Daviess County Criminal Court Cases
Daviess County criminal cases share one building but not one court role. Circuit Court hears felony prosecutions after indictment. District Court hears misdemeanors, traffic matters, and the preliminary stages of felony cases. Both sit at the Daviess County Holbrook Judicial Center, 100 E. Second Street in Owensboro. The Office of Circuit Court Clerk is the records custodian for both court levels. Circuit Criminal Division 1 publishes 270-687-7329, and the official court page controls for current division numbers and closures.
The Daviess County court clerk is not the Daviess County Clerk who handles deeds and vehicle matters. It is also not Fiscal Court's open-records office. A request for a Daviess County criminal docket, indictment, dismissal, judgment, or sentence belongs with the judicial clerk. Daviess County has no separate city-operated criminal municipal court, so an Owensboro or Whitesville prosecution reaches District or Circuit Court under Kentucky's court structure.
The official Daviess court page shows the Judicial Center and its clerk divisions.
The image identifies the downtown office that holds official Daviess County case records, not the separate jail or county-administration counters.
Daviess County Felony Cases Change Courts
A Daviess County felony matter may first appear in Daviess District Court as an F case. District Court handles probable-cause and preliminary work. If a grand jury returns an indictment, the Daviess County felony prosecution proceeds as a Circuit Criminal case marked CR. Those letters identify the case path, not the felony class. A CR label does not say whether an offense is Class A, B, C, or D.
That Daviess County court transfer can produce two related case numbers and several versions of a charge. Search both the early Daviess County District file and later Circuit file when a felony result looks incomplete. Kentucky's punishment classes come from KRS Chapter 532, but the filed charge and signed judgment control the specific outcome. An intake charge may be amended, dismissed, diverted, or replaced before disposition.
Case route: Citation or arrest › District preliminary case › Grand-jury review › Circuit indictment › Final disposition.
Note: A Daviess County case-type code identifies the court track; it does not prove the offense class, guilt, or final sentence.
Searching Daviess County Case Records
Use the Daviess County clerk when the signed court order matters. Use AOC FastCheck for a statewide name-based report drawn from District and Circuit activity in all 120 Kentucky counties. CourtNet 2.0 is mainly account and subscription based, so it is not the only route. The Daviess County clerk counter remains the local fallback when a login, name match, archive, or current filing causes trouble.
- Gather the full legal name, date of birth if known, approximate filing year, and Daviess County case number.
- Choose FastCheck for a statewide summary or contact the clerk for the authoritative Daviess County court file.
- Check relevant case types, including District
MorFand CircuitCR, instead of relying on one label. - Read each charge separately for amendments, dates, disposition, and clerk memos.
- Ask the clerk for the docket sheet, then request the exact plain or certified order needed.
| FastCheck control | Type | Required | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered user or One-Time Request | Portal choice | No | Online retrieval for account users or mail delivery for a single request |
| First and last name | Text | Yes | Use legal spelling; matching is name based |
| Middle name or initial | Text | No | Helps separate common names |
| Date of birth | Date | Needed for matching | Improves identity discrimination |
| Requester and payment | Contact/card | Yes | The report costs $25, plus the stated card charge where applicable |
The FastCheck menu shows the report-order route used for this statewide summary.
This view is a starting point for a report order, while the Daviess County clerk remains the source for signed court documents.
Daviess County FastCheck Case Limits
For Daviess County, AOC FastCheck covers traffic T, misdemeanor M, felony-charge F, and Circuit Criminal CR activity. Its misdemeanor and traffic coverage reaches at least five years, while Daviess County felony records go back to 1978. The report can show county, case number, original charge, amendments, charge date, disposition date, outcome, and needed clerk memos. Confidential juvenile, mental-health, and domestic-violence case types are excluded, as are expunged or purged cases.
The Daviess County report is marked “Not an Official Court Record.” It also omits federal cases. Registered users can retrieve processed results for 30 days, and AOC does not offer paid rush service or interpret the findings. If another person's Daviess County search finds a record, AOC notifies that subject and provides a copy. Questions go to the AOC Records Unit at 800-928-6381 during its published weekday hours.
A blank or ambiguous Daviess County result does not settle the issue. Name matching can fail, a filing may be too new, or an old Daviess County file may sit off-site. Ask the Daviess County clerk to search by case number and year before drawing a conclusion.
