West Feliciana Criminal Court Cases
The Twentieth Judicial District Court, or 20th JDC, has general original criminal jurisdiction in both East and West Feliciana Parishes. West Feliciana matters are not part of the 18th JDC. The local seat handles felony cases and other district criminal matters. A case begins in the judicial file when prosecutors submit a bill of information or a grand jury returns an indictment. The West Feliciana Clerk then assigns and maintains the docket, records motions and court events, and preserves the judgment.
The Clerk's criminal-court description says the office receives criminal filings and keeps daily minutes of proceedings. Minutes are short official entries showing what occurred in court. They can be more useful than a mere search-result line because they document pleas, rulings, continuances, and sentencing events. The clerk is therefore the certification point for West Feliciana Parish criminal case records.
The official Clerk court page shows how local criminal filings are kept. View the source for the Clerk's court functions.
That source ties indictments, bills of information, and daily minutes to the same local custodian.
West Feliciana VERDICT CRIMINAL
The Clerk's Public Records Search is the main remote index. Its key local detail is easy to miss: use the database menu in the upper-left corner and select VERDICT CRIMINAL. Other choices cover civil, land, marriage, or probate material. Searching the wrong database can create a false impression that no criminal court case exists.
The index helps locate a docket. Vendor registration or a subscription may control access to document images, so a result page is not always the complete file. Record the case number and compare party and filing context, especially for a common name. Then ask the Clerk whether the register, minutes, charging document, or final judgment is available online or must be copied at the counter.
The official Clerk homepage displays this route. See the source for Public Records Search.
It is the parish gateway to the criminal index, while certified proof still comes from the Clerk.
Searching West Feliciana Case Records
Use the strongest identifier available. A docket number is better than a name alone. When only a name is known, use the legal spelling and review filing details before treating a result as a match. The vendor controls can change, but the Clerk's instruction to choose the criminal database remains the critical first step.
- Open the Clerk homepage and follow the Public Records Search link.
- Choose VERDICT CRIMINAL from the upper-left database dropdown.
- Search by a party name or known case number, then compare context.
- Open the docket and identify the minutes, judgment, or filing needed.
- Request a regular or certified copy from the West Feliciana Clerk.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Database | Dropdown | Yes | Select VERDICT CRIMINAL, not the civil or land index. |
| Search criterion | Vendor control | Unspecified | Name and record-number options should be checked in the live interface. |
| Party name | Text | Unspecified | Use legal spelling and confirm the filing context. |
| Case or instrument number | Text | Optional | This is the strongest identifier when already known. |
| Search | Button | Yes | The exact vendor label may change. |
Note: Absence from one online view does not prove that no West Feliciana criminal court file exists.
West Feliciana Court Case Copies
A web printout is useful for reference, but it is not the same as a Clerk-certified record. The published criminal fee page lists regular copies at $1 per page, a certified copy at $10, an extract of court minutes at $15, and a local criminal background search at $10 per name. Certification is the Clerk's formal statement that the copy matches the official file.
| Product | Published Amount | Best Use |
|---|---|---|
| Regular copy | $1 per page | Reading a pleading, minute, or judgment |
| Certified copy | $10 | Formal proof from the records custodian |
| Minute extract | $15 | A concise official account of a court event |
| Name search | $10 per name | Local West Feliciana criminal index check |
Ask for a document by name. “Final judgment,” “sentencing minute,” or “bill of information” is clearer than a request for “everything.” The Clerk also posts separate charges for peace bonds and subpoenas. Current prices should be confirmed before ordering.
The Clerk publishes the figures on its own fee page. Review the official criminal filing fees.
The fee source helps a requester choose between a basic page copy, a minute extract, and certified proof.
Inside a West Feliciana Case File
A court case file records what prosecutors filed and what the judge did. It is not a narrative police report or a statewide rap sheet. The charging document may be a bill of information or indictment. Docket and minute entries track hearings, pleas, motions, rulings, and settings. The judgment and sentence state the result. Those records should be read together because a charge shown at filing may later be amended or dismissed.
| Case Number & Court | Identifies the 20th JDC docket and, where assigned, the division or judge. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | Lists filed counts through a bill of information or indictment. |
| Docket Entries | Chronological filings, settings, minutes, motions, and rulings. |
| Hearing Dates | Scheduled and completed events, subject to later changes. |
| Disposition & Judgment | The court outcome, such as plea, conviction, dismissal, or acquittal. |
| Sentence & Conditions | Custody, probation, fines, costs, and other terms when imposed. |
A disposition means the court's final handling of a charge. Do not infer it from a jail roster, which only shows custody, or from an arrest record, which documents an earlier event.
West Feliciana Certification Counter
The West Feliciana Clerk works in the courthouse basement at 4785 Prosperity Street in St. Francisville. The office phone is 225-635-3794. The counter is the fallback for older cases, documents missing from the vendor view, and certified copies. It also resolves questions about whether a docket is sealed, archived, or indexed under a different spelling.
West Feliciana Clerk of Court
West Feliciana Parish Courthouse
4785 Prosperity Street
St. Francisville, LA 70775
225-635-3794
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The 20th JDC courthouse FAQ confirms the Clerk's basement location.
That physical counter remains essential when the online criminal index supplies only a lead.
How a Criminal Case Moves
The court file begins after the prosecution selects charges. A booking accusation can differ from the filed count because the district attorney reviews the evidence and legal elements. At arraignment, the accused is told the filed charge and enters a plea. Pretrial entries may include discovery, motions, bond issues, and settings. A plea or trial leads to disposition, and a guilty result may proceed to sentencing.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
- Arraignment
- The court event where the filed charge is stated and a plea is entered.
- Minute entry
- The Clerk's brief official record of what happened in court that day.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a charge, including conviction, dismissal, or acquittal.
- Bill of information
- A written charging document filed by the prosecutor.
Note: Court dates and case status should be confirmed close to the event because settings can change.
West Feliciana's Two-Parish Court
The 20th JDC serves two parishes, but each parish clerk maintains its own local records. A West Feliciana search belongs in the West Feliciana Clerk index. The court's shared district identity does not merge all East and West Feliciana case files into one parish docket. Check the courthouse and parish named on the case before ordering copies.
The official 20th JDC Online Court provides jurisdiction and court information.
The district source confirms the local court identity without replacing the parish Clerk's criminal index.
West Feliciana and Federal Dockets
A federal prosecution is not filed in the 20th JDC. West Feliciana Parish lies in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, and federal electronic records use PACER. Search the correct court system based on the charging sovereign. A state or parish arrest can still lead to a federal matter, but the federal docket remains distinct from VERDICT CRIMINAL.
PACER's official page illustrates the separate federal access channel. Review the federal court records source.
The split prevents a fruitless parish search for a case filed only in federal court.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Louisiana Public Records Law generally supports inspection and copying of public records, and R.S. 44:32 addresses examination, copying, and custodian duties. Court access is still subject to lawful limits. Juvenile files, sealed or expunged matters, victim-sensitive data, and other protected identifiers should not appear in an ordinary public view.
Online redaction can also make the remote record narrower than the official file. If a known West Feliciana criminal court case does not appear, give the Clerk the full legal name, approximate filing date, and any case number. Ask whether the file is archived, sealed, expunged, or simply not imaged. For a missing disposition in one's own LSP history, obtain the certified court result first, then use the BCII Right to Review correction route.