Pulaski County Criminal Court Cases
Pulaski County criminal court cases do not all begin at the same counter. The Pulaski County Circuit Court in the Sixth Judicial Circuit is the general-jurisdiction trial court for felonies. Pulaski County District Court handles misdemeanors, preliminary felony matters, criminal traffic cases, warrants, and local specialty programs. Little Rock, North Little Rock, Sherwood, and Jacksonville also maintain district court divisions for criminal, traffic, ordinance, or related local cases. A searcher should identify the court named on the docket before asking for a copy.
The Pulaski Circuit and County Clerk supports circuit and county court records from 401 West Markham Street. The County Records Department in Room 103 describes itself as a repository for Pulaski County court documents. It can supply court copies, but a city district court remains the right source for a case filed only in that court. The court file follows the filed charge, not simply the place of arrest.
The clerk's public home page shows the local starting point for court records. It also helps distinguish the Pulaski County clerk from the many district court desks.
The screen reinforces that a case lookup and a certified court document are separate services.
Pulaski Cases in Search ARCourts
Arkansas Judiciary explains Search ARCourts as the public portal for courts using the Contexte case system. All circuit courts provide case statistical information, while some district courts also provide case data. A Pulaski County result may display participants, the judge, filings, charges and dispositions, future events, judgments, and links to some public documents. Coverage does not mean every document is open online.
The Judiciary page is useful when a search result is sparse because it explains what the statewide index is designed to publish.
Search ARCourts works best when the reader brings a full legal name, a case number, or the likely court. Similar names require checking the jurisdiction and case events rather than assuming a match.
| Field label | Type | Required | Use in a Pulaski search |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search by | Tab or choice | Yes | Select Participants or Case Number. |
| Participant name | Text | Conditional | Use the party's legal name when the number is unknown. |
| Case number | Text | Conditional | Use the exact number when it appears on a notice or copy. |
| Court or jurisdiction | Filter | No | Narrow to Pulaski circuit or a participating district court. |
| Search | Button | Yes | Open likely results and verify court, charges, and events. |
Searching Pulaski County Case Records
Start online, but do not treat the index as the complete Pulaski County criminal court file. The clerk or district court is the fallback for a missing case, an older document, or a certified copy. Arkansas Judiciary says the Administrative Office of the Courts cannot answer questions about a specific case, so those questions go to the court where the matter was filed.
- Open Search ARCourts and choose participant or case-number search.
- Enter the legal name or exact case number, then narrow the results to the likely Pulaski County court.
- Open the result and compare parties, court, charges, filings, disposition, future events, and judgments.
- Use docket dates to tell a pending event from a completed disposition. Contact the named court for case-specific questions.
- Request a plain or certified document from the correct clerk. County Records handles its certified copies in person or by USPS mail.
Note: A future hearing entry is not a judgment, and a charge line is not proof that the court entered a conviction.
Pulaski Certified Case Copies
When a Pulaski County docket is not enough, the County Records Department can provide a certified document bearing the county clerk's seal for $5. The request should identify the parties and describe the document. County Records accepts in-person pickup or a USPS mail request sent with payment to Room 103, 401 West Markham Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201. Certified documents cannot be emailed.
The main clerk number is 501-340-8500, while County Records lists 501-340-8766. Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A mail payment by personal check or money order should include the requester's full name, driver's license number, and phone number. Those details come from the clerk's published instructions, not from the court-search portal.
