Essex County
Essex County derived its name from the English county of Essex and was established in 1799. Encompassing 1,916 square miles, it is bordered by Lake Chaplain to the east. The county's population stands at 36,775 as of the 2023 population estimate.
The Essex County court system consists of five courts: the Surrogate's Court, Supreme Court, Town and Village Courts, County Court, and Family Court. The Essex Supreme Court serves as the primary court for civil cases involving significant financial amounts, annulment and separation proceedings, and divorce cases. In contrast, the County Court has exclusive jurisdiction over felony prosecutions and shares jurisdiction with the Town and Village Courts for misdemeanor cases.
The Town and Village Courts play a crucial role by handling lesser offenses and misdemeanors, small claims disputes involving amounts up to $3,000, and landlord-tenant disputes. Although these courts do not hear felony cases, they are responsible for conducting preliminary hearings in felony matters.
Legal matters involving children and families are addressed in the Essex Family Court, which specializes in handling cases such as adoptions, guardianship, juvenile delinquency, foster care approval and review, and child support. Conversely, the Surrogate's Court oversees matters related to deceased persons, including the validation of wills and the administration of estates.
Court records in Essex County are publicly available and can be accessed online or at the Office of the County Clerk. However, certain records may be sealed by court order to protect the personal information of the parties involved. Records that are restricted from public disclosure include adoption records, divorce records, mental health records, drug abuse records, name change records, and child abuse records.
Most cases are archived in the County Clerk's Office, and interested parties can submit a written request to view court documents. When making a request, you must provide sufficient details to locate the records and adhere to the court's indexing and retrieval system. Additionally, you can save on the cost of obtaining court records by making photocopies yourself in the courthouse during regular business hours.
The public can also access free case information on both active and disposed cases filed in Essex County courts through the eCourts resource, which allows searches using various search criteria.
