Cochran County Criminal Court Cases
Cochran County criminal court cases do not all follow one docket. The 286th Judicial District Court tries felony cases. The constitutional County Court handles Class A and Class B misdemeanors unless the law assigns a matter elsewhere. The state judicial directory for Cochran courts identifies the countywide Justice of the Peace and Morton Municipal Court, which keep fine-only Class C matters within their authority. One arrest can therefore create files in separate places.
The combined district and county clerk is the custodian for the main Cochran County criminal case records. District and county filings are kept through Room 102 at the courthouse. Justice-court and Morton municipal records remain with those courts. The source image from the official 286th District Court page shows the court contact readers should distinguish from the clerk's file counter.
The district court works from a Morton office and an alternate Levelland office, but Cochran County filings remain with the local combined clerk.
Note: A trial court contact can address scheduling, but filed Cochran County case documents come from the maintaining clerk.
Cochran Criminal Case Jurisdiction
The charge level points to the first office to call. Capital, first-, second-, third-degree, and state-jail felonies belong in the 286th District Court. Class A and B misdemeanors generally belong in County Court. Fine-only Class C charges may sit with the countywide Justice of the Peace or Morton Municipal Court, based on the issuing venue. Enhancements can change a penalty range, so a booking label is not a safe final answer.
| Case level | Likely Cochran court | Record contact |
|---|---|---|
| Felony | 286th Judicial District Court | Combined district clerk |
| Class A or B misdemeanor | Cochran County Court | Combined county clerk |
| Fine-only Class C | Countywide JP or Morton Municipal Court | The court that received the citation |
| Appeal | Seventh Court of Appeals | Appellate clerk after identifying the trial cause |
The official Cochran County Attorney page is pictured in the next source capture because that office prosecutes county-level matters.
That prosecutor contact does not replace the clerk. Pleadings, docket entries, judgments, and certified copies still come from the record custodian.
Searching Cochran County Case Records
Cochran County publishes no public criminal docket portal. The useful path begins with the combined clerk and stable identifiers. A cause number is best. If none is known, give the filed legal name, an approximate arrest or filing date, and a birth date if the clerk accepts it. Ask the office to check both district and county indexes when the charge level is unclear.
- Choose the likely court from the offense level. Start with the combined clerk for a felony or Class A or B misdemeanor.
- Call 806-266-5450 or email lisasmith@co.cochran.tx.us. Give the cause number, or the legal name and an approximate year.
- Request the index result first. Confirm the court, cause number, filing date, charge, status, and disposition before ordering papers.
- Name each document needed, such as the docket sheet, charging instrument, latest order, or judgment. State whether certification is required.
- Ask about email, mail, or counter delivery and get a written cost quote. Cochran County does not post its criminal-copy or certification fees.
The combined clerk's official page supplies the office hours and contact information shown in this source image.
Room 102 is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to noon and 12:30 to 5 p.m., and Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cochran Criminal Clerk Access
Cochran County's combined office uses NetData internally, according to the Office of Court Administration directory. That fact does not establish a public NetData search. The county links an online land-record tool, but land records are not criminal dockets. Readers should not enter a property portal and assume a missing name means no criminal case exists.
Cochran County Combined Clerk
Room 102, 100 N. Main St.
Morton, TX 79346
806-266-5450
lisasmith@co.cochran.tx.us
286th District Court
Suite 205, 100 N. Main St.
Morton, TX 79346
806-266-5412
Alternate office in Levelland
Older material may be archived or kept outside the current electronic index. Ask who holds the file, what year range must be searched, and how long retrieval may take. The county publishes no separate archive catalog. A narrow request for a docket or final judgment is often easier to quote than a demand for every paper.
Note: Cochran County posts no criminal search, copy, or certification fee schedule, so confirm the amount before sending payment.
Inside a Cochran County Case File
A Cochran County criminal case file is organized by court and cause number. It may hold the complaint, information or indictment, bond, magistrate warnings, docket sheet, motions, hearing settings, plea papers, verdict, judgment, sentence, community-supervision orders, revocation papers, and notice of appeal. The latest signed order matters because post-judgment action can change the status shown by the first judgment.
| Cause number and court | Identifies the local prosecution and the court with authority over it. |
|---|---|
| Charging document | Shows the complaint, information, or indictment and the offense as formally filed. |
| Docket entries | Lists filed papers, settings, hearings, rulings, and later case activity in date order. |
| Plea and finding | Distinguishes a plea from the court or jury's result on each charge. |
| Disposition and judgment | Shows dismissal, acquittal, deferred adjudication, conviction, or another resolved status. |
| Sentence and conditions | May state confinement, fine, costs, restitution, credit, or community supervision. |
The Texas Office of Court Administration forms identify further fields, such as the statute, offense degree, enhancement paragraphs, counsel, sentence date, and special findings. Not every field appears in a simple clerk index.
