Union County Criminal Court Records
A criminal court record is the case-level file kept by the court clerk once a criminal case opens. In Union County, the Office of Circuit Court Clerk is the starting point for criminal court records in Circuit, Family, and District Court. The file may begin with a citation, complaint, indictment, or information and then build as hearings, motions, pleas, orders, dispositions, and sentencing events occur.
Court level matters. Union Circuit Court handles capital offenses and felonies. Union District Court handles misdemeanors, violations, arraignments, traffic offenses, and felony probable-cause hearings before a felony proceeds further. District Court also handles juvenile matters, but those records are generally confidential. The full criminal case file is different from the narrower charge record described on the Union County arrest records and court charges page.
Search Union County Criminal Records
The KCOJ Union County page identifies the local court clerk and phone channels. Circuit criminal questions can go through 270-389-1811. District criminal questions, including misdemeanors, violations, arraignments, and felony probable-cause hearings, can go through 270-389-0800. The clerk can tell a requester whether a record is local, archived, restricted, or destroyed under retention rules.
KYeCourts is the account-based Kentucky court portal for criminal and civil cases. Kentucky Easy Pay can search payable cases by case, citation, or party and may show fines, costs, and balances. Neither route should be treated as a complete public document system for every Union County criminal court record.
- Determine whether the matter is a felony, misdemeanor, violation, or traffic-related criminal matter.
- Search Easy Pay if the goal is a payable case, citation, court cost, or balance.
- Use KYeCourts only with the right account credentials and access permissions.
- Call the Circuit Court Clerk for full case-file access, certified copies, or an archived-file route.
- Ask about sealing, juvenile confidentiality, or expungement before relying on a missing public result.
Union County Criminal Case Flow
Criminal case events appear in the court record as the case moves from accusation to outcome. A felony may start in District Court for arraignment or probable-cause review and then move to Circuit Court. A misdemeanor may remain in District Court. The prosecutor's filing, the judge's orders, and the clerk's docket entries together form the official record.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial / Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens | Record Clue |
|---|---|---|
| Charges filed | A citation, complaint, information, or indictment identifies the offense. | Charge description, statute, case or citation number. |
| Arraignment | The defendant appears, charges are addressed, and plea or bond issues may be set. | Arraignment entry, plea entry, bond order, next date. |
| Pretrial / motions | Parties file motions, request orders, exchange issues, or reset hearings. | Motion, order, continuance, hearing entry. |
| Plea or trial | The case resolves by plea, trial verdict, dismissal, or other ruling. | Plea, verdict, dismissal, amended charge, acquittal. |
| Disposition | The court records the outcome for each charge or the case as a whole. | Disposed, dismissed, guilty, not guilty, amended. |
| Sentencing | The court imposes jail, prison, probation, fines, costs, restitution, or conditions. | Sentence order, probation terms, payment fields. |
What Union Criminal Records Show
KCOJ defines court case records broadly. A Union County criminal court record may include criminal citations, pleadings, motions, orders, evidence, reports, dockets, video recordings, and transcripts. It may also show bonds, fines, fees, restitution, payment status, and sentencing. The public version may omit sealed details, protected identifiers, juvenile information, addresses, medical information, or expunged material.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The clerk's criminal case identifier used for searching and copy requests. |
| Court and County | Whether the case is in Union Circuit Court or Union District Court. |
| Defendant | The accused person, with public identifiers only when permitted. |
| Commonwealth | The prosecuting party in Kentucky criminal cases. |
| Charges | Filed offenses, charge descriptions, statute references, and amendments when available. |
| Bond | Release conditions, bond amount or type, and related court orders. |
| Plea | The defendant's formal answer, such as guilty or not guilty. |
| Disposition | The outcome for the charge or case, including dismissal, conviction, acquittal, or other result. |
| Sentence | Jail, prison, probation, restitution, fines, costs, or other conditions. |
| Docket Events | Hearings, motions, orders, continuances, reports, transcripts, and future dates. |
Charges vs Convictions
A Union County criminal court record can list charges that did not become convictions. A charge is an accusation filed after a citation, complaint, information, or indictment. A conviction is an outcome based on a guilty plea, finding of guilt, or verdict. One arrest or case can have multiple charges with different outcomes.
