Pulaski County Criminal Records Overview
Pulaski County criminal records have three sources. The Sheriff under Eric S. Higgins runs the arrest and booking system from the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility at 3201 West Roosevelt. The Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District, Will Jones, files charges in Pulaski County circuit court (felonies) and Pulaski County District Court (misdemeanors and preliminary felonies). The Pulaski Circuit and County Clerk holds the court case files. The Arkansas Crime Information Center under DPS keeps the centralized criminal history record.
An arrest is not a conviction. An arrest record proves the Pulaski County Sheriff or a city police agency took someone into custody. A criminal court record shows what charges were filed and how the case ended. A criminal history record under Ark. Code § 12-12-1009 rolls those events into a single state-level abstract. The three Pulaski County records can show different information about the same person at the same time.
How to Search Pulaski County Criminal Records
The first stop for a Pulaski County arrest lookup is the PCSO Zuercher portal at pulaski-so-ar.zuercherportal.com/#/inmates. The portal shows current Pulaski County inmates with name, race, sex, date of birth, arrest date, and the agency holding them. The next stop is Search ARCourts at caseinfo.arcourts.gov/opad for the court case. State criminal history requires a formal ACIC request.
- For current custody, open the Pulaski County PCSO Zuercher inmate roster and search by name.
- For the Pulaski County court case, open Search ARCourts and search by participant or case number.
- For older Pulaski County arrest reports, file a Freedom of Information request through PCSO NextRequest.
- For a full Pulaski County criminal history, contact Arkansas State Police ACIC.
- For certified copies, call the Pulaski Circuit and County Clerk at 501-340-8500.
Pulaski County Charges vs Convictions
A charge is what the prosecutor files. A conviction is what the court enters after a guilty plea, no-contest plea, or guilty verdict. Many Pulaski County criminal cases close without a conviction. Some charges get dismissed. Others get reduced. Some defendants take deferred sentencing or specialty-court diversion and never carry a final conviction at all. Treating a Pulaski County arrest like a conviction is a common error.
| Charge | Conviction | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Prosecutor's information or indictment | Court order or judgment |
| Meaning | Pulaski County prosecutor alleges a crime | Court finds or accepts guilt |
| Where filed | Pulaski Circuit Court (felony) or District Court (misdemeanor) | Same court enters the judgment |
| Effect on record | Visible in court docket; not a conviction | Counts on criminal history; may carry sentence |
| Public access | Public unless sealed | Public unless sealed |
What Pulaski County Criminal Records Show
Pulaski County criminal court records carry every event in the case. The information or indictment names the charges. The arraignment entry shows the plea. The bond entry shows release conditions. The judgment entry shows the final outcome. Sealed and juvenile fields drop out. The Pulaski County Court Liaison at the jail prepares daily lists for circuit and district court so people in custody can move to their hearings.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | Pulaski County format 60CR-23-1234 for circuit criminal cases. |
| Charges / Statute | Arkansas Code section and short description of the alleged crime. |
| Arrest Date | Date the Pulaski County Sheriff or city police took the person into custody. |
| Bond | Amount and type of bond set for release. |
| Plea | Guilty, not guilty, no contest, or no plea entered. |
| Disposition | Guilty, dismissed, nolle prosequi, acquitted, deferred. |
| Sentence | Jail time, prison time, probation, fines, restitution, community service. |
Pulaski County Prosecutor and Public Defender
Will Jones is the elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District, which includes Pulaski County and Perry County. His office is at 224 South Spring Street, Little Rock, AR 72201, phone 501-340-8000. Jones began serving in January 2023 after more than twenty years as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney and Assistant Attorney General. The office runs seven circuit/felony courts, seven district/misdemeanor courts, three youth crimes courts, a Drug Unit, a General Crimes unit, and three specialty diversion tracks.
The Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney's site carries the Will Jones biography, the divisions list, and the victim resource hotlines.
The Pulaski County Public Defender, David Sudduth, leads the indigent defense office at 201 South Broadway, Suite 210, Little Rock. Office numbers include 501-340-6120 and 501-340-6124. Defendants who cannot afford counsel apply at first appearance or by contacting the office directly.
Public Access to Pulaski County Criminal Records
Pulaski County criminal records are presumed open under Arkansas Supreme Court Administrative Order No. 19 and the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act in Ark. Code § 25-19-101 et seq. Anyone can search Pulaski County criminal dockets in Search ARCourts without giving a reason. Sheriff arrest reports come through FOIA via the PCSO NextRequest portal. Mugshots are public for arrests inside the Pulaski County Regional Detention Facility through the Zuercher roster.
