Franklin County Criminal Court Records
Franklin County criminal court records are opened and maintained by the Franklin County Circuit Court once a prosecutor files charges. The local records custodian is the Circuit Clerk, with criminal-file questions routed to the Criminal Department. A case record can include the charging document, defendant and attorney names, scheduled hearings, docket entries, bond entries, pleas, motions, judgments, sentence terms, probation reviews, restitution, fines, costs, and warrant or failure-to-appear entries when public.
Criminal matters in Franklin County are part of Missouri's Circuit Court system. The county belongs to the 20th Judicial Circuit, where felony prosecutions, misdemeanor matters, DWI cases, traffic crimes, probation violations, and related criminal hearings may appear in Circuit Court or Associate Circuit Court divisions. Municipal ordinance and traffic failures to appear may also involve municipal divisions. For the arrest-to-charges pathway, use the Franklin County arrest records and court charges page; this page follows the full criminal case file through outcome.
The Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney enforces state criminal law in the county. The office description says it prosecutes matters ranging from murders, sex crimes, drug offenses, burglaries, stealing, arson, forgery, and fraud to traffic offenses from speeding to DWIs. The prosecutor's charging decision is part of the criminal case environment, but the prosecutor is not the copy custodian for the court file.
Search Franklin County Criminal Court Records
Most public Franklin County criminal court record searches start with Missouri Case.net. Franklin County pages point users to statewide court access for case status and court payments, while the Circuit Clerk remains the local office for certified copies and documents not available remotely. Case.net can show the case number, court, case type, filing date, parties, charges, docket activity, hearings, disposition, financial entries, and some public documents after Missouri's remote public-access expansion.
- Open Case.net and choose a case-number search when the Franklin County case number is known.
- Use litigant-name search when the number is unknown. Full first and last names reduce false matches.
- Filter to Franklin County or the 20th Judicial Circuit when the search screen allows county filtering.
- Open the case and read charges, docket entries, hearings, bond entries, disposition, and sentence lines together.
- Use the Circuit Clerk request form when a plain copy, certified copy, older file, or non-downloadable document is needed.
The Franklin County Circuit Clerk publishes a records request form that asks for the requestor name, phone, mailing address, certification choice, delivery method, case number, document requested, and filing date. Plain copies are listed at $1.00 per page, with an additional $1.50 for certification. Payment must be received before requests are processed.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol criminal record check and MACHS name search serve a different purpose. They are statewide criminal-history tools, not substitutes for the court case file. MSHP notes that a name-based search costs $15 and returns possible open-record matches, so court records should still be checked when a disposition or sentence must be verified.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol criminal-record page is one official state source for criminal history context. The image below comes from that source and helps distinguish a statewide background-style search from Franklin County criminal court records kept by the court.
A state criminal-history search may point to possible records, but the Franklin County Circuit Court file is still the source for local pleas, docket events, dispositions, and sentence entries.
Franklin County Criminal Case Flow
A Franklin County criminal court record changes as the case moves. Early entries often show filed charges, bond, first appearances, and arraignment events. Later entries may show motions, continuances, plea settings, trial settings, sentencing, probation reviews, financial obligations, or warrant activity. Case.net can be useful for the public docket, but the Detention page warns that court actions are not always entered immediately after court.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial / Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Charges filed | The Prosecuting Attorney files charges, and the Circuit Clerk creates or updates the public case file. |
| Arraignment | The defendant is advised of the charge and enters an initial plea or receives a later setting. |
| Pretrial / Motions | Attorneys file requests, seek discovery, raise legal issues, or ask for continuances. |
| Plea or Trial | The case resolves by plea, dismissal, trial verdict, or another court-approved outcome. |
| Sentencing | The record may list jail, prison, probation, fines, costs, restitution, or review settings. |
Victims who need case-process information are directed by the county's Victim Services page to call the Prosecuting Attorney's Office. The Missouri State Public Defender District 20 Union office may represent eligible defendants, but it is not a public records custodian and should not be used to request case copies.
What Franklin County Criminal Records Show
Franklin County criminal court records should be read as case records, not as a simple guilty-or-not-guilty list. One case can include several charges, and each charge may have its own status. A docket entry can also affect custody, bond, payment obligations, or later hearings. Public records may omit sealed documents, juvenile matters, redacted personal identifiers, or confidential filings.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | Unique Franklin County or Missouri court case identifier used for searching and copy requests. |
| Court and division | Shows whether the matter is in Circuit Court, Associate Circuit Court, or a municipal division. |
| Defendant and attorneys | Lists the accused person and attorney information when public. |
| Charges | Charge description, offense level, statute or code reference, and current status when shown. |
| Docket entries | Chronological record of filings, motions, hearings, continuances, orders, warrants, and reviews. |
| Plea and disposition | Shows guilty, not guilty, dismissed, amended, or other outcome language where public. |
| Sentence and financials | May show jail, prison, probation, restitution, fines, costs, bond, or payment plan entries. |
The MACHS name-search portal is one route for public Missouri criminal-history searches through MSHP CJIS. This image from the MACHS portal supports the distinction between a statewide name search and a Franklin County criminal court file.
