Caldwell County
Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Caldwell County, North Carolina, was founded in 1841 from Wilkes and Burke Counties. It was named after the first president of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Joseph Caldwell. About 80,000 people live within its 475 square miles area. Lenoir is its government seat and largest city.
The Caldwell County court system comprises Superior and District Courts. The Caldwell County Superior Court generally handles cases beyond the jurisdiction of the District Court. It handles all felonies, some misdemeanors, and civil cases with claims exceeding $25,000. The court also has original jurisdiction over probate matters, such as admitting wills, managing estates, and establishing trusts.
The Caldwell County District Court is a trial court with authority over misdemeanors, traffic infractions, and ordinance offenses. Additionally, preliminary hearings for felonies, civil disputes involving claims under $25,000, child support, adoption, divorce, juvenile delinquency, and termination of parental rights are heard by it.
Public court records in Caldwell County consist of orders, court filings, docket listings, writs, transcripts, motions, depositions, warrants, and judgments. These records are generated in the county courts and are accessible to the public. The Caldwell County Clerk of Court maintains records from both courts. The clerk's office arranges, presents, indexes, stores, and archives them in compliance with county and state laws.
Unless sealed by court orders, the following types of Caldwell County public court records are available to anyone:
- Criminal records
- Traffic records
- Probate records
- Civil records
- Family Law records
Record seekers can use the eCourts Portal provided by the North Carolina Judiciary to search for Caldwell County's public court records online. They can also visit the Caldwell County Clerk of Court to access public court records from the county's courts. They can use the self-service terminals in the clerk's premises to search for cases or pay to request copies of public court records from the courts in the county.
