WV County Court Information and Location

The judicial structure in the State of West Virginia is divided into three levels, namely the magistrate courts, the circuit courts and the Supreme Court of Appeals. In 2002, a new level was introduced and these are known as the family courts.

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia is one of the busiest appellate courts in the country. The circuit courts in the state are trial courts having general jurisdiction and also act as an appellate court for appeals made against the decisions of the municipal courts, magistrate courts, family courts and that of administrative bureaus. Family courts have jurisdiction over child custody, annulment of marriage, divorce, paternity issues and family support. The family courts are spread over 26 family court circuits and there are 35 family court judges.

WV County Court Information

West Virginia consists of 55 counties which have been divided into 31 judicial circuits that are presided over by 65 judges. You can view the different circuits along with the constituent counties by visiting http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/circuits/map.htm . Click on any of the county names and you will get the address and contact details of that particular court. For example, if you click on Randolph County, you can find the courts' mailing addresses and contact details along with the name of the local judge. The courthouse is located at:

Randolph County Courthouse
2 Randolph Avenue
Elkins, WV 26241
Ph. 304- 636- 2765
Fax 304-637- 3700

Circuit court judges are elected for a term of eight years. They are appointed by the Governor of the state. 

West Virginia Magistrate Courts

WV county courts also include West Virginia Magistrate Courts.  There is a minimum of two magistrate courts in each county of the state. The largest county in West Virginia, Randolph, has as many as 10 magistrate courts. The magistrates have the power over issuance of search and arrest warrants, conducting preliminary investigations-especially in cases of felonies, preside over misdemeanor hearings, and also decide cases that involve civil disputes worth an amount of $5000 or less.

Magistrate courts also have the right to give protective orders sought by a party in cases of domestic violence. If any of the parties of a legal battle are unhappy with the outcome of the case in the magistrate court, then they can take their appeal forward to the respective circuit court.

The judges of the magistrate court are elected for a period of four years through partisan elections. To qualify to run, they need not be lawyers. A detailed list of the magistrate courts in different counties can be found at http://www.state.wv.us/wvsca/maginfo.htm. As soon as you visit the link you will be able to find the magistrates in a particular county and obtain their contact numbers. If you want to utilize the different magistrate court forms online, then visit http://www.wvcourtnet.org/public.asp . You can find a comprehensive list of all the court forms on this website.

If you have any queries related to any of the courts in West Virginia, then you can get in touch with the following:

Administrative Office of the Courts
Steven D. Canterbury
Administrative Director
Capitol Complex
Building 1, Room E-100
Charleston, WV 25305-0830
Ph: (304) 558-0145
FAX (304) 558-1212