Name-search results should be matched back to the court case number before relying on charge outcome or sentence details.
Franklin County Charges vs Convictions
A charge is an accusation filed in court. A conviction is an outcome after a guilty plea, guilty finding, or trial verdict. Franklin County criminal court records may show charges that are amended, reduced, dismissed, or resolved separately from other counts in the same case. That is why charge rows, docket entries, and final disposition should be read together.
| Charge | Conviction | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Formal accusation filed by the prosecutor. | Final guilt outcome by plea, finding, or verdict. |
| Where shown | Charge list and early docket entries. | Disposition, judgment, and sentence entries. |
| Can change | May be amended, reduced, dropped, or dismissed. | May lead to sentence, probation, fines, or appeal entries. |
| Search caution | Does not prove guilt by itself. | Still check whether the conviction was later expunged or sealed. |
Read Franklin County Dispositions
Disposition means the current or final outcome of a charge or case. A Franklin County criminal court record may show guilty, not guilty, dismissed, amended, or other outcome text. Sentence entries may show jail, prison, probation, restitution, costs, fines, review dates, or conditions. Bond entries are not the same as sentence entries. A person can be released on bond while a charge is still pending.
Case.net also may show warrant, capias, or failure-to-appear clues when a defendant misses court. Those clues should not be treated as a real-time active-warrant list. For open warrant checks, the Franklin County warrant records workflow should be used with the Sheriff, Circuit Clerk Criminal Department, municipal court, and Case.net fallback chain.
Note: For urgent release, bond, or hearing-result questions, the county jail page directs users to the court of jurisdiction.
Sealed vs Expunged Criminal Records
Restricted criminal records are not searched like ordinary public cases. Juvenile records are restricted under Missouri law. Sealed records are hidden from public view by statute or court order. Expunged records are closed under the Missouri expungement process, but some disclosures can still be required for public safety jobs, licensing, banking, insurance, and other legal uses listed by law.
| Sealed | Expunged | |
|---|---|---|
| Public visibility | Hidden from ordinary public display. | Closed by expungement order for eligible records. |
| How it happens | By law or by court order. | By petition in the court where charged or found guilty. |
| Missouri rule | Confidential access may require ID or judge approval. | RSMo 610.140 controls eligibility, waiting periods, exclusions, and effect. |
| Limits | Some agencies may retain limited access. | Some disclosures remain required for listed licenses, jobs, or legal uses. |
Public Access to Franklin County Criminal Records
Missouri public access is split between public-record policy, court operating rules, and case-specific confidentiality limits. Public Franklin County criminal court records can be searched online when eligible for public display, but the Circuit Clerk controls certified copies, older files, and requests for documents not available through remote access. County administrative Sunshine requests are routed to the County Clerk, while Sheriff records use Sheriff channels.
Key Statutes:
RSMo 610.011 states Missouri policy that public governmental records are open unless law provides otherwise.
RSMo 610.140 governs expungement of eligible Missouri criminal records.
RSMo 211.321 restricts access to juvenile court records.
The Missouri Bar remote public access resource discusses expanded remote access to public court documents. The Franklin County Circuit Clerk page links to Missouri remote access as part of the court-record workflow, but redaction and confidentiality rules still limit what the public can view online.
Criminal Background Check Limits
Franklin County criminal court records and Missouri criminal-history searches answer different questions. A court case file shows local case events and outcome details. A statewide criminal-history search is broader, but name-based results can be possible matches and should be verified by identifiers and case numbers. Neither route should be used for employment, tenant screening, credit, insurance, or other regulated decisions unless the user has a lawful consumer-reporting process.
The Prosecuting Attorney's page is one official county source for the local prosecution role. The screenshot below comes from the Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney page and supports the local criminal-case context.
The prosecutor files and manages criminal prosecutions, while court records and certified copies remain with the Circuit Clerk.
Important: Public court lookup is not an FCRA consumer report and should not be used for regulated screening decisions.
Restricted Franklin County Criminal Records
Juvenile matters, sealed cases, expunged records, adoption-related material, mental-health proceedings, protected minor information, and documents with sensitive identifiers may be restricted or redacted. The Circuit Clerk page says a photo ID may be required before copies can be provided in confidential cases. It also warns that an application to inspect confidential court records may have to be filed and approved by a judge before confidential documents are copied.
Public Defender District 20 in Union is part of the Franklin County criminal-case ecosystem for eligible indigent defense. The office is led by District Defender Matt Shellenbergar and is listed at 300 E. Main Street in Union. It can matter for understanding representation in a case, but it does not replace Case.net, the Circuit Clerk, or court orders as a records source.
The Franklin County Victim Services page gives victims a prosecution-office channel for case-process questions. This image from Franklin County Victim Services is included because victim advocates are part of the local criminal court process.
Victim-services contacts can help explain process questions for victims, but document copies still come through the court record channels.