Criminal Court Records in Union County
A criminal court record is the official case file the clerk opens the day charges are filed. It is not the arrest report and not the jail log. It is the court's own running account of the case. The clerk adds to it at every step. Each charge, motion, order, hearing date, plea, and sentence lands in the same file under one case number. That file stays with the court that handled the case, and it remains the source of record long after the case closes.
In Union County, felony cases are prosecuted in Circuit Court, which sits in the Third Circuit District. The Circuit Clerk keeps those criminal files. Justice Court and Municipal Court are the lower courts. They handle misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and the early steps of a felony, such as the first appearance and the preliminary hearing. When a lower court finds enough cause, a felony is bound over and moves up to Circuit Court for indictment and trial. The arrest paperwork and the prosecutor's formal accusations are tracked separately in the Union County arrest records and court charges.
How to Search Union County Criminal Court Records
Circuit Court criminal case information runs through Mississippi Electronic Courts, the statewide system known as MEC, and its public side, PAMEC. Union County Circuit Court went live on MEC on September 26, 2022. Viewing filed documents is not open to anonymous users. A reader needs a PAMEC login, and some documents stay restricted to the attorneys of record.
- Create a public account through the PAMEC online registration page if you do not already have one.
- Sign in to the Third Circuit District system with your login, password, and client code.
- Search by the defendant's name or by the case number assigned by the clerk.
- Narrow the results by court, case type, and filing date to find the right matter.
- Open the case to read the docket, the charges, and the disposition, then ask the clerk for a certified copy if you need one for legal use.
Older Circuit files that never went electronic are not in PAMEC. For those, call the Union County Circuit Clerk at 662-534-1910 or visit the counter at 114 E. Bankhead Street in New Albany. Lower-court matters in Justice Court or Municipal Court may never appear as a Circuit case unless they were appealed or bound over, so those courts have to be contacted directly.
How a Criminal Case Moves Through Union County Courts
A felony case follows a set path, and each step leaves its own mark in the record. The grand jury or the prosecutor opens the matter with a charging document. The defendant is then arraigned, motions are filed and argued, and the case ends in a plea or a trial. A disposition and a sentence close it out. Reading the docket in order shows where a case stands today.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial / Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Arraignment | The defendant is told the charges in open court and enters a plea of guilty, not guilty, or another allowed plea. The MEC docket may carry an Arraignment Pending flag until this step is done. |
| Pretrial / Motions | Both sides file motions, exchange evidence, argue bond, and set hearing dates. Trial Pending and Plea Pending flags often appear here. |
| Plea or Trial | Most cases end in a negotiated plea. The rest go to a jury or bench trial, where a verdict decides guilt. |
| Sentencing | After a guilty plea or verdict, the judge imposes a sentence, which can include prison, probation, fines, restitution, or post-release supervision. |
The prosecutor in these cases is the Third Circuit District Attorney, Ben Creekmore. The office covers Union and six neighboring counties. The Union County Assistant District Attorney, Paul "Mason" Wages, handles local felony prosecutions from the New Albany office at 102 North Camp Avenue. The District Attorney decides what to charge and how to resolve a case, but only the court file shows the official outcome.
What a Union County Criminal Court Record Shows
A criminal file is built from many small fields. Read together, they tell the whole story of the case. Some fields, such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, the names of minor children, and home addresses, are kept out of public filings under the court's privacy rules. The table below lists the core fields a reader will meet most often.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The unique number the clerk assigns when the file opens. It links every document in the case. |
| Defendant | The person charged. The State of Mississippi is named as the other party in a criminal matter. |
| Charges | Each offense as filed, tied to a statute, along with its level as a felony or misdemeanor. |
| Plea | The defendant's formal answer to each charge: guilty, not guilty, or another allowed plea. |
| Disposition | The outcome of each charge, such as convicted, dismissed, acquitted, or resolved by nolle prosequi. |
| Sentence | What the judge ordered after a conviction, including any jail or prison term, probation, fines, or restitution. |
The docket also lists hearing dates, the presiding judge, counsel of record, bond orders, and any warrants issued or returned. Financial entries track court costs, fines, restitution, and partial payments. Status flags sit at the top of the file to show the case posture at a glance.
