Searching West Feliciana Parish Criminal Dockets
Criminal records for the 20th Judicial District Court live with the West Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court. Its public-records instructions point civil and criminal searchers alike to the Cott service. For a criminal docket, pick the VERDICT CRIMINAL option. That choice covers district-court material the Clerk keeps: indictments, bills of information, docket entries, and daily minutes. It will not reach every town, traffic, lower-court, or law-enforcement record in the parish. So treat it as one strong tool, not the whole toolbox.
Before you search, gather a case number if you have one. Also collect the defendant or caption name, the court, and a rough filing or arrest date. The public landing page hides its authenticated case-search fields. So no one can honestly promise you a specific name, number, or date filter inside. When a result comes back, read it against the division and the entries in order. Chronology matters in a docket. A filing history sometimes needs to be tied to one case. The parish Case Lookup route helps you tell a local district-court record from some other court's file.
- Open the Clerk’s Public Records Search route and choose VERDICT CRIMINAL for a 20th JDC criminal matter.
- Review the portal’s Certified Dates information before treating an older missing entry as conclusive.
- Sign in or create an account if remote index and image access is needed, then use only the fields the authenticated service presents.
- Open the matching case history and check the court, division, dates, minutes, settings, and any public outcome entry.
- Ask the Clerk for a plain or certified copy when the public index does not provide the document needed.
Note: The Cott landing page confirms that a criminal module exists. It does not show the authenticated case-search fields or say how far back the records go.
West Feliciana Parish Verdict Criminal Access
The West Feliciana Cott portal is where the entry screen lives. It asks for a User ID and a Password. Links for Password Reminder, Create an Account, Certified Dates, and Site Requirements sit alongside. The Clerk says the service carries both civil and criminal material. What the public sees, though, is an account gateway rather than a free docket display, so plan on logging in before any case search begins.
| Visible control | Observed purpose | What remains unverified |
|---|---|---|
| User ID and Password | Account sign-in | Case-query fields after sign-in |
| Create an Account | Registration and subscription path | Available criminal filters and result columns |
| Certified Dates | Indexing-date and statistics prompt | Whether a specific older case falls within coverage |
| Site Requirements | Browser, cookie, JavaScript, pop-up, and PDF guidance | Any export, sort, or pagination controls |
Subscription rates appear before login. Remote access costs $20 for 24 hours, $100 for 30 days, or $1,080 for 365 days. Printing runs $1 per page under prepaid printing rules. These are vendor fees for the online service, and paying them does not turn a web image into a Clerk-certified copy.
Inside a West Feliciana Parish Criminal Docket
According to the Clerk, every criminal matter gets a number. It also gets an index entry and a line on the docket. Daily minutes then give a brief account of each proceeding. A West Feliciana Parish criminal docket usually opens with the court and division. From there it lists events by date. No local case-number pattern is published. Ask the Clerk for the exact number instead of guessing at a prefix or format.
| Court and division | Identifies the 20th JDC venue and whether the record is assigned to Division A or B. |
|---|---|
| Case identifier | The Clerk-assigned number and initiating date; the public site does not state a local numbering format. |
| Charge record | May show an arrest, summons, indictment, bill of information, charge amendment, or dismissal event. |
| Custody and setting entries | May include bond or custody action, arraignment, motion, status setting, hearing, trial, judge, and date. |
| Outcome entry | May identify a plea, adjudication, dismissal, sentence, or other exact disposition when public. |
A minute entry is a summary, not a full copy. It records court action on a date but may omit pleadings or judgment images. When the underlying document matters, request it from the clerk's office.
West Feliciana Parish Criminal Division Allotments
The 20th JDC local rules control allotment. Under them, the timing of an arrest decides where an ordinary West Feliciana Parish criminal case goes. Arrests in the first and third weeks go to Division B. Arrests in the second and fourth weeks go to Division A. A fifth-week arrest is allotted at random. So is any case that reaches an indictment or bill of information before any arrest. Probation matters usually return to the division that imposed probation.
The Division B court page shows one of the local divisions. It is one that receives these criminal docket assignments.
Division knowledge narrows a docket request. But it never replaces the case-specific docket or an official notice. Rule 15.0 sets Thursday as the regular West Feliciana Parish criminal-hearing day. Bonds and 72-hour matters go to the duty judge. Those hearings may happen by telephone or by live video. Remember that these are scheduling rules only. No rule guarantees a named case will be heard on any particular Thursday.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A criminal docket shows the sequence of court action, not just the ending. The case may begin with an arrest, a summons, an indictment, or a bill of information. From there, entries can record arraignment, custody or bond action, motions, status conferences, hearings, and a plea or trial. Keep the whole timeline in view. A later minute or order can change a setting. That setting may still sit earlier in the history.
