Berkshire County
Berkshire County is located in the western region of Massachusetts and has its county seat in Pittsfield. It was founded in 1761 and is the second largest county by total area (926.9 square miles) in Massachusetts. Berkshire County is home to about 130,000 people.
The court system in Berkshire County follows the state's court structure as there are juvenile courts, housing courts, probate and family courts, district courts, and superior courts in the county.
Juvenile courts handle cases relating to the protection of children or minors from neglect and abuse. Housing courts hear matters of residential housing, including personal injury, breach of contract, property damage, discrimination, and code enforcement actions and appeals of local zoning board decisions affecting residential housing.
Probate and Family courts handle matters relating to families and children, child support, divorce, and wills. District courts are courts in Berkshire County handle a wide range of civil, criminal, housing, mental health, juvenile, and other case types. Its jurisdiction extends to felonies punishable by up to a 5-year sentence, specific felonies with greater potential penalties, misdemeanors, and violations of city and town ordinances.
In civil matters, the Berkshire district court handles cases where damages are unlikely to be higher than $50,000, and small claims cases of up to $7,000. The court of general jurisdiction in Berkshire County is the Superior Court. It has exclusive original jurisdiction of first-degree cases of murder, and original jurisdiction of other crimes, civil actions over $50,000, and matters where parties seek equitable relief.
Public Berkshire court records are created through the entire proceedings of cases handled in the county. These records are maintained by the Clerk of Court and can be searched online or at courthouses in the county using a public terminal. The types of cases available for search include:
- District court cases
- Housing court cases
- Land court cases
- Probate and family court cases
- Superior court cases
Note that you will be required to provide specific information related to the case information you want and pay some court fees online to search court records. Also, you can search trial court dockets and land court dockets online.