Several Pulaski County criminal record categories stay closed. Juvenile delinquency cases under Ark. Code § 9-27-309 are limited to parties, agencies, and authorized recipients. Sealed records under Ark. Code § 16-90-1401 et seq. drop out of the public view. Grand jury material stays restricted. Sealed search warrants stay closed until the investigation completes.
Note: A Pulaski County Search ARCourts result is informational; a full background check requires an ACIC criminal-history request under Ark. Code § 12-12-1009.
Sealing Pulaski County Criminal Records
Arkansas no longer uses "expungement" as the official term. The current process is sealing under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013, Ark. Code § 16-90-1401 et seq. Eligible Pulaski County misdemeanor convictions and most nonviolent felony convictions can be sealed once the sentence is complete. Sentence completion means full payment of fines, court costs, restitution, and any license reinstatement. The Pulaski Clerk fee schedule notes that sealing carries no charge after July 23, 2019 under 2019 Arkansas Laws Act 680.
| Sealed | Expunged (old term) | |
|---|---|---|
| Authority | Ark. Code § 16-90-1401 et seq. | Older Arkansas statutes; mostly replaced |
| Effect | Public access restricted; record not destroyed | Historic term; meaning varied by statute |
| Who can still see | Courts, law enforcement, licensing agencies under statute | Same in practice |
| Cost in Pulaski County | No charge after July 23, 2019 | Same fee waiver applies |
Some Pulaski County offenses cannot be sealed at all. Ark. Code § 16-90-1408 lists excluded categories. Holders of a commercial driver license can never seal a traffic misdemeanor. DWI and BWI misdemeanors carry a ten-year wait. Legal Aid of Arkansas publishes a step-by-step Pulaski County sealing guide with free forms.
Pulaski County Criminal History vs Court Search
The Arkansas Crime Information Center maintains the centralized criminal history record for Pulaski County and the rest of the state. ACIC criminal history is different from a Pulaski County court docket. ACIC is a controlled criminal-history product governed by Ark. Code § 12-12-1009 and dissemination rules. A subject may review and challenge ACIC information under Ark. Code § 12-12-1013. Search ARCourts shows individual case events; ACIC shows the rolled-up criminal history. Employers, licensing boards, and the courts use ACIC for background checks. The public uses Search ARCourts for case lookups.
Pulaski County Specialty Diversion Courts
The Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney runs three specialty diversion courts that route eligible defendants away from standard sentencing. Drug Court combines traditional probation with evidence-based drug treatment under court supervision. An eligible Pulaski County participant enters a guilty plea to the charged felonies, then works through structured treatment with court reviews. Success on the program improves the criminal outcome. Failure can return the case to standard sentencing.
The Pulaski County prosecutor's divisions page at pulaskipa.org/divisions covers felony, district, juvenile, drug unit, and specialty diversion court structure.
The Pulaski County divisions page lists the screening process for entry into Drug Court, Veteran's Court, and Mental Health Court.
Veteran's Court is a problem-solving track for Pulaski County veterans whose criminal cases connect to service-related needs such as trauma, substance use, housing instability, or mental health. Mental Health Court supports Pulaski County defendants whose mental health needs can be better addressed with supervised treatment and case management than with standard prosecution alone. The specialty tracks tie into the Pulaski County jail's medical and mental health services, which run five days per week with 16 hours of psychiatric care.
The Pulaski County jail's role in reform was widely covered after the 2024 Netflix series "Unlocked: A Jail Experiment," with UA Little Rock Public Radio reporting on the division among Arkansas officials.
The Pulaski County public discussion around reform programs ties back to the Prosecutor's specialty diversion model.
Applying for a Pulaski County Public Defender
The Pulaski County Public Defender David Sudduth handles indigent criminal defense at 201 South Broadway, Suite 210, Little Rock. The office can also be reached at suite 211 with phone 501-340-6124. Defendants who cannot afford a private attorney apply for representation at the first appearance or by contacting the office directly. The Pulaski County judge confirms financial eligibility on the record. Federal Pulaski County cases use the Federal Public Defender for the Eastern District of Arkansas, separate from the county office.
Federal Pulaski County Criminal Cases
Federal Pulaski County criminal cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, separate from the county Prosecutor. The U.S. Attorney's office page at justice.gov/usao-edar covers federal cases that arise in Pulaski County, including civil rights, federal drug, federal weapons, and federal fraud prosecutions.
The Pulaski County federal docket runs through the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, not the Pulaski Circuit Court.
Federal court filings for Pulaski County criminal defendants move through CM/ECF at ecf.ared.uscourts.gov, the federal electronic filing portal.
Pulaski County attorneys and parties access federal case documents through CM/ECF after registering for PACER credentials.