Use the full legal name; name-only matching can be uncertain. |
| Case type or court | Filter/heading | No | Separates district felony from county or lower-court matters. |
| Registration | Account | Yes for re:SearchTX | Public document coverage and charges depend on the clerk. |
Frio County Criminal Case Clerks
The Frio County Courthouse holds both primary clerk counters, so the office name matters more than the building name. The District Clerk receives felony-file requests at Box 8 and accepts open-record searches through its published email. The County Clerk works from Box 6 and keeps the constitutional County Court criminal file. Its published generic copy charges are $1 per page, $5 plus $1 per page for certification, $2 per faxed page, and $3 for a file mark. Confirm that a charge applies to the exact request before paying.
Frio County District Clerk
500 E. San Antonio St., Box 8
Pearsall, TX 78061
830-505-2996
districtclerk@friocounty.org
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; call around lunch and holidays
Frio County Clerk
500 E. San Antonio St., Box 6
Pearsall, TX 78061
830-505-2987
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; lunch noon-1 p.m.
Note: Ask for a search and cost estimate before ordering certification or archive retrieval from either Frio County criminal case clerk.
Inside a Frio County Case File
A full Frio County criminal case file can establish what prosecutors filed, how the charge changed, what hearings occurred, and how the judge resolved the case. The docket is a chronology. The complaint, information, or indictment is the formal accusation. Motions and orders show disputes and rulings. The signed judgment carries far more weight than a calendar entry because it states the disposition and sentence. Financial fields may also appear in county-level files, but they do not replace the judgment.
| Case Number & Court | Links the file to the right Frio County court and distinguishes related matters. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | Shows the complaint, information, or indictment actually filed, not merely the booking charge. |
| Docket Entries | Lists settings, filings, motions, orders, pleas, and other case events in sequence. |
| Hearing Dates | Identifies arraignment, pretrial, plea, trial, sentencing, or revocation settings. |
| Disposition & Judgment | States dismissal, acquittal, conviction, or other outcome in the signed court record. |
| Sentence & Conditions | Records punishment, community supervision, custody, fines, or other terms ordered by the court. |
Frio County Criminal Docket Codes
Short codes compress a great deal of Frio County case activity. District calendars use CR for criminal, GJ for grand jury, ARR for arraignment, JT for jury trial, NJ for non-jury, and JDC for jury docket call or pretrial conference. Event comments may also flag a motion to revoke, plea, sentencing, competency review, motion to suppress, or bench warrant. These labels describe a setting or event. They do not state the final outcome unless the signed record says so.
- Arraignment
- The hearing at which the accused is formally called on to answer the charge.
- Motion to revoke
- A request to revoke community supervision based on an alleged violation, not a final ruling by itself.
- Disposition
- The recorded result of a charge, such as dismissal, acquittal, or conviction.
- Bench warrant
- A court direction to arrest after a procedural event, often shown in shorthand as B/W.
The official Frio indictment and arraignment page illustrates another narrow publication layer.
It can confirm a recent charging event and arraignment date, but it cannot supply the full history or disposition.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A Frio County criminal case begins in the court file only after the charging process reaches the clerk. The arresting officer's charge can change when a prosecutor reviews the facts. A misdemeanor may proceed by complaint and information, while a felony commonly moves through a grand jury indictment. Arraignment follows the filed accusation. Discovery, motions, and plea talks occur before a plea or trial. The judge then signs the disposition and, when there is a conviction, imposes sentence.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
Texas law calls for prompt magistration after arrest, generally without unnecessary delay and no later than 48 hours. That initial warning and bond stage is not the same as the later criminal case. A setting can be reset, a charge can be amended, and a docket can remain open while the case proceeds. Use the final signed judgment to identify the result.
Frio County Signed Case Judgments
A calendar entry may say plea, sentencing, or motion to revoke without showing what the court did. When a Frio County criminal case outcome matters, give the clerk the cause number and request the signed judgment plus any order that changed it. The District Clerk's published office rules state that personal checks are not accepted; the office lists money order, cashier's check, and credit card. Ask for a current total and accepted delivery method before sending funds.
The statewide re:SearchTX interface may offer an index or document for a participating clerk.
An empty result does not prove the Frio County case is absent. Security classification, clerk participation, and older offline files can limit what appears.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Access to Frio County criminal case records is custodian-specific. Court case files are obtained from the clerk under court-access law and clerk practice, rather than by assuming that every file follows the ordinary Texas Public Information Act process. Texas Rule of Judicial Administration 12 covers judicial records, a category distinct from the filed case record. Ask the clerk which rule and procedure governs the exact item requested.
Juvenile law-enforcement and court information may be restricted. Expunged records should not remain in a public channel. Orders of nondisclosure restrict public release of specified criminal history, while victim data, personal identifiers, and protected material can be redacted. A public PDF can also expose more identifying detail than a reader needs, including a date of birth. Use it only to locate the case, then rely on an official copy from the clerk.
Federal Cases Beyond Frio County
Federal prosecutions arising in Frio County do not become complete Frio clerk files. The county lies in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Federal dockets and documents instead run through PACER, which requires registration and uses the federal judiciary's current document-pricing rules. Search the federal layer only when the event belongs to federal court; a PACER result does not replace a county judgment.
The official federal docket service is shown below from its source.
This separate channel prevents a common search error: looking for a Western District case in the Frio County criminal court docket.