Clark County Criminal Court Records
A criminal court record is the case file kept by the Circuit Clerk once a criminal case opens in court. In Clark County, misdemeanor and felony criminal matters are listed by the Circuit Clerk as 1st Judicial Circuit Court cases. Circuit Clerk Kimberly A. Schantz-Smith is the local court-record contact, and the Clark County office directory places the court office in the Clark County Courthouse. The record may begin after an arrest, summons, citation, complaint, information, or other charging event, but the court case is not the same thing as a sheriff booking record.
The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney files and prosecutes criminal charges for the state or county. The Circuit Clerk keeps the filed case record and is the copy and certification contact. The Associate Circuit Division may handle many misdemeanor, traffic, and preliminary matters, while felony cases proceed through circuit court practice. Sheriff Shawn Webster's county Sheriff page and the Clark County Sheriff's Office site are separate law-enforcement paths, not the court case file. For a closer look at the charge list itself, use the Clark County arrest records and charges page. For broad civil, probate, traffic, and family records, use the general court records process.
Search Clark County Criminal Court Records
Use Missouri Case.net for public criminal case information in Clark County. The Clark County Circuit Clerk directs users to Case.net for 1st Judicial Circuit cases, including misdemeanor and felony criminal matters. Search by defendant name or case number when available, then confirm the court, case type, charges, docket entries, disposition, and sentence fields.
- Open Missouri Case.net and choose the search mode that fits the information available.
- Search by defendant name, business name if relevant, or exact case number from a court notice.
- Narrow to Clark County or the 1st Judicial Circuit when court filters are available.
- Open the case and read the docket, filed charges, hearing entries, plea, disposition, costs, and sentence entries.
- Request certified copies or non-online documents from the Clark County Circuit Clerk.
Statewide criminal history is separate from the court case file. The assigned image below comes from the Missouri State Highway Patrol homepage, which is the starting point for statewide law-enforcement services.
MSHP criminal history channels are not a substitute for the Clark County criminal court case file, but they may be relevant when a user needs statewide criminal record information.
Clark County Criminal Case Stages
A criminal court record changes as the case moves. Early entries may show the charging document, bond, warrant or summons activity, and arraignment. Later entries may show discovery or motion practice, continuances, plea settings, trial settings, disposition, sentencing, court costs, probation, restitution, or dismissal. A person may have several counts in one case, and each count can have its own outcome.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial / Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Charges Filed | The Prosecuting Attorney files the charge record in court, often by complaint or information. |
| Arraignment | The defendant is advised of the charge and enters or is scheduled for plea activity. |
| Pretrial / Motions | The docket may show discovery, motions, continuances, bond changes, or hearing settings. |
| Plea or Trial | The case may resolve by plea, trial verdict, dismissal, amendment, or other court action. |
| Sentencing | The court imposes sentence, costs, fines, restitution, jail, prison, probation, or other terms if there is a conviction. |
Clark County Criminal Record Fields
The public case record may show different details depending on case type, court action, and confidentiality rules. A docket field can reveal that something was filed without making the full document public online. Copies of filings, judgments, sentencing papers, or certified records should be requested from the Circuit Clerk when online details are not enough.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The Missouri court case identifier used for searches, notices, and clerk-copy requests. |
| Defendant | The person charged, along with public attorney or counsel information where entered. |
| Charges | The filed counts, statute or offense description, severity, amendments, dismissals, and current status. |
| Docket Entries | Filings, hearings, orders, bond events, warrants, continuances, pleas, judgment, and sentence events. |
| Plea | The defendant's response to a charge, such as guilty plea, not guilty plea, or other case-specific entry. |
| Disposition | The outcome of the case or count, such as dismissed, guilty plea, conviction, acquittal, pending, or disposed. |
| Sentence | Jail, prison, probation, fines, court costs, restitution, or other sentence terms when public. |
Clark County Charges vs Convictions
A charge is an accusation filed in court. A conviction is a final result based on a guilty plea, verdict, or other qualifying judgment. A Clark County criminal court record can show charges that were later amended, reduced, dismissed, or resolved by acquittal. Always read the disposition for each count rather than treating the first charge list as the final result.
| Charge | Conviction | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Accusation filed in court | Final result by plea, verdict, or judgment |
| Proof Level | Based on probable cause or filed charging decision | Requires conviction-level proof or admitted plea |
| Record Meaning | May be pending, amended, reduced, dismissed, or dropped | Shows guilt or liability on that count as entered by the court |
| Where to Confirm | Charge list and docket entries | Disposition, judgment, and sentencing entries |
Read Clark County Dispositions
Disposition terms are the key to a criminal court record. "Pending" means the case or count has not reached a final outcome. "Dismissed" means the court record no longer has that count moving forward, though the reason and whether refiling is possible depends on the entry. "Guilty plea" means the defendant admitted the count subject to court acceptance and sentence. "Acquittal" means the defendant was found not guilty on the count tried.
Sentencing entries can include fines, costs, restitution, jail, prison, probation, or other terms. Probation and parole are not the same. Probation is a court sentence that can allow supervision outside custody. Parole is supervised release after prison and is tied to corrections records, not just the Circuit Clerk's file.
Sealed and Expunged Criminal Records
Missouri law allows some criminal records to be closed or expunged when statutory requirements are met. The assigned source image comes from RSMo 610.140, Missouri's criminal expungement statute.
Expungement is a court process, not a website edit. Eligibility, waiting periods, exclusions, and access after expungement depend on statute and court order.
| Sealed / Closed | Expunged | |
|---|---|---|
| Public Visibility | Hidden or limited for ordinary public inspection | Closed from public view as allowed by the expungement order and statute |
| Law Enforcement | May retain limited access under specific statutes | Access may remain for agencies and purposes allowed by Missouri law |
| How It Happens | By statute, court rule, or court order | By petition and court order under Missouri expungement law |
Criminal Record Access Limits
Criminal court records are public only to the extent allowed by Missouri law and court rules. Law-enforcement records follow their own statutes. RSMo 610.100 addresses arrest reports, incident reports, and investigative reports.
This distinction matters because an arrest report or investigation file is held by law enforcement, while filed charges and dispositions are court records.
Missouri also limits access to some closed records. The assigned image below is from RSMo 610.105, which addresses records after no-charge or certain non-conviction outcomes.
A search result that once existed may later become closed or limited if the law applies and the proper court or agency process has occurred.
Additional limits appear in RSMo 610.120, the law-enforcement record access and expungement-related confidentiality source used for the next image.
These access limits are why the Circuit Clerk, Sheriff's Office, and state criminal history channels may give different kinds of answers for the same person or event.
Clark County Background Checks
A Case.net search is a court-record lookup. It is not the same as a regulated employment, housing, credit, insurance, or tenant background check. Statewide criminal history information may require Missouri State Highway Patrol procedures, identifiers, and rules that differ from a public court docket search. Public defender information is also separate from record access; the Circuit Clerk research lists the Missouri State Public Defender Hannibal District 10 phone line for eligible defense services.
Important: Public court lookups should not be used for FCRA-regulated decisions without a compliant consumer reporting process.
Restricted Clark County Criminal Records
Juvenile matters, sealed cases, expunged records, confidential addresses, active investigative reports, and some no-charge or non-conviction records may be restricted. A criminal court docket can also omit document text even when the docket entry itself is visible. Contact the Circuit Clerk for court-file access questions and the Sheriff's Office for sheriff-held arrest or custody records.
Clark County Circuit Clerk
111 E. Court Street, Suite 210
Kahoka, MO 63445-1268
660-727-3292
Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.; closed state holidays