Cochran Criminal Search Portal Limits
re:SearchTX is the state electronic court-record service, but it does not replace Cochran County's clerk. A Texas Judicial Council assessment reported that the statewide public document collection excludes criminal case records. Access also depends on sign-in, court participation, document security, and user role. A failed statewide search is therefore not proof that Cochran County has no criminal case.
| Field or control | Type | Required | Use or limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text | Yes for sign-in | Account credential | |
| Password | Password | Yes | Account credential |
| Sign In | Button | Yes for account access | Opens role-based service |
| Register | Link or button | No | Creates an account |
| Forgot Password | Link | No | Recovers credentials |
The official re:SearchTX service is shown in this manifest image.
Authenticated search fields and a public Cochran criminal sample could not be inspected, so no broader portal controls should be assumed.
How a Criminal Case Moves
The court file grows by stage. An arrest and booking may come first, but they are agency and jail records. A magistrate then gives Article 15.17 warnings and considers counsel and bail. Prosecutors choose the charge that reaches court. Felonies generally proceed by indictment unless lawfully waived, Class A and B misdemeanors by information and complaint, and fine-only matters often by citation or complaint.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
Later filings can be vital. Community-supervision terms, a motion to revoke, an amended judgment, an appeal notice, or an appellate mandate may change what an older docket line seems to say. The 286th District Attorney's official contact page appears in this source image because that office handles felony prosecutions in the shared district.
The prosecutor works from Levelland, while the Cochran County clerk in Morton remains the source for filed court papers.
Note: Always request the latest signed order when later supervision, revocation, amendment, or appeal activity may have changed the case status.
Cochran Criminal Dispositions Decoded
Disposition is the outcome of a charge or case. A dismissal ends the prosecution without a conviction on that charge, but it does not by itself erase the arrest. An acquittal is a not-guilty result. Deferred adjudication means the court delays a final conviction while the person completes supervision under Texas law. A conviction means guilt was adjudicated, though a later appeal or other order may still affect the final status.
- Indictment
- A grand jury's formal felony accusation, also called a true bill.
- Information
- A prosecutor-filed charging instrument often used for misdemeanors.
- Capias
- A court writ directing an arrest, often after charging or failure to appear.
- Disposition
- The recorded outcome for a charge or the whole case.
- Community supervision
- Texas's statutory term for what is often called probation.
Always match the disposition to each count. Multi-count Cochran County criminal cases can end in mixed outcomes, and one dismissed count does not decide another. For the arrest and booking trail that precedes filing, use the county's Cochran County arrest lookup.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Public court access is not the same as a blanket right to every page. The combined clerk supplies case records under court-record law and practice. The Texas Public Information Act governs public information held by many agencies, while Texas Rule of Judicial Administration 12 addresses judicial administrative records rather than ordinary court case files.
Sealed filings, grand-jury material, juvenile records, protected victim information, and unredacted identifiers are not routine public-copy items. An expunction or nondisclosure order can also restrict what a search returns. If a known case does not appear, ask the clerk to check the correct court, spelling, filing year, and archive status instead of treating the gap as proof that no case exists.
The official Texas judicial records access policy is preserved in this source capture.
The policy helps separate a request for court administration records from a request for a filed Cochran County criminal case document.
Cochran Court Records Across Cities
Morton and Whiteface are Cochran County's two incorporated places, but they do not produce equal online court trails. Morton Municipal Court may hold fine-only city cases and municipal warrants. Whiteface has no equivalent current public municipal search in the official sources reviewed. County and district cases from either community still route to the proper Cochran County court and clerk.
Felony administration can also point outside the county seat. The 286th District Court and its district attorney serve a shared district, with listed offices in Morton and Levelland. That does not move the Cochran criminal file to the prosecutor. The clerk in Room 102 remains the filing source, while the county attorney handles the local misdemeanor prosecution role. Requests for filed court papers should still go to the clerk.
Note: Prosecutors evaluate charges, but they do not replace the clerk as custodian of Cochran County criminal court files.