Inside a Daviess County Case File
A Daviess County criminal case file documents what the prosecutor filed and what the court did next. Start with the docket, which is the dated list of filings, hearings, orders, and events. Then request the charging paper and final signed order. Those documents are more useful than a portal label when a charge changed or a diversion period affected the outcome.
| Case number and type | Identifies Daviess County, filing year, sequence, and the District or Circuit track. |
|---|---|
| Charging document | Complaint or indictment stating the charge formally presented to the court. |
| Docket entries | Chronological filings, hearings, motions, orders, and later case activity. |
| Charge history | Original charge, amendments, charge date, and separate outcomes for each count. |
| Disposition and judgment | Dismissal, acquittal, conviction, diversion status, or another recorded result. |
| Sentence and conditions | Signed sentence, financial assessment where public, and court-ordered terms. |
A Daviess County booking record is not this court file. It records Daviess County jail intake and booked charges. For a broader view of how Daviess County records split among agencies, use the county criminal-history overview after identifying the Daviess County court result.
Get Daviess County Signed Court Orders
When a Daviess County FastCheck line is unclear, ask the clerk for the signed disposition, judgment, sentencing order, or dismissal order. Bring the full defendant name, approximate year, and Daviess County case number when available. State whether the file began in District Court or proceeded to Circuit Court. The Daviess County clerk can say whether a record is at the counter, must be retrieved from an off-site facility, or was destroyed under an authorized retention schedule.
Request the Daviess County docket sheet first if the exact document name is unknown. It can point to the filing date and title of the order that resolves the question. Ask whether a plain copy is enough or whether certification is needed, then obtain the current cost before sending payment. The research found no verified Daviess County certified-copy fee, so no amount should be assumed.
Office of Circuit Court Clerk
Holbrook Judicial Center
100 E. Second St.
Owensboro, KY 42303
Circuit Criminal Division 1: 270-687-7329
Note: Check the official court page for current division assignments, holiday closures, access details, and courthouse security rules before a visit.
How a Criminal Case Moves
Daviess County criminal court cases begin with a citation, complaint, or arrest. A person held in Daviess County custody receives a prompt initial appearance and pretrial assessment. District Court handles Daviess County misdemeanor cases and felony probable-cause work. A grand jury may return a felony indictment, which creates the Circuit Criminal file. Arraignment is the Daviess County hearing where the charge is presented and a plea is taken. Discovery and motions follow.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
Each Daviess County charge must be read on its own line. “Dismissed” is not a conviction. “Amended” means the filed charge changed. “Guilty” records a conviction. “Diverted” requires the diversion order and completion status. A later Daviess County appeal or post-judgment motion adds more entries after sentence.
Read Daviess County Case Dispositions Carefully
Daviess County's FY2022 court reporting shows why first charges can mislead. The Kentucky Court of Justice annual table listed 959 felony-charge cases in its relevant category and 133 cases in which felonies were amended to non-felonies. Those figures describe a fiscal-year report category, not a count of convictions or people. Their value is the contrast: a charge at the start is not always the charge at the end.
- Disposition
- The recorded outcome of a charge or case.
- Nolle prosequi
- The prosecutor's formal choice not to continue a charge at that time.
- Dismissal
- The end of a charge without a conviction.
- Pretrial diversion
- A supervised path that may defer and later resolve an eligible prosecution if its terms are met.
- Indictment
- A grand jury's formal felony accusation, not proof of guilt.
Read Daviess County amendments, dates, and outcomes together. Then compare the Daviess County summary with the signed court order.
Daviess County Federal Cases Stay Separate
Federal criminal cases from Daviess County belong to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, Owensboro Division. Daviess County federal cases do not appear in AOC FastCheck or a Daviess Circuit Court file. Federal custody is also distinct from the Daviess County jail and Kentucky Department of Corrections.
The PACER service provides federal docket access after registration and generally charges under its current per-page schedule. The federal court page is the official source for division and clerk information.
The PACER screen belongs to the federal layer, so it should not be used as a substitute for a Daviess County state-court search.
The Western District's official page identifies the federal court serving Daviess County.
This second federal source helps confirm the correct jurisdiction before a reader spends time in a state case system.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Kentucky judicial records are requested through the court and clerk framework, while executive-agency records follow the Kentucky Open Records Act. Court of Justice records guidance directs readers to the filing county's Circuit Court Clerk for official copies. A broad Fiscal Court request is not a substitute for that route.
Public access still permits lawful limits. Juvenile, mental-health, and domestic-violence case types may be confidential. Expunged or purged cases do not appear in the AOC public report. Victim, minor, financial, and other protected details can be redacted. Older Daviess County files may require retrieval or may have been destroyed under retention rules.
Use the correct custodian: Ask the clerk for court files. KRS 61.872 and KRS 61.878 govern executive-agency inspection and exemptions, not a transfer of judicial custody to Fiscal Court.
If a Daviess County case cannot be found, give the clerk the full name, possible alias, approximate year, case type, and any known number. A missing Daviess County search result is not proof that no case exists.