Charges Compared With Convictions
A charge is an accusation. A conviction is a finding of guilt. The two are not the same, and a criminal court record can show charges that were later dropped, dismissed, or resolved in the defendant's favor. Reading only the charge and skipping the disposition gives a false picture. Always read the final outcome before drawing any conclusion about a case.
| Charge | Conviction | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Accusation at filing | Verdict or guilty plea |
| Burden of Proof | Probable cause | Beyond a reasonable doubt |
| Decided By | Prosecutor or grand jury | Judge or jury |
| Public Record | Yes | Yes |
Probation and PRS Violations on the Record
A sentence does not always close the file for good. Many defendants serve probation or post-release supervision, known as PRS, instead of or after a prison term. If a condition is broken, the State can move to revoke. The MEC docket carries clear flags for this stage, including Probation, Probation Violation Pending, and PRS Violation Pending. A violation can reopen court activity and lead to a new hearing, so a case that looked finished may show fresh entries.
Pretrial intervention is a related path. The Pretrial Intervention Pending and In Rehab flags show a defendant working through a diversion or treatment program. Questions about diversion or specialty-court eligibility go to defense counsel, the District Attorney, or the supervising court, not to a records clerk.
Sealed and Expunged Criminal Records in Union County
Some criminal records are removed from public view. Sealing hides a file from ordinary searches while leaving it intact for limited official use. Expunction goes further and treats the matter as if it never happened in the public record. Mississippi allows qualifying expunctions under Miss. Code Section 99-19-71 for certain misdemeanors and a narrow set of felonies, after waiting periods and other conditions are met. The petition is filed in the court where the case was handled. MEC even carries Sealed and Expunged as official status flags.
| Sealed | Expunged | |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Hidden from public search | Treated as if it never existed |
| Law Enforcement | Limited access remains | Very limited access |
| Eligibility | By statute or court order | Miss. Code Section 99-19-71, with waiting periods and excluded felonies |
Eligibility turns on the exact charge, the final disposition, and the time that has passed, so no outcome should be assumed without checking the statute and the record. If a Union County search still shows a matter that was expunged, the person should give the clerk a certified copy of the expunction order so the public record can be corrected.
Court File Versus Jail Booking
The court file and the jail booking are two different records. A booking record is created by the Sheriff when a person is taken into custody. It covers the arrest, the holding facility, and bond. The court file is created by the clerk and tracks the case itself. One person can appear in both at the same time, and the details will not always match because each office maintains its own record.
To check whether someone is in custody, who is holding them, or what bond was set, the better source is the jail side. Those details live in the Union County inmate records. The court file is the place to confirm the charges as filed, the hearing schedule, and the final disposition.
Public Access to Union County Criminal Court Records
Mississippi treats most court records as open. The Mississippi Public Records Act sets the policy that public records are available for inspection unless a law says otherwise. Criminal case files held by the Circuit Clerk fall under that rule, though court privacy rules, sealing orders, and confidentiality statutes can still limit what a reader sees online or at the counter.
Key Statutes:
Miss. Code Section 25-61-1 - Sets Mississippi's policy that public records are open for inspection unless another law makes them confidential.
Miss. Code Section 99-19-71 - Allows qualifying expunction petitions for some misdemeanors and certain felonies after the conditions are met.
When a record cannot be found online, the fallback is a direct request to the clerk of the court that handled the case. A clear request lists the names, a date range, the case number if known, the record type, and the copy type wanted. The office can then explain whether ID, prepayment, or in-person inspection is required.
Background Check Considerations
Reading a single case file is not the same as running a background check. A casual lookup answers a question about one matter. A formal background check used for hiring, housing, or credit is governed by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and has to come from a regulated agency. A statewide criminal history, rather than a one-county docket search, is the right tool when a full record is needed.
Important: Union County Court Records is not an FCRA-regulated consumer reporting agency, and the information here may not be used to make credit, employment, tenant, or insurance decisions.
Restricted Union County Criminal Court Records
Not every criminal matter is open to the public. Youth Court records are confidential under Miss. Code Sections 43-21-251 and 43-21-261, and they are released only as the statute or a Youth Court order allows. Parents, guardians, attorneys, and certain agencies may have inspection rights, but there is no open juvenile search.
Sealed and expunged cases drop out of public view by law or court order. Documents in an open matter may be limited to the attorneys of record while the case is active. Mental-health and competency materials are also tightly held. For any of these, the right step is to call the court handling the case rather than expecting an online result.