Pulaski County Records
Room 103
401 West Markham Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-340-8766
Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Inside a Pulaski County Case File
A Pulaski County criminal case file records what the court did after a charge was presented. Search ARCourts may expose core fields and selected documents. The paper or official electronic file can provide the source documents behind those entries when they are public. Read the charge and its disposition on the same line when possible, since one case may contain several counts with different results.
| Case Number & Court | Identifies the court system and the file to request. |
|---|---|
| Parties & Judge | Names the public participants and assigned judicial officer, subject to redaction. |
| Charging Document | May be a complaint, prosecutor's information, or indictment that states the allegations. |
| Docket Entries | Lists filings, hearings, orders, and other events in date order. |
| Charges & Dispositions | Pairs alleged offenses with pending or final outcomes where reported. |
| Judgment & Sentence | Records the court's final judgment and ordered penalty or conditions after conviction. |
| Future Events | Shows scheduled hearings that have not yet occurred. |
Pulaski Pass-To-File Dockets
Pulaski County District Court publishes a local rule that explains a confusing court path. A felony charge may appear on a “PASS TO FILE” docket while it awaits filing in Circuit Court or a reduction to a misdemeanor. Since April 5, 2020, the court says attorneys and defendants on those felony dockets must continue to appear until one of those events occurs.
The Pulaski District Court criminal and traffic page also describes plea and payment paths for matters it retains. Some defendants may enter a not-guilty plea by letter or email and receive a trial date, or enter a guilty plea and request a fine. These procedures do not turn a preliminary felony event into a circuit disposition. The docket and the eventual circuit file must be read together.
The official instructions show why checking only one court can leave a gap in the history of a Pulaski County charge.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A Pulaski County criminal court case changes as prosecutors and courts act. The initial filed charge is an allegation. At arraignment, the court addresses the charge and plea. Pretrial filings and hearings can shape what proceeds. A plea or trial may resolve one or more counts, followed by a disposition and, when there is a conviction, sentencing. District court may handle a preliminary felony stage before the circuit filing.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
The Sixth Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney also lists a Mental Health Court division for qualifying misdemeanor defendants, using structured supervision and treatment partnerships.
That program is a local example of how a case path may include supervised treatment instead of a standard sequence alone.
Pulaski Case Outcomes in Plain Terms
Case status words answer different questions. “Disposition” means the current or final outcome of a charge. A dismissal ends a charge without a conviction. An acquittal is a not-guilty finding after trial. “Nolle prosequi” reflects a prosecutor's decision not to proceed. A conviction is a guilty finding or admission, while a sentence states the punishment ordered after that conviction.
- Arraignment
- The court event where the filed charges and plea are addressed.
- Disposition
- The result or present outcome attached to an individual charge.
- Judgment
- The court's formal decision, which may appear separately from earlier docket events.
- Bench warrant
- A court-issued order for custody, often tied to a missed required appearance.
- Pass to file
- A Pulaski District Court status for a felony charge awaiting circuit filing or reduction.
A court disposition later reported to ACIC can affect a state criminal-history result. The Arkansas Online Criminal Background Check System illustrates the separate repository layer.
The repository screen is not a substitute for the Pulaski County docket because it serves a different record system and purpose.
When to Call Pulaski Court
Call the filing court when a Pulaski County case is known but missing online, when an entry is unclear, or when a public document link is absent. The Administrative Office of the Courts supports Search ARCourts as a system, but Arkansas Judiciary says it cannot answer questions about a specific case. The district or circuit clerk can confirm the case number, explain public copy options, and identify whether the record is maintained at that court.
For a circuit matter, start with County Records at 501-340-8766. For a district matter, use the court named on the notice or docket. This avoids asking the circuit clerk for a city court file it does not keep.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Arkansas court access is governed by Administrative Order 19. Many Pulaski County criminal case fields are public, but juvenile, sealed, confidential, and protected information should not appear in the public online view. A case can exist even when a sensitive document is hidden or a field is redacted. Online absence alone does not establish that no court record exists.
If a known Pulaski County case does not appear, call the court where it was filed. Search ARCourts support can address portal use, but the Judiciary directs case-specific questions to the court. The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act does not override every court restriction, and criminal-history repository information is not ordinary FOIA material under Ark. Code § 12-12-1508.
Note: Restricted data should remain restricted even when the surrounding docket or a separate public judgment remains open for inspection.