Bourbon County Criminal Court Cases
Bourbon County criminal court cases split between two trial levels, but one elected clerk keeps both sets of files. Kentucky Circuit Court hears felony prosecutions. Bourbon District Court hears misdemeanors, violations, traffic matters, and the first stages of felony cases. Both courts sit at the Bourbon County Judicial Center in Paris. The official Bourbon court directory lists two Circuit divisions and two District divisions. That division number matters when checking a docket or asking for an order.
The Office of Circuit Court Clerk is the records counter for both courts. Ask for the complaint or indictment, docket sheet, public motions and orders, disposition, and judgment. Those papers answer different questions than an arrest report. Circuit criminal dockets are posted for 1 p.m. on the first Tuesday for Division 1 and the second Tuesday for Division 2, but a posted schedule does not guarantee that a particular Bourbon County case will be called.
Bourbon Court Levels Compared
The local split is easy to miss. A felony may begin in Bourbon District Court for an initial appearance, bond decision, and probable-cause work, then move to Circuit Court after grand-jury action. A misdemeanor generally stays in District Court. The same phone number and building serve both courts, yet the case type and division identify the proper docket.
| Court | Bourbon County role | Typical record |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Felony prosecution after indictment | CR docket, indictment, plea or trial, sentence |
| District Court | Misdemeanors, violations, traffic, early felony stages | M or T case, complaint, bond and preliminary events |
| Appellate courts | Review of appealed state cases | Appellate docket and filed opinions or orders |
Searching Bourbon County Case Records
For an official Bourbon County court file, call 859-987-2624 or visit the clerk at 310 Main Street, Paris, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Give the full name, case number if known, approximate year, and likely court level. The general public does not have anonymous direct access to CourtNet. Approved subscribers use it, while the public obtains local papers from the clerk. FastCheck is a second channel, but it produces a statewide name-based court report rather than the signed local file.
- Identify whether the matter belongs to District or Circuit Court.
- Give the Bourbon clerk the full legal name, case number, and approximate year.
- Inspect the docket, then name each filing or order needed.
- Use FastCheck when statewide eligible court activity is the goal.
- Ask the clerk for ordinary or certified copies and confirm the current charge.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last name | Text | Yes | Use the legal surname |
| First name | Text | Yes | Use the legal first name |
| Middle or alias name | Text | Optional | Helps separate similar names |
| Date of birth | Date | Expected | Identity discriminator |
| Request type | Menu | Yes | Registered or one-time mail request |
Three Bourbon Case Sources
CourtNet, FastCheck, and the clerk's file are related, not interchangeable. CourtNet is the statewide working database with structured subscriber access. FastCheck draws eligible District and Circuit activity from all 120 counties into a report. The Bourbon County clerk's file holds the source papers and signed orders.
FastCheck labels its result "Not an Official Court Record," excludes federal matters and confidential types, and omits cases expunged or purged by the county. A no-result response can also reflect spelling, an alias, a recent reporting lag, or a case outside Kentucky.
A statewide report is useful when the person may have cases in several Kentucky counties. Read the county of origin, case number, original charge, amended charge, charge date, disposition date, and clerk memo together. The original charge shows how a count began. The amended charge shows what the prosecution later pursued. The disposition belongs to a specific charge, so a reader should not apply one outcome to every count on the report. FastCheck does not contain federal matters, and it does not supply the signed indictment, judgment, or sentencing order.
The local file answers the next set of questions. It can show the complaint or indictment, counsel, bond order, hearing trail, public motions, plea, verdict, dismissal, and sentence. Ask the clerk for the docket first, then identify the exact papers needed from that index. This keeps a Bourbon County request focused and reduces the risk of paying for pages that do not answer the question. If certification is needed, confirm the current copy and certification cost before ordering because the county page does not publish those local fees.
