County Court Directory and Information

Most state court systems include county courts which exercise both original jurisdiction and hear appeals from lower, limited jurisdiction trial courts. If these courts exist in a state’s court system, they are often located in each county in the courthouse of the town or city which serves as the county seat. The count seat basically serves administrative functions for the entire county, and all cases are referred to its court.

Function of County Courts

Some county courts serve only administrative functions, while others have jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases. If a case involves felony charges, the county court is often the lowest which will first hear it. In the case that the outcome is appealed by the defendant, it will move to an intermediate or high appellate court such as the state’s court of appeals or supreme court. However, if a defendant is acquitted, double jeopardy prevents them from being tried for the same crime again.

Many county courts exercise original jurisdiction over certain types of cases, but also hear appeals from lower courts such as city or town courts. Since all of these courts are trial courts, they may share jurisdiction and some cases may be heard in either one. This decision is largely determined by the available space within the court’s docket.

Cases presented in the county court may be decided by a judge or a jury. In addition, each county may have multiple courts and judges. Small claims, traffic infarctions, felonies, misdemeanors, preliminary hearings, property and contract disputes, and domestic relations may all be heard in a county court.

County Court Records

The corresponding county clerk of court is charged with maintaining all the records from cases presided over. You may find these in person, and possibly online. Many county court records may not be available electronically, as they are locally funded and this process is quite expensive.

If you do not know the case file number you’re looking for, you may need to contact the clerk and request a search or find the case in an index that will provide this number for you. This way, you can request the specific file you need directly. If you do not know where the county seat is, where to find the courthouse or how to contact the court clerk, a directory will provide the address, phone number and website for you if possible.

Following is a list of several states and their county courts within the U.S. state court system:

Alabama County Court

Arizona County Court

Colorado County Court

Delaware County Court

Florida County Court

Georgia County Court

Illinois County Court

Indiana County Court

Kentucky County Court

Iowa County Court

Kansas County Court

Maryland County Court

Michigan County Court

Minnesota County Court

Mississippi County Court

Missouri County Court

Nebraska County Court

Nevada County Court

New York County Court

North Carolina County Court

Ohio County Court

Oklahoma County Court

Oregon County Court

Tennessee County Court

Texas County Court

West Virginia County Court

Washington County Court

Wisconsin County Court