Watauga County
Watauga County, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, northwestern part of North Carolina, was created in 1849 from Ashe, Caldwell, Wilkes, and Yancey counties. Having its seat of government in Boone, Watauga County is home to about 54,086 people living on 312.4 square miles of land area.
The trial court system in Watauga County is built around two major courts, namely the Superior Court and District Court. Both courts are located in the same courthouse under different judges. Watauga County Superior Court is the higher court with exclusive jurisdiction over civil cases with claims exceeding $25,000. Its jurisdiction also covers criminal cases like felonies, which carry severe punishments. Some misdemeanor and infraction appeals from the District Court are also heard by the Superior Court.
Larger caseloads are handled by the Watauga County District Court, which primarily decides traffic infractions as well as criminal cases like misdemeanors and pre-trials of felonies. Additionally, civil cases with claims up to $25,000 fall under the District Court's jurisdiction. The court also sits on family-related cases like divorce and juvenile cases, such as delinquency, abuse, and neglect. Watauga County District Court has a Small Claims Court/Division, which handles civil matters involving claims up to $10,000 and landlord-tenant cases like summary ejectment.
In Watauga County, court records refer to legal documents and information collected and created during judicial processes. These records include subpoenas, warrants, affidavits, motions, petitions, summons, and court orders typically maintained by the Watauga County Clerk of Superior Court. Most Watauga County court records are publicly accessible. However, some court records are kept away from public disclosure. They include juvenile, confidential, expunged, and sealed court records.
Some common public court records in Watauga County include:
- Criminal Records
- Civil Records
- Probate Records
- Family Law Records
Interested individuals may view Superior and District courts' criminal dockets and civil dockets online. Criminal case records may also be accessed by interested persons at the public self-service terminal located in the clerk's office. Similarly, paper files and court records not available online may be obtained directly from the court where the cases were filed.