Payment rules also differ from access rules. The Bourbon court page lists cash, money order, certified check, and local personal check, and it rejects out-of-state and third-party checks. Qualifying court payments may use ePay. Those options do not establish a copy fee, so ask the clerk to separate any case balance from the cost of records.
The Kentucky court-record request page explains local and transferred files.
That source confirms why the local clerk remains the first stop before an archive request.
Inside a Bourbon County Case File
A Bourbon County case file follows an accusation through court action. The docket is the event index, while individual filings supply the detail. Read the original charge beside any amended charge, then connect the disposition to the correct count. Public files may also show counsel, hearings, bond action, public motions, and the sentence. Protected images and sealed or confidential material do not become public merely because a docket exists.
| Case Number & Court | Year, county sequence, type such as F or CR, court and division |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | Complaint, citation or indictment, KRS section, original and amended charge |
| Docket Entries | Arraignment, hearings, motions and public orders |
| Hearing Dates | Scheduled events and recorded appearances |
| Disposition & Judgment | Plea, verdict, dismissal, acquittal or conviction with date |
| Sentence & Conditions | Confinement, probation, restitution, fines, costs and term structure |
Read Bourbon Docket Terms
Short docket terms can change the meaning of a Bourbon County criminal case. A disposition is the recorded outcome of one charge. Nolle prosequi means the prosecutor chose not to proceed at that time. A dismissal ends that charge without a conviction, while an acquittal is a not-guilty result. None of those words alone says that every related arrest record has been removed.
- Arraignment
- The hearing where charges are stated and a plea is entered.
- Indictment
- A felony accusation returned by a grand jury.
- Disposition
- The recorded outcome for a charge.
- Nolle prosequi
- A decision not to continue a charge at that time.
- Expungement
- Statutory removal from ordinary official disclosure.
The Kentucky forms library supplies current court forms.
Current state forms should be used because local filings must fit Kentucky court requirements.
How a Criminal Case Moves
An arrest or citation can lead to a District Court file. For a felony, District Court handles prompt review, bond, and preliminary matters before grand-jury action. The Commonwealth's Attorney prosecutes felony Circuit cases, while the County Attorney commonly handles District matters. An indictment sends the felony into Circuit Court for arraignment, discovery, motions, plea or trial, and sentence.
Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
A plea may end the trial path. Diversion can impose conditions that may lead to dismissal. An amended charge can replace the initial count. Each turn should appear as a docket event or order.
Bourbon DUI Dockets by Level
Official AOC data shows why both court levels belong in a Bourbon County case search. During calendar year 2024, District Court recorded 193 DUI charges in 148 cases. Circuit Court recorded 21 DUI charges in 21 cases. These are charges and cases, not a count of people convicted and not a county crime rate.
The figures also show why charges and cases are not identical units. One case can hold more than one count. Locate the case, inspect each charge, and read its own disposition rather than drawing a conclusion from an aggregate total.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
The Kentucky Open Records Act does not make every court image public. Administrative Order 2022-65 governs electronic access to protected images, confidential cases, and sealed matters. Juvenile, mental-health, and domestic-violence case types are excluded from FastCheck. Victim and minor identifiers, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive data may be restricted or redacted.
A request should name the exact Bourbon County document and ask about inspection, ordinary copies, or certification. The county page does not publish a local fee schedule, so confirm the current charge. Older files can be transferred or lawfully destroyed under retention schedules. A blank result therefore does not prove that no case was filed.
The public appellate path appears in C-Track.
It is the separate channel when a Bourbon County judgment reaches appellate review.
When Bourbon Files Move
If the Bourbon County clerk says a case is off-site, get the facility name plus both locator numbers. The State Records Center cannot search by name or Social Security number. Historical material may follow a separate archives route, while some files may have met an approved retention schedule.
A transferred file is not the same as a sealed file. Neither condition should be inferred from an empty public screen. The CourtNet information page explains statewide access.
The statewide system helps explain case data, but the Bourbon clerk keeps the signed local file.