| Point | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | An offense alleged by the Commonwealth or charging process. | A final finding or plea that establishes guilt. |
| Timing | Appears near the start of the criminal case. | Appears after plea, trial, or final disposition. |
| Possible Changes | May be amended, reduced, dismissed, or sent to grand jury. | May lead to sentence, probation, costs, restitution, or appeal. |
| Use | Shows what was alleged, not what was proven. | Shows the court outcome for that offense. |
Reading Dispositions and Sentences
Disposition language tells what happened to the case or charge. Pending means the case is open. Disposed means a judgment, dismissal, plea, sentence, or other final event has been entered. Dismissed with prejudice generally means the same claim cannot be refiled. Dismissed without prejudice may allow refiling if the law permits. Transferred means the case moved to another court or division.
Sentence information can include jail, prison, probation, restitution, fines, court costs, and payment status. Bond entries may remain important even after a disposition, especially if a defendant failed to appear or a payment condition remained open. If a criminal case led to custody, the current jail or prison location is a separate question from the court record.
The Kentucky State Police Sex Offender Registry is a separate public-safety resource, not the Union County criminal case file.
Use the registry for registry status and alerts, then use the court clerk if the underlying Union County case record or certified disposition is needed.
Sealed vs Expunged Records
Sealing and expungement both limit public access, but they are not the same. A sealed Union County criminal court record is blocked from ordinary public view by statute or court order. An expunged record is removed or deleted from official state-performed background checks under Kentucky expungement law. Expungement requires a court process and the proper order.
| Point | Sealed | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Public visibility | Hidden or restricted from ordinary public access. | Removed or deleted from official state-performed background checks. |
| Source | Statute, court rule, or case-specific order. | Court order under Kentucky expungement statutes. |
| Examples | Juvenile, adoption, mental-health, protected personal data, or sealed criminal matters. | Eligible misdemeanor or felony matters after required process. |
| Access question | Ask the clerk whether any public portion remains. | Ask the handling court about eligibility, certificate, order, and agency notice. |
The official 502 KAR 30:060 criminal history rule addresses dissemination of criminal history record information.
That rule is relevant when a court case result is compared with a criminal-history background report.
Public Access to Union Criminal Records
Kentucky open-records statutes support public access, but they do not make every criminal court record visible online. KRS 61.871 states Kentucky's policy favoring open examination, KRS 61.872 gives inspection rights unless an exemption applies, and KRS 61.878 allows withholding or redaction for protected categories.
Juvenile criminal matters are a major limit. KRS 610.340 makes juvenile court records confidential unless disclosure is authorized. Expungement is another limit. KRS 431.079 defines expungement, while KRS 431.073 covers certain felony conviction expungements and the fee imposed after an order is issued.
Note: A missing online result does not prove that a Union County criminal case never existed.
Union County Criminal Case Offices
Criminal court records often involve more than the clerk. Kentucky uses Commonwealth's Attorneys for felony prosecution in Circuit Court and County Attorneys for misdemeanor, violation, juvenile prosecution, dependency, neglect, abuse, child-support, and local legal functions. The Union County Attorney page names Julie Wallace and lists the office at 107 South Morgan Street, P.O. Box 28, Morganfield, with phone 270-389-0591. GRADD lists Zack Greenwell as Commonwealth's Attorney, P.O. Box 361, Marion, phone 270-965-2261.
Eligible defendants may be served by the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy Henderson Trial Office, which serves Union County along with Crittenden, Henderson, and Webster Counties. The office is at 739 S. Main St., Henderson, KY 42420, phone 833-254-2463. Defense counsel can help interpret case status, warrants, plea consequences, and expungement options.