Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Smith County, Texas, has about 249,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Its court cases are filed in the Smith County District Court and the County Courts and Justice Courts, and the file of each case, kept by the District Clerk for district court cases and the County Clerk for county court cases, is the public record of it. This guide says which court hears what, where to look a case up and who keeps the files.
This guide covers the courts, the records page, criminal cases, kinds of files, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Smith County public records, Smith County arrest records, Smith County warrants, Smith County inmate search, Smith County criminal records, Texas arrest records and Texas inmate search.
The Courts That Hear Cases from Smith County
Court cases from Smith County are filed in the Smith County District Court, which hears felonies, divorces, land title cases and civil cases without a dollar limit.
Below it, the County Courts and Justice Courts take misdemeanors in the County Court or County Court at Law; traffic tickets, evictions and small claims in the Justice Courts.
A city with a municipal court of its own tries the tickets written under its ordinances.
Divorces go to the District Court, and the file stays with the District Clerk.
The District Clerk for district court cases and the County Clerk for county court cases keep the files, and a copy of anything in a file comes from that office, under the court's own rules rather than the Texas Public Information Act.
Looking Up a Case from Smith County
For Smith County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at smith.tx.publicsearch.us (page title: Official Record Search | Quick Search | Smith County, Texas County Clerk), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
Texas has no single public index of every trial court case; each court's records are looked up through that court.
The appellate courts' case search is at search.txcourts.gov/CaseSearch.aspx?coa=cossup.
What Reaches the Court from Smith County
Together, the seven agencies in Smith County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 5,493 arrests to the FBI that year; the District Attorney decides which of those arrests become cases in the Smith County District Court or the County Courts and Justice Courts.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at smith-county.com/270/District-Attorney (page title: District Attorney | Smith County, TX), phone 903-590-1720, 100 North Broadway Avenue, 4th Floor Tyler, TX 75702, Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
The Kinds of Court Files
The court file is one record with several readers: a criminal case from the arrest to the sentence, a divorce from the petition to the judgment, a traffic ticket from the citation to the conviction the court reports to the Texas Department of Public Safety, and an eviction or a lien on land.
The other Smith County guides take the kinds of file one at a time: Smith County criminal records, Smith County divorce records, Smith County traffic tickets, Smith County DUI and Smith County property records.
Cities in Smith County
Wherever in the county a case arises, it is filed in the Smith County District Court or the County Courts and Justice Courts; tickets under a city's own ordinances go to its municipal court where it has one.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Smith County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population:
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I look up a court case in Smith County?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at smith.tx.publicsearch.us.
Which court hears felonies in Smith County?
The Smith County District Court, which hears felonies, divorces, land title cases and civil cases without a dollar limit. The County Courts and Justice Courts take misdemeanors in the County Court or County Court at Law; traffic tickets, evictions and small claims in the Justice Courts.
Who keeps the court records in Smith County?
The District Clerk for district court cases and the County Clerk for county court cases. Copies come from that office under the court's own rules.
Is there a statewide court case search in Texas?
No. Each court's records are looked up through that court.
Is this the official Smith County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.