duistatelaws.com Key takeaways
- The county lists five county criminal courts; the two whose addresses it publishes are in the same building on East McKinney Street.
- The Magistrate Court and the Criminal District Attorney (Suite 3100) are in that building too.
- The county’s Pre-Trial Diversion is for a true first offender — no prior diversion, no deferred adjudication, no other adult disposition.
- Its published list of typical cases — marijuana possession, theft, criminal mischief, criminal trespass, evading arrest — does not mention DWI.
- A completed diversion contract ends in dismissal and eligibility for expunction; a breach sends the case back to the docket.
- 15 days to ask DPS for the license hearing.
from the date you were served with the notice to demand a hearing from Texas Department of Public Safety. The request goes to DPS, not to the court, and no judge in Denton County will make it for you. Tex. Transp. Code §§ 524.031, 724.041.
Searches say DUI; Denton County paperwork will say DWI, which is what Texas calls the offense for an adult driver. The statutory ranges are on the Texas DWI laws page, and they do not change from county to county.
What changes is the machinery. Denton County puts criminal courts, the magistrate court and the prosecutor on one street, and publishes a diversion program with a strict first-offender bar and an illustrative list of the cases it takes.
The same diagram as a table
| Step | Criminal case — decided by a court | License case — decided by a state agency |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arrest and booking, hour 0 | Notice of suspension served, day 0 |
| 2 | Charge filed by the prosecutor | Deadline to demand a hearing: 7 to 30 days in the eight states on this site that use an agency hearing |
| 3 | First court setting, on a date the court picks | Hearing held if the request was filed — whether the suspension waits for the ruling is set by each state's statute |
| 4 | One or more pretrial settings | Suspension takes effect automatically with no hearing |
| 5 | Trial, plea or dismissal | — |
| Clock | Weeks to months. No filing deadline runs against the driver. | Counted in days from the notice, and fixed by statute. |
One address, several courts
The county lists County Criminal Courts 1 through 5 alongside two County Courts at Law, a Magistrate Court, two Probate Courts and two treatment courts. The two criminal courts whose addresses the county publishes are both at 1450 E McKinney Street: Court 1 in Suite 1419 on the first floor, Court 3 in Suite 2400 on the second. The Magistrate Court is on the same street, and the Criminal District Attorney is in Suite 3100.
County Criminal Court 1
- Hears
- One of five county criminal courts
- Building
- Suite 1419, 1st floor
- Address
- 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 1419, Denton, TX 76209
- Detail
- The county lists County Criminal Courts 1 to 5
- Phone
- 940-349-2160
- Why it matters
- The county gives this court its own suite and floor.
County Criminal Court 3
- Hears
- Another of the five, on a different floor
- Building
- Suite 2400, 2nd floor
- Address
- 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 2400, Denton, TX 76209
- Detail
- Listed separately by the county with its own numbers
- Phone
- 940-349-2180
Magistrate Court
- Hears
- The county’s magistrate court
- Building
- Magistrate Court
- Address
- 1450 E. McKinney St, Denton, TX 76209
- Detail
- The county lists 940-349-1873 and 940-349-1867
- Phone
- 940-349-1873
- Why it matters
- The county warns against contacting a judge directly about a pending or potential case.
Criminal District Attorney
- Role
- Prosecutes criminal cases in Denton County
- Building
- Suite 3100
- Address
- 1450 E McKinney Street, Suite 3100, Denton, TX 76209
- Detail
- The same building as the criminal courts
- Phone
- 940-349-2600
The county posts the same warning on its court pages: do not attempt to contact a judge, by mail, email, phone or in person, about any pending or potential lawsuit, and doing so may have serious consequences.
Alongside the ordinary criminal courts the county runs specialty programs. Its Veterans Treatment Court publishes a program flyer and a copy of Government Code chapter 124, states that it holds a grant with the Texas Veterans Commission, and answers questions about admission criteria and how to apply — it is applied for, not assigned. The county also lists a Mental Health Treatment Court whose stated goal is to divert offenders suffering from mental illness out of the traditional criminal justice process and into appropriate rehabilitation alternatives.
Not sure which court your case is in?
Enter the ZIP code where the arrest happened and the full form opens with it filled in.
Magistrate first, then the fifteen-day clock
The county lists a Magistrate Court on the same street as the criminal courts, with two phone numbers and a separate line for the district clerk. In Texas bond conditions after an arrest are set by a magistrate, and for a repeat DWI, or a first charge of DWI with a child passenger, intoxication assault or intoxication manslaughter, Texas requires an ignition interlock order unless the magistrate finds it would not serve the interest of justice. The interlock page compares that rule across ten states.
