Bienville Parish DUI and OWI Records

Bienville Parish Clerk of Court: OWI Case Repository

The Bienville Parish Clerk of Court, Hon. William "Eddie" Holmes, is the official custodian of all DUI and OWI court records in the parish. The office is located at 100 Courthouse Dr., Ste. 1100, Arcadia, LA 71001. The main phone number is (318) 263-2123. This office maintains every document filed in connection with an OWI criminal case in Bienville Parish, from the initial charge through final judgment and any post-conviction proceedings.

When someone is charged with La. R.S. 14:98, operating a vehicle while intoxicated, the case file opened by the clerk becomes the official court record. It contains the bill of information or indictment, arraignment minutes, bond records, motions filed by either side, orders from the judge, and the final disposition. All of these documents are public under La. R.S. 44:1 unless specifically restricted by court order.

Requests for copies of OWI case records can be made in person at the Arcadia courthouse. If you do not have a case number, the clerk's staff can search by name and approximate date. Bring as much identifying information as you have. Written requests sent by mail are also accepted at 100 Courthouse Dr., Ste. 1100, Arcadia, LA 71001. Include a return address and be prepared to pay copy fees set by state law.

Bienville is a smaller parish, so the clerk's office is the sole point of contact for all OWI court record requests. There are no satellite courthouse locations for this district.

2nd JDC: DUI Court Proceedings for Bienville Parish

Bienville Parish is part of the 2nd Judicial District Court. The 2nd JDC serves Bienville, Claiborne, and Jackson parishes. OWI cases arising from arrests in Bienville Parish are prosecuted in Arcadia at the parish courthouse. The district court handles both misdemeanor and felony OWI charges, including first-offense cases under La. R.S. 14:98.1 and felony third-offense cases under La. R.S. 14:98.3.

Second-offense OWI prosecutions in the 2nd JDC follow La. R.S. 14:98.2, which carries enhanced penalties including mandatory jail time and increased fines. Whether the case ends in a plea agreement, a trial, or a dismissal, the outcome is recorded in the Clerk of Court's file and becomes part of the permanent public record.

Appeals from 2nd JDC decisions go to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal in Shreveport. Appellate records for Bienville Parish OWI cases are held by the 2nd Circuit, separate from the parish clerk's records. If you need an appellate court record, contact the 2nd Circuit directly.

Bienville Parish Arrest Records: OWI Stops and Bookings

The Bienville Parish Sheriff's Office is the main law enforcement agency responsible for OWI enforcement in unincorporated areas of the parish. When a deputy makes an OWI arrest, the booking process generates an arrest record that is separate from the court record. Booking sheets, incident reports, and jail records are maintained by the sheriff's office and are public under La. R.S. 44:1.

Louisiana's implied consent law at La. R.S. 32:661 applies to every OWI arrest in the state, including those in Bienville Parish. A driver who refuses chemical testing faces an automatic license suspension under La. R.S. 32:667. This administrative action is handled by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles independently of any criminal proceedings.

If the OWI arrest occurred in Arcadia or another municipality, the local police department, not the sheriff, holds the initial arrest record. Contact the agency that made the arrest to get the booking information. For court records, always contact the Clerk of Court regardless of which agency made the arrest.

Note: The Bienville Parish Sheriff's Office is a small agency serving a rural parish. Processing times for public records requests may be longer than in larger urban parishes. Call ahead to confirm procedures before submitting a written request.

Searching Bienville Parish OWI Records Online

Bienville Parish does not currently offer a dedicated public online portal for criminal record searches. Statewide tools provide the most accessible remote search options. The Louisiana Secretary of State's Clerk Lookup at voterportal.sos.la.gov/clerk connects to clerk offices across Louisiana and can help you locate Bienville Parish OWI case filings without traveling to Arcadia.

The Louisiana Clerk Lookup portal is a free statewide tool for locating court records held by parish clerks, including criminal OWI filings in Bienville Parish.

This is the most practical online starting point for Bienville Parish OWI record searches when you cannot visit the Arcadia courthouse in person.

The eClerks LA portal at eclerksla.com offers free name-based searches across Louisiana parishes and may return basic case data for Bienville Parish criminal filings. It is a good first step before committing to a paid subscription or an in-person courthouse visit.

The eClerks LA statewide search platform provides free public access to Louisiana court records, including OWI case information across rural parishes like Bienville.

eClerks LA does not require registration and can be used to verify whether a case exists before requesting certified copies from the Clerk of Court.

Louisiana OWI Law in Bienville Parish: What You Need to Know

The OWI statute at La. R.S. 14:98 covers impaired driving due to alcohol, drugs, or any intoxicating substance. The legal blood alcohol limit is 0.08% for most drivers. Commercial drivers face a 0.04% threshold. Drivers under 21 can be charged for any measurable alcohol concentration under Louisiana's zero-tolerance standard.

Louisiana does not use the term DUI or DWI in its criminal code. All impaired driving charges in Bienville Parish and across the state are filed as OWI. This matters when searching records, because a search for "DUI" in a Louisiana court database may not return results if the system uses "OWI" as the charge description. Use OWI or "operating while intoxicated" when searching court records.

All OWI court records in Bienville Parish are accessible under La. R.S. 44:1. The only exceptions are records that have been sealed or expunged by court order. Louisiana's expungement statutes allow some first-offense OWI convictions to be cleared from public records after a waiting period and upon meeting certain conditions. If you are unsure whether a record has been expunged, the Clerk of Court can tell you whether the case file is still publicly accessible.

OMV and License Records for Bienville Parish OWI Convictions

An OWI arrest or conviction in Bienville Parish can affect a driver's license through both the court and the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles. The court may suspend driving privileges as part of a criminal sentence. The OMV independently imposes administrative suspensions when a driver refuses or fails a chemical test at the time of arrest.

Drivers can check current license status through the OMV's ExpressLane at expresslane.org. There is no OMV office in Arcadia. The nearest service centers are in Arcadia through the state's OMV office network. Use the OMV office locator at offices.omv.la.gov to find the closest location and confirm current hours before making a trip.

Nearby Parishes

DUI and OWI records belong to the parish where the offense was charged. If you need records from a neighboring area, use the links below.