West Feliciana Parish Criminal Court Records
A criminal court record is the case-level court file kept after a criminal matter is filed with the Clerk. In West Feliciana Parish, the Clerk of Court receives indictments, bills of information, and other criminal filings. The file may then grow to include minutes, subpoenas, motions, plea entries, disposition, sentence, costs, bond-related entries, and expungement orders. This is different from a jail booking entry, which can show an arrest date and charge text before the prosecutor makes the final filing decision.
The local trial court is the Twentieth Judicial District Court, which serves East Feliciana and West Feliciana Parishes. The 20th JDC has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in both parishes. Division A and Division B are the elected divisions. West Feliciana Parish official sources did not identify a separate city court, parish court, or dedicated criminal court. Justice of the Peace matters and sheriff records remain separate access paths.
Court charge records after arrest explain the arrest-to-charge pathway in more detail. Criminal court records focus on the filed case, the court docket, and the final outcome.
Search West Feliciana Parish Criminal Court Records
Criminal case lookup starts with the Clerk of Court. The Clerk's court page says the office receives indictments, bills of information, and other criminal filings, and it dockets, numbers, and indexes matters for reference. Online access may be available through the paid Cott eSearch portal, but the public login page does not show post-login criminal search fields. If the goal is a certified copy, an extract of court minutes, a criminal background check, or an expungement filing, the Clerk's criminal fee schedule is the controlling local fee source.
- Gather the defendant name, approximate filing or arrest date, and any known case number.
- Check whether the matter is only a booking entry or a filed criminal court case.
- Use the Clerk's Cott eSearch access if a paid index or image search is appropriate.
- Contact the Clerk for certified copies, extracts of court minutes, subpoenas, and expungement fee questions.
- Use the court reporter in the judge's office for transcript requests from a hearing.
- Use sheriff or jail channels only for booking, custody, local background, or bond status questions.
The Clerk criminal filing fee page lists copy, certification, background check, expungement, court-minute, peace-bond, and subpoena fees.
Those fees help separate criminal court copies from sheriff reports and state criminal-history products.
West Feliciana Criminal Case Flow
Criminal case flow moves from accusation to court disposition. A booking charge may appear first through sheriff channels. A formal court case begins when the District Attorney files a bill of information, obtains an indictment, or otherwise files a charging document with the Clerk. The court record can then show arraignment, plea, motions, hearings, continuances, verdict or plea outcome, sentence, and post-case filings such as expungement.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial / Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Charges filed | The prosecutor files a bill of information, indictment, or other charging paper with the Clerk. |
| Arraignment | Charges are read or acknowledged, and the defendant enters a plea. |
| Pretrial / motions | The parties file requests, exceptions, subpoenas, discovery motions, or other case papers. |
| Plea or trial | The case resolves by plea, trial verdict, dismissal, or other court action. |
| Disposition | The record shows the result of the charge or case, such as guilty, not guilty, dismissed, or disposed. |
| Sentencing | The court records jail, prison, probation, costs, fines, or other sentence terms when ordered. |
What West Feliciana Parish Criminal Records Show
The criminal case file should be read field by field. A party name alone is not enough. A charge can be amended, reduced, dismissed, or replaced. A plea can be different from the booking label. A disposition may apply to one count but not another. Sentencing can include jail, prison, probation, costs, fines, or other conditions. A later expungement order may remove public access without erasing authorized agency access.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Court | Twentieth Judicial District Court, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana. |
| Division / judge | Division A or Division B assignment when shown. |
| Case number | The Clerk-assigned number for the criminal court case. |
| Defendant | The person charged in the criminal case. |
| Charging document | Bill of information, indictment, or other filed criminal pleading. |
| Plea | The defendant's answer to the charge, such as guilty or not guilty. |
| Disposition | The outcome of each charge or case event. |
| Sentence | Punishment or conditions ordered after conviction. |
| Costs and bonds | Court costs, criminal fines, bond references, or related financial entries. |
Charges vs Convictions
A charge is an accusation. A conviction is an outcome after a guilty plea, guilty verdict, or other conviction-producing court action. West Feliciana Parish criminal court records can show charges that were filed but later dismissed, reduced, amended, or disposed in another way. Reading a filed charge as a conviction is a serious mistake. The docket, minutes, disposition, and sentence fields must be checked together.
| Point | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | A formal accusation filed in court. | A final or qualifying court outcome after plea or verdict. |
| Where it appears | Charging document, docket, minute entry, or booking-linked history. | Disposition, judgment, sentence, or minute entry. |
| Can change? | Yes, charges may be amended, reduced, dropped, or dismissed. | Can be affected by appeal, post-conviction relief, dismissal after probation, or expungement. |
| Public meaning | Does not prove guilt by itself. | Shows a court outcome, subject to later legal changes. |
The 20th Judicial District Attorney staff directory identifies the local prosecution office personnel involved in filed charge work for West Feliciana Parish.
That office role helps explain why sheriff booking labels are not the final criminal court record.
Reading Criminal Dispositions
Disposition is the outcome of a charge or case. The local research identifies common record-status terms such as pending, dismissed, judgment entered, guilty, not guilty, disposed, expunged, sealed, transferred, and continued. A disposition may be listed beside each count, not just once for the whole case. Costs, fines, bond entries, or sentencing terms may be nearby but should not be confused with guilt or dismissal.
Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894 can matter in some misdemeanor probation and dismissal contexts. That does not mean every misdemeanor is automatically cleared, sealed, or expunged. It means the final docket, minute entry, sentence, and expungement status need to be checked before relying on a short disposition phrase. When the criminal record affects employment, housing, licensing, immigration, or custody rights, confirm the official court record with the Clerk or counsel.
Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894 is one state rule that can affect later interpretation of some misdemeanor records.
The article is relevant to record interpretation, but the local court file remains the controlling source for the case outcome.
Sealed vs Expunged Records
West Feliciana Parish criminal court records may be restricted by sealing, expungement, juvenile confidentiality, adoption confidentiality, or redaction rules. Expungement in Louisiana does not destroy the record. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 971 says expungement removes qualifying records from public access, while law-enforcement, criminal justice agencies, and other defined agencies may still have access. Article 978 covers eligibility rules for some felony expungements and exclusions. Article 983 sets cost limits and payment rules, and the local Clerk fee schedule breaks out West Feliciana Parish expungement fees.
| Point | Sealed | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Public visibility | Hidden from ordinary public inspection by law or court order. | Removed from public access if the expungement is granted. |
| Record destruction | Not necessarily destroyed. | Not destroyed under Louisiana expungement law. |
| Authorized access | May remain available by court order or statute. | May remain available to law-enforcement and defined agencies. |
| Local fees | Depend on filing or request type. | Local schedule lists Clerk, DA, Sheriff, and State Police components. |
Louisiana expungement Article 971 explains the effect of expungement on public access.
The article is why an expunged record should not be described as destroyed.
Louisiana expungement Article 978 addresses felony expungement eligibility and exclusions.
Eligibility depends on the offense, outcome, timing, and exclusions, so the filed court record should be checked first.
Louisiana expungement Article 983 sets cost limits and payment rules used with local fee schedules.
West Feliciana Parish fee planning should use both the state rule and the Clerk criminal fee schedule.
Public Access to Criminal Court Records
Criminal court records are often public after filing, but access depends on the record, status, and custodian. The Clerk is the custodian for filed court materials and judgment copies. The Sheriff's Office handles booking records, local background checks, crash reports, and sheriff public-records requests. Louisiana R.S. 44:1 and Title 44 provide the broad public-records framework, but juvenile records, adoption records, sealed cases, expunged records, victim-protective information, and redacted personal identifiers can limit access.
Key statutes: Louisiana R.S. 44:1 defines public records, while Children's Code Article 412 restricts juvenile records.
DA and Public Defender Routing
The 20th Judicial District Attorney serves East and West Feliciana Parishes. The West Feliciana office is at 11651 Ferdinand St. in St. Francisville, with office hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The DA decides whether and how to file formal prosecution documents such as bills of information. The public defender route is separate. The Louisiana Office of the State Public Defender District 20 serves East and West Feliciana, with a West Feliciana Parish office at 4789 Prosperity Street.
Those offices matter for live criminal cases, but they are not substitutes for the Clerk's case file. A charged defendant should use counsel or the public defender for case-specific advice. A records searcher should use the Clerk for filed case records, the DA for prosecution-office contact when appropriate, and the sheriff or jail for custody and booking questions.
20th Judicial District Attorney
11651 Ferdinand St.
St. Francisville, LA 70775
225-635-4612
District 20 Public Defender
4789 Prosperity Street
St. Francisville, LA 70775
225-304-4175
Restricted West Feliciana Criminal Records
Restricted criminal records include sealed cases, expunged records, juvenile records, and records with redacted personal data identifiers. The Clerk's e-filing rules require filers to avoid or redact personal identifiers when necessary. Redacted items may include Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, dates of birth, minor names, medical details, and victim-protective information. A public-facing search should never promise access to juvenile delinquency, child-in-need-of-care, adoption, sealed, or expunged records.
Note: A sheriff booking entry can be public while the later court case, juvenile file, or expunged record is not publicly accessible.