Daviess County Criminal Court Records
A Daviess County criminal court record is the case-level file kept once the court has a criminal matter. It is not just the arrest event. It can include the filed charge, amended charge, case number, bond, docket entries, motions, pleas, disposition, sentence, probation conditions, fines, costs, and appeal activity. The local custodian is the Daviess County Circuit Court Clerk at the Holbrook Judicial Center. The clerk serves Circuit, Family, and District Court case records in Kentucky's unified court system.
Court level matters. Felonies and capital offenses are Circuit Court matters. Misdemeanors, violations, traffic offenses, arraignments, and felony probable-cause hearings are District Court matters. The Daviess County Attorney prosecutes adult and juvenile matters handled in District Court. The Commonwealth's Attorney for the 6th Judicial Circuit prosecutes felony-level cases in Circuit Court. For the narrower charge path after an arrest, use the Daviess County court arrest and charge records topic; the criminal court record is the broader case file.
For local law-enforcement context tied to arrests and custody, start with the Daviess County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff can be relevant to arrests, service, and custody, while the criminal court record itself is maintained through the court clerk.
Search Daviess Criminal Court Records
Daviess County criminal court records can be searched through the KYeCourts guest public records gateway when public case information is available. The portal requires reCAPTCHA before the guest search path. Visible research confirms case-number, party, and citation-search fields, but full post-captcha result columns were not inspected. Treat KYeCourts as a locator and status tool. Use the Circuit Court Clerk for certified copies, file inspection, older files, and records that do not appear online.
- Start with KYeCourts guest public records and complete the captcha-controlled guest entry.
- Use the case number when known, especially for felony, misdemeanor, or traffic-linked criminal matters.
- Use party search with first name, last name, and date of birth when the case number is not known.
- Use the Kentucky docket lookup for scheduled criminal hearing dates, then confirm with the clerk.
- Request certified Daviess County criminal court records from the Circuit Court Clerk when a legal or official copy is needed.
The AOC criminal record report system is a different access channel. AOC reports include county of origin, case number, original charge, amendments, disposition, charge date, disposition date, and necessary clerk memos. The report fee in the research is $25. AOC criminal reports do not include expunged or purged cases and do not replace the full Daviess County criminal court records file.
For law-enforcement contact details tied to Daviess criminal matters, see the Daviess County Sheriff's Office contact page.
Sheriff contact details can help with law-enforcement questions, but case copies and criminal court record review belong with the court clerk.
Daviess County Criminal Case Flow
A Daviess County criminal court record grows as the case moves through court. A District Court misdemeanor may stay in District Court from charge through disposition. A felony may begin with District Court arraignment and probable-cause activity, then proceed in Circuit Court if indicted or otherwise filed at the felony level. Each major event creates a docket entry or filing that may later help explain the outcome.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial / Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Charges filed | The accusation enters court through a citation, complaint, information, indictment, or related charging record. |
| Arraignment | The court addresses the charge, rights, plea posture, bond, counsel, and next date. |
| Pretrial / motions | The parties may file motions, set hearings, address discovery, negotiate, or review bond and compliance. |
| Plea or trial | The defendant may enter a plea, proceed to trial, or resolve some counts while others are dismissed or amended. |
| Disposition | The case or charge receives an outcome such as guilty, dismissed, acquitted, amended, transferred, or otherwise disposed. |
| Sentencing | The court enters jail, prison, probation, fines, costs, restitution, conditions, or other sentence terms after conviction. |
Daviess County Criminal Record Fields
Daviess County criminal court records should be read field by field. A charge line alone does not prove conviction. A disposition line, plea, judgment, and sentence give the outcome. Bond fields show release conditions or amounts, while financial fields can show costs, fines, restitution, or payment plans. Docket events explain the sequence of hearings and filings. Some public views may omit restricted identifiers or sealed material.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The court identifier for the Daviess criminal case, such as T, M, F, or CR case-type references in AOC systems. |
| Defendant | The person charged, with public identifiers limited by court rules and privacy restrictions. |
| Court and division | District Court for misdemeanors and early felony events, or Circuit Court for felony-level prosecution. |
| Charges | Original charge, amended charge, offense or citation data, charge date, and related count information. |
| Bond | Bond amount, bond type, release status, or conditions when public and entered in the case record. |
| Plea | The defendant's response, such as guilty, not guilty, or a later negotiated plea entry. |
| Disposition | The result for the case or charge, such as dismissed, guilty, acquitted, amended, or transferred. |
| Sentence | Jail, prison, probation, fines, costs, restitution, conditions, and related enforcement terms after conviction. |
Daviess Charges vs Convictions
A Daviess County criminal court record can show charges that do not end in conviction. Charges may be amended, reduced, dismissed, or resolved by plea to another offense. A conviction requires a guilty plea, verdict, or other court outcome establishing guilt. Read the charge, plea, disposition, and sentence together before describing the case outcome.
| Charge | Conviction | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | An accusation filed in court. | A court result establishing guilt. |
| Where it appears | Charging document, docket, AOC report, or early case record. | Disposition, judgment, plea, verdict, and sentence fields. |
| Can change | Yes, charges can be amended, reduced, or dismissed. | Yes, but only through later court action, appeal, or expungement process. |
| Use caution | Do not treat the accusation as proof of guilt. | Confirm the exact count, date, and sentence before relying on it. |
For the elected sheriff's local office context, see Sheriff Brad Youngman's official page.