Docket flow: Charge filed → arraignment → pretrial setting → plea or trial → disposition → sentencing.
Plain meanings help here. An arraignment deals with the charges, the plea, and counsel. A continuance or reset pushes a setting to a later date. When a prosecutor formally drops a charge or indictment, that entry is a nolle prosequi. Always let the exact entry control. A shorthand label alone will not tell you the result.
Note: A continuance does not erase the old date. The old setting stays in the docket history. Confirm the newest minute entry before relying on any setting.
West Feliciana Parish Criminal Minute Entries
La. R.S. 13:5992 requires electronic public access to criminal minute entries or summaries. It covers cases filed on or after January 1, 2020. An entry can cover arrest or summons details. It may also list bond and custody decisions, charge changes, hearings, trial or adjudication, sentencing, dates, the judge, prosecutor, and the defendant's name when the record supplies it. The statute stops short of requiring full document images.
The eClerks LA portal, paired with LCRAA, is the statewide route. Treat it as one channel. It is not proof that every West Feliciana Parish criminal docket is indexed there for free. The Clerk's own page stays the advertised local route. Certified copies come from the Clerk.
Important distinction: Traffic violations are excluded from the statewide criminal-minute-entry mandate. Follow the court named on a citation rather than assuming a traffic case will appear in a West Feliciana Parish criminal docket search.
Courts That Hold Criminal Dockets
Criminal felony work sits with the Twentieth Judicial District Court. It covers East and West Feliciana Parishes. The West Feliciana Parish Clerk of Court keeps the district-court criminal filings. It also holds the minutes for the parish. Divisions A and B matter whenever a request or setting ties to a particular assignment. For divisions, local rules, and hearing procedures, the 20th JDC is the court-administration source.
Not everything that looks criminal lands in that index. Traffic and wildlife cases get separate allotment treatment. St. Francisville ordinance matters start in the mayor's court. A Justice of the Peace may keep its own limited records. An appeal from a lower court can later create a district-court record. A First Circuit appeal carries its own appellate docket. Federal criminal cases run through the Middle District of Louisiana and its PACER route.
West Feliciana Parish Criminal Docket Copies
When a record is not available remotely, go to the Clerk. The counter is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 4785 Prosperity Street in St. Francisville. Mail goes to P.O. Box 1843. The phone number is (225) 635-3794, and the fax is (225) 635-3770. A sharp request names the 20th JDC. It should also give the criminal category, the case number or caption, an approximate date, and the docket or minutes wanted. State whether a plain or certified copy is required.
The Clerk's criminal fee page separates these record products.
| Criminal record product | Posted amount | Practical use |
|---|---|---|
| Regular copy | $1 per page | Reproduction of an available record |
| Certified copy | $10 | Copy certified by the Clerk; confirm any additional charge |
| Extract of court minutes | $15 | Clerk-posted minutes product |
The official fee schedule separates regular copies, certification, and an extract of minutes.
Confirm the current amount with the Clerk before sending any money. Confirm the accepted payment method too. That caution matters most when a request covers more than one document.
If the online index falls short, phone, email, fax, mail, and the public counter all work. A written request should target a particular public document. Do not ask for every record tied to a person.
Sealed Dockets and Public Access
Public access exists, but it has edges. Juvenile, adoption, protected family, sealed, expunged, and personal-identifier material may be unavailable or redacted. A public docket event or minute entry does not open every attachment to view. A missing result can have many causes. It may point to an older paper record, a limited subscription date range, a lower court, a traffic case, or an index that has not released the record.
For free review of public court papers, use the Clerk's counter during office hours. If access is withheld, ask the custodian. Ask which restriction applies. Ask whether a public portion can be inspected or copied.
Access rules:
La. C.C.P. art. 251 identifies the Clerk as custodian and generally permits examination and copying during office hours, subject to restrictions.
La. R.S. 44:31 recognizes public inspection and copying rights, while the custodian must establish any exemption.
La. R.S. 44:32 permits reasonable copy procedures and fees but does not charge merely to examine a public record.
West Feliciana Parish Criminal Docket Limits
A blank Cott index result is a starting point, not an answer. First, identify the court printed on the citation, pleading, or notice. Try alternate caption spellings and a wider date range if the service allows it. Then call the Clerk. Ask whether the matter is public, older, restricted, outside the online coverage, or held by another court. That sequence keeps a search limitation from hardening into a factual conclusion.
When the online route fails, the Clerk's counter is the primary public-terminal alternative. Louisiana's LCRAA portal offers a statewide remote-access path for participating clerk records. Yet it does not replace the parish custodian. A mail request should include return contact information and no cash or assumed payment method. Verify any legal deadline, hearing date, and the current record directly with the court or Clerk.
Note: A docket search can locate a public case history. But only the originating court or Clerk can confirm a current setting or certify a record.