Pennsylvania Court Records

What is Included in Pennsylvania Public Court Records

Criminal Court Cases

Assault & Battery, Domestic Violence, Parole Violation, Probation Violation, Sexual Assault, Robbery, Manslaughter, Murder, Drug Offenses, And More...

Civil Court Cases

Bankruptcies, Legal Judgments, Lawsuits, Tax & Property Liens, Contract Disputes, Probates, Family Law, Small Claims, Evictions, And More...

Traffic Court Cases

Driving Under Influence, Driving While Intoxicated, Speeding Tickets, Traffic Citations, Reckless Driving, Driving Without a License, License Suspensions, Criminal Driving Violations, Accidents, And More...

Pennsylvania Court Record Lookup

Pennsylvania PA court records are public documents accessible by anyone by performing Pennsylvania court records search. These records are necessary for executing the court’s orders, whether it’s claiming child support, clearing one’s driving record, or enrolling in a treatment program. Court records include Pennsylvania criminal records, warrants, civil cases, traffic violations and more information.

Municipal courts

Magisterial district courts are the courts of limited jurisdiction found in 66 counties. Pennsylvania has its own municipal court that serves similar purposes. These courts have jurisdiction over small claims issues, municipal code violations, misdemeanors, and landlord-tenant disputes.

A recent year saw almost 216,000 criminal cases in a recent year, including 54,000 drug cases and 43,000 DUI cases.

Trial courts

Pennsylvania’s Courts of Common Pleas are responsible for civil cases over $12,000, family matters, including Pennsylvania child support and custody filings, felonies, juvenile cases, probate, and appeals of decisions by governmental agencies.

Records of these Pennsylvania courthouses can be searched and requested online by conducting Pennsylvania court records lookup. Some information may be kept confidential due to the age of those involved or if victims of certain crimes are named in the documents.

There were nearly 49,000 new cases filed in trial courts statewide in a recent year, when more than 14,000 trials were held.

Appellate courts

There are two intermediate appellate courts in Pennsylvania: the superior court and the commonwealth court. The superior court takes appeals from lower courts. The commonwealth court hears cases involving local and state governments, state agencies, land use, elections, and utilities.

The supreme court is the court of last resort in the state. It oversees the state bar and takes selected appeals from lower courts.

Federal courts

Those who declare bankruptcy, join class action lawsuits, or violate federal laws fall under the jurisdiction of U.S. District courts, of which there is at least one in each state. Anyone can access Pennsylvania court records online via Pennsylvania court case lookup.

Pennsylvania Notable Court Cases

Perhaps the most notable case is that of Commonwealth v. William Henry Cosby, Jr., where a judge in Norristown determined enough evidence existed to make the star stand trial for sexual misconduct. This case involves three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault that allegedly occurred in 2004 in his suburban Philadelphia home. It is alleged the victim was drugged and unconscious when the assault occurred.

Bail for Cosby was set at $1 million; he posted ten percent and was released. The official charges were filed just 12 days prior to the statute of limitations for such accusations running out. This case comes among dozens of accusations of sexual assault from other women over the past several months in various states and fields of entertainment and modeling, and has yet come to conclusion.

 

Pennsylvania Civil Case Statistics

Civil Caseload
Civil Caseload 407,236
Caseloads per 100.000 Population
Caseloads per 100.000 Population 3,185

Criminal Caseloads by Type

Criminal Caseloads for Pennsylvania sum in 498,186 cases at the year end of 2016 which has a share of 58% of misdemeanor and 27% of felony charges. Total criminal cases have decreased in Pennsylvania compared to the criminal caseload of 2012 - 522,738 cases.

The Proportion of Felony and Misdemeanor Caseloads

Criminal Caseloads Timeline

Domestic Relations Caseloads & Clearance Rates

The state’s domestic relations caseload has counted 342,163 cases which is 2,676 court cases per 100.000 population. It has decreased since 2012, the difference in caseloads is 56,573 for the last 5 years, being 398,736 in 2012.

State Court Holidays

Holