East Feliciana Criminal Case Files
Criminal court records in East Feliciana Parish are filed through the East Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court for the 20th Judicial District Court. The Clerk's court page says criminal indictments, bills of information, and other criminal filings pass through the office. The criminal fee schedule then confirms local record products such as regular criminal copies, certified criminal copies, background checks, extracts of minutes, peace bonds, subpoenas, and expungement filings.
The 20th Judicial District Court has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters in East and West Feliciana Parishes. The District Attorney prosecutes crimes for both parishes, while the Clerk keeps the filed court record. A jail roster can show current custody and a charge basis after arrest, but the court file is where filed charges, pleas, disposition, sentencing, minute entries, and expungement status are tracked. For a closer look at the filed charge stage itself, use the separate East Feliciana Parish arrest records and court charges page.
The parish Clerk role image below comes from the official East Feliciana Parish Clerk page, which describes the Louisiana Clerk as district-court clerk and recorder.
Search East Feliciana Criminal Records
There is no single public page in the research that guarantees full free online criminal case-file viewing for every East Feliciana Parish criminal matter. The practical route is a channel chain. Start with the Clerk for criminal case files, use online database access where available, and request the criminal file or minute entries when the portal does not show enough. Booking or custody information from LAVNS is a separate sheriff-jail channel, not the final criminal court record.
- Identify the defendant name, case number, approximate filing date, charge, or court date if known.
- Check the Clerk's online database path only as an access channel, since some viewing may require account or subscription access.
- Ask the Clerk for the criminal file, minute entries, disposition, sentence, certified copy, or extract of minutes needed.
- Use the Sheriff's jail roster or Louisiana VINE only for current custody or notification, not for final guilt or sentencing.
- If the case is sealed, juvenile, or expunged, expect a petition, court order, or denial of ordinary public access.
The Sheriff's homepage image below comes from the official East Feliciana Parish Sheriff's Office.
East Feliciana Criminal Case Flow
A criminal case file grows as the case moves through court. A charge begins as an accusation, but the record changes when the prosecutor files a bill of information, indictment, or other criminal filing. The docket and minutes then record hearings and rulings. A plea, trial result, dismissal, sentence, or expungement order can change what the public record means.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial and Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Charges filed | The DA or grand jury route produces a bill of information, indictment, or other filed charge in court. |
| Arraignment | The defendant is brought before the court, charges are addressed, and a plea such as guilty or not guilty is entered. |
| Pretrial and motions | The file may show motions, subpoenas, continuances, service, discovery disputes, and hearing minutes. |
| Plea or trial | The case may end by plea, trial verdict, dismissal, amendment, diversion result, or other court disposition. |
| Disposition | The outcome of the charge or case is entered, such as guilty, dismissed, acquitted, amended, deferred, or expunged. |
| Sentencing | If there is a conviction or qualifying plea, the record can show jail, prison, probation, fines, costs, or other terms. |
The parish Sheriff's page image below comes from the East Feliciana Parish government Sheriff's Office page.
East Feliciana Criminal Record Fields
A criminal court record should be read field by field. The same case can show an arrest-related charge, a filed court charge, an amended charge, a dismissed count, and a conviction on a different count. The Clerk's records, daily minutes, and criminal fee schedule support a case-file model with numbers, parties, charges, events, minutes, fees, subpoenas, dispositions, and copy products.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The Clerk-assigned number for the criminal matter. |
| Court and division | The 20th JDC setting and, when stated, Division A or Division B. |
| Defendant | The person charged in the court case. |
| Charging document | Bill of information, indictment, or other filed criminal paper. |
| Charges | The counts filed in court, which may differ from booking language. |
| Plea | Guilty, not guilty, no contest, or another plea entry when recorded. |
| Events and minutes | Arraignment, motions, trial, continuance, sentencing, subpoenas, and minute entries. |
| Disposition | Dismissed, guilty, not guilty, amended, sentenced, deferred, expunged, or sealed status where public. |
| Sentence and costs | Jail, prison, probation, fines, fees, costs, bond, or court-ordered terms when applicable. |
East Feliciana Criminal Charges
A charge is not a conviction. In East Feliciana Parish criminal court records, a charge may begin as an accusation filed by the prosecutor or returned by a grand jury. It may later be amended, reduced, dismissed, resolved by diversion, tried, or converted into a conviction through a guilty plea or verdict. Treating every charge as a conviction creates a false reading of the court record.
| Comparison Point | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | An accusation filed or pending in court. | A finding or plea that results in guilt on a count. |
| Timing | Appears near the start of the court case. | Appears after plea, verdict, or qualifying disposition. |
| Can change | May be amended, dropped, dismissed, or reduced. | May be appealed, set aside, expunged, or affected by later orders. |
| Best proof | Charging document and minutes. | Judgment, disposition entry, sentence, or certified minutes. |
| Risk | Should not be reported as guilt. | Still must be read with sentence, appeal, and expungement status. |
The Sheriff's leadership image below comes from the East Feliciana Sheriff's leadership page, which names Sheriff Jeff Travis and command staff.
East Feliciana Criminal Dispositions
Disposition means the result or outcome of a case or charge. In a criminal file, that can include guilty, not guilty, dismissed, amended, sentenced, deferred, diverted, expunged, or sealed. A docket row may have a short disposition field, while the full court file may include minutes, a judgment, a sentence, or an extract of minutes that explains the outcome more clearly.
Local subpoena and fee details are useful when reading the case file. The Clerk criminal fee schedule lists regular criminal copies at $1 per page, certified criminal copies at $5, criminal background checks at $10 per name, extracts of court minutes at $15, peace bonds at $15, and subpoenas at $20. It also states that local subpoenas should be filed at least 10 days before court and out-of-town subpoenas at least 30 days before court. Misdemeanor cases receive up to six subpoenas free, while felony cases receive up to 16 subpoenas free.
Note: For official use, ask the Clerk whether a certified copy or extract of minutes is required.
East Feliciana Sealed Criminal Records
Restricted criminal records in East Feliciana Parish include juvenile records, sealed files, expunged criminal records, some adoption or family-adjacent matters, mental-health or commitment materials, protected addresses, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, and minor identifiers. The Clerk public-records page says people wishing to view juvenile criminal or other sealed records must petition the court.
| Comparison Point | Sealed | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Public visibility | Ordinary public access is blocked by court restriction. | Ordinary public access is restricted under the expungement order. |
| How it happens | Court order, confidentiality rule, juvenile law, or sealed filing status. | Motion process under Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 971 et seq. |
| East Feliciana route | Petition the court if access is allowed by law. | File through the criminal court record with required money orders. |
| Government access | May still exist for authorized court or agency use. | May still exist for purposes allowed by law. |
| Local cost clue | No ordinary copy fee if access is denied. | Four U.S. Postal Money Orders: $200 Clerk, $250 State Police, $50 DA, $50 Sheriff. |
East Feliciana Criminal Records Access
Louisiana public-records law and the Clerk's own public-records instructions support public inspection of routine criminal records, while specific confidentiality rules limit access to protected categories. The Clerk's page cites La. R.S. 44:33.1 and La. R.S. 44:1 et seq., names David Dart as records custodian, and states that civil, criminal, traffic, marriage license, mortgage, and conveyance records are open for examination in the facilities where they are housed. Inspection is free; Clerk copies under public-records requests cost $1 per page.
Criminal history and background checks are not the same as a full court file. The Clerk fee page lists a criminal background check at $10 per name, but a court case file can still need separate copies or certified documents. For appointed-defense questions, District 20 Public Defender is at 12213 Jackson Street in Clinton, with phone 225-683-3620. For prosecution and victim-assistance context, the 20th Judicial District Attorney has an East Feliciana office at 11312 Spring Street, Clinton, with phone 225-683-8563.
Important: Criminal court records should be verified with the originating office before legal, licensing, or employment use.
East Feliciana Criminal File Limits
After arrest, a person may be booked at the parish prison and appear in a custody channel if still held. The Sheriff's prison page points to the East Feliciana LAVNS roster, and Louisiana VINE is a statewide custody and notification system. Those tools can help with custody status. They do not replace the criminal court file.
The court file begins or changes when charges are filed and court events occur. DA decisions, pleas, dispositions, sentencing, minute entries, and expungements are court records. If the goal is to learn whether a person is currently in custody, use the jail and VINE channels. If the goal is to learn what happened in court, request the criminal file, minute entry, disposition, or certified copy through the Clerk.
The prison image below comes from the East Feliciana Sheriff's parish-prison page.