Then the part nobody at the courthouse will do for you. The Department of Public Safety opens its own case the moment a breath or blood test is failed or refused; the notice handed over at the arrest starts a 15-day window to demand an Administrative License Revocation hearing in writing. Miss it and the suspension takes hold on the fortieth day, with no hearing and no review.
| What happened | First time | With a prior | Authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Failed the test | 90 days | 1 year | Tex. Transp. Code § 524.022(a) |
| Refused the test | 180 days | 2 years | Tex. Transp. Code § 724.035(a)–(b) |
The diversion program, and what it lists
The statutory penalties are on the Texas DWI laws page. The county-level question is whether a first case can leave the docket altogether, and Denton County publishes its answer.
The Criminal District Attorney runs a Pre-Trial Diversion program for low-risk, first-time offenders. The office states the eligibility bar plainly: the defendant must be a true first offender, meaning no previous diversion, no deferred adjudication and no other type of disposition as an adult offender. The office screens eligible cases; if approved, the defendant signs a contract with terms and conditions, which removes the case from the court’s docket. Complete the terms and the case is dismissed and eligible for expunction. Violate them and it goes back on the docket for disposition.
Then the detail worth reading closely. The office lists the cases it typically considers: non-violent misdemeanors and low-level felonies such as possession of marijuana, theft, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and evading arrest. DWI is not among them. The list is expressly illustrative — the office writes “typically… such as” — so its silence is not an exclusion, and this page does not treat it as one. It is a question to put to the office, or to a lawyer, about your own case.
A Denton County DWI, stage by stage
Everything below happens in the same county, and mostly on the same street.
| Situation | County | Where the case goes |
|---|---|---|
| A misdemeanor DWI in Denton County | Denton | One of five county criminal courts, 1450 E McKinney Street |
| The magistrate after an arrest | Denton | Magistrate Court, the same street |
| A true first offender on a qualifying case | Denton | Pre-Trial Diversion, by contract with the District Attorney |
| A veteran who applies and meets the criteria | Denton | Veterans Treatment Court |
The county lists its criminal courts, its magistrate court and its Criminal District Attorney at the same address on East McKinney Street, not at the courthouse on Courthouse Drive.
A suburb’s name does not decide the county; the county on the citation does. The other Texas pages on this site are Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth and El Paso.
Common questions about Denton DWI cases
Where are the Denton County criminal courts?
At 1450 E McKinney Street, Denton. The county lists County Criminal Courts 1 through 5 there. The two whose addresses it publishes are Court 1, Suite 1419 on the first floor, and Court 3, Suite 2400 on the second. The Magistrate Court is on the same street and the Criminal District Attorney is in Suite 3100.
Who qualifies for pre-trial diversion in Denton County?
The District Attorney states that the defendant must be a true first offender, meaning no prior diversion, no deferred adjudication and no other type of disposition as an adult offender. The office screens eligible cases and, if approved, the defendant signs a contract that removes the case from the docket.
Does Denton County divert DWI cases?
The county does not say. Its published list of typical diversion cases names possession of marijuana, theft, criminal mischief, criminal trespass and evading arrest, and does not mention DWI — but the office describes that list as typical examples, not a closed list. Ask about your own case.
What happens if I complete the diversion contract?
The office states the case will be dismissed and eligible for expunction. If the agreement is violated, the case is sent back to the court's docket for disposition.
Can I call the judge's office about my Denton case?
The county warns against contacting a judge by mail, email, phone or in person about a pending or potential case, and says doing so may result in serious consequences.
How long do I have to save my license after a Denton County arrest?
Fifteen days from the suspension notice, in writing, to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Nobody at the magistrate court or the criminal courts files it for you, and without it the suspension starts on the fortieth day.
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More for Texas
- Texas DWI law — the full penalty matrix, the statutes, and the rules on priors and interlock
- Houston and Harris County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Dallas — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Austin and Travis County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- San Antonio and Bexar County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Fort Worth and Tarrant County — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- El Paso — the same state, a different courthouse problem
- Refusing a breathalyzer — what implied consent costs here against what it buys
- How long it stays on your record — three records, three clocks
- SR-22 insurance after a Texas suspension — what the filing certifies and how long it runs
- Ignition interlock providers and costs in Texas — what the device costs and who installs it
Sources
- Denton County, County Courts — read September 27, 2026
- Denton County, County Criminal Court 1 — read September 27, 2026
- Denton County, County Criminal Court 3 — read September 27, 2026
- Denton County, Magistrate Court — read September 27, 2026
- Denton County, Criminal District Attorney — read September 27, 2026
- Denton County, Veterans Treatment Court Program — read September 27, 2026
- Texas Penal Code chapter 49 (sections 49.045, 49.07, 49.08), Texas Legislature — read September 27, 2026
- Tex. Penal Code § 49.01(2)(B) and the rest of the Texas statutes cited on this page — read in force 2026
Court addresses, hours and phone numbers were read from each court’s or office’s own published page on September 27, 2026. Those change without notice; confirm before you rely on them. No judge is named anywhere on this page, because a roster is exactly the kind of detail that goes stale silently.