The sheriff's office may appear in arrest or service context, while the charge-to-conviction analysis comes from the court file.
Daviess County Criminal Case Offices
Several local legal offices can appear around Daviess County criminal court records. The Commonwealth's Attorney for the 6th Judicial Circuit prosecutes felony-level cases in Circuit Court. The research identifies Hon. Mike Van Meter / John Michael Van Meter and notes that Governor Beshear appointed John Michael Van Meter as Commonwealth's Attorney for the 6th Judicial Circuit on January 5, 2024. The office address is 117 East Third Street, Second Floor, P.O. Box 767, Owensboro, KY 42303, with phone 270-687-7451.
The Daviess County Attorney, Hon. John Burlew, handles adult and juvenile matters in District Court through the Criminal Division in the Robert M. Kirtley Judicial Annex behind the Morton J. Holbrook Center. The criminal division phone is 270-685-8429. The Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy Owensboro Trial Office serves Daviess, Hancock, and Ohio Counties from 920 Frederica St., Suite 1006, Owensboro, KY 42301, with phone 833-514-8980. These offices do not replace the clerk as record custodian, but they may explain who filed, defended, or prosecuted the case.
Daviess County Circuit Criminal
Holbrook Judicial Center
100 E. 2nd St., Owensboro, KY 42302-0277
Division 1: 270-687-7329
Division 2: 270-687-7330
Daviess District Traffic/Criminal
Holbrook Judicial Center
100 E. 2nd St., Owensboro, KY 42302-0277
270-687-7200
Sheriff Service in Criminal Files
The Daviess County Sheriff's Office may appear in criminal court records when service, transport, arrest, or enforcement actions touch a case. The sheriff's civil-process page is mainly about paper service, but it is useful local context because DCSO serves summonses, subpoenas, writs, orders to show cause, garnishments, executions, and divorce papers in Daviess County matters. Some court records show service returns or enforcement steps in the docket.
For service-of-process details that can affect court events, review Daviess County Sheriff's paper-service information.
Service records can explain why a hearing moved forward, was delayed, or produced a later docket event.
Daviess Custody Cross-Checks
Daviess County criminal court records can be cross-checked against custody records when the person is currently housed at the Daviess County Detention Center. The jail roster may show public booking information such as name, age, charges, arrest date, and bond information. The jail does not publicly release court dates, inactive records, current-inmate release dates, addresses, appointments, cell locations, dates of birth, medical records, Social Security numbers, transport information, or other restricted details listed in the research.
Custody data is not the criminal court case file. A jail charge can be pending, amended, dropped, dismissed, or later resolved in court. For the official case outcome, use KYeCourts or the Circuit Court Clerk. The Daviess County Detention Center has its own open-records process for jail records that are not online, with written requests to the Official Custodian of Records and copy fees listed as $0.10 per page plus postage.
For a separate sheriff record channel, compare court records with Daviess County Sheriff's accident reports.
Crash reports are a separate law-enforcement record type and should not be confused with the criminal case record filed in court.
Daviess Sealed vs Expunged Records
Public access to Daviess County criminal court records is limited by sealing, expungement, juvenile confidentiality, and statutory exemptions. Juvenile court records are confidential under KRS 610.340. Expungement statutes include KRS 431.076 for certain acquittals, dismissals, and nonindictment felony charges, KRS 431.078 for eligible misdemeanor, violation, and traffic-infraction convictions, and KRS 431.073 for certain felony convictions.
| Sealed | Expunged | |
|---|---|---|
| Public visibility | Restricted from ordinary public view. | Removed or deleted from official systems as the statute directs. |
| Criminal reports | May be omitted if the court restricts access. | AOC criminal reports do not include expunged or purged cases. |
| How it happens | By court order or confidentiality rule. | By statutory petition and court order after eligibility is met. |
| Practical step | Ask the clerk what public access, if any, exists. | Confirm with the court, not third-party background sites. |
Public Access to Daviess Criminal Records
Kentucky public-records law supports access to public records while allowing exemptions. KRS 61.872 describes public-record inspection for Kentucky residents and written request methods. KRS 61.878 allows withholding of exempt material, including privacy-sensitive, confidential, investigatory, and security-sensitive records. Criminal court files can contain both public and restricted parts.
For Daviess County criminal court records, the access channel depends on the need. Use KYeCourts for public online case information where available. Use the docket lookup for hearing dates. Use AOC criminal reports for statewide criminal-history reports. Use the Daviess County Circuit Court Clerk for official copies, certified records, file inspection, older cases, and storage status. Use jail open-records requests only for jail records, not for the court case file.
Important: Public criminal court lookups are not a substitute for FCRA-compliant consumer reports or official certified records.
For the local custody source, compare the court case record with the Daviess County Detention Center.
The detention center may help confirm current custody, but disposition and sentencing must be read from the criminal court record.