Fannin County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Fannin County, Texas, is a relatively low-population county in the northeast part of the state. It covers a land area of 891 square miles, with Bonham as its county seat, and it is home to over 36,052 Texans. Fannin County has a widely structured court system to accommodate a broad range of legal disputes and concerns. The county's court system primarily consists of the District Court, the Constitutional County Court, the County Court at Law, and the Justice Courts. Collectively, the courts are committed to the smooth administration of justice in the county and the maintenance of law and order.

The 336th Judicial District Court serves Fannin County, and this court has jurisdiction over civil actions involving a claim of over $200, land disputes, divorce proceedings, and juvenile matters. The court also hears felony criminal matters. The Constitutional County Court hears civil cases involving claims between $200 and $20,000, probate matters, and has jurisdiction over misdemeanors with a fine of over $500 or jail terms. The court shares concurrent jurisdiction with the District Court over juvenile matters. The County Court at Law has similar jurisdiction to the Constitutional County Court but may hear civil cases involving between $200 and $250,000. The Justice Courts have limited jurisdiction to handle civil matters involving $20,000 or less, criminal misdemeanors punishable only by fines, and evictions.

Partly due to its structure, the Fannin County court system has an active caseload but runs efficiently. As of mid-2023, the Justice Courts alone had over 3,503 active cases, which indicates a slight reduction compared to 3,566 active cases in the same period in 2022. A significant part of the caseload was criminal cases, highlighting the court system's importance in shaping the county's crime index and ensuring deterrence for possible offenders. Unsurprisingly, the county has a crime rate of 951 per 100,000 people. The Clerks of the respective courts maintain a record of cases handled by the court as well as documents filed before the court. These constitute Fannin County's court records. The court records are available for public access on the county's Public Court Records Search portal.

Undoubtedly, Fannin County's court system is crucial to the county's governance, stability, and administration of justice across several legal issues. The detailed court structure highlights the county's ability and readiness to handle an extensive caseload, and the availability of court records online highlights its transparency. It is no surprise the county's court system is a model for other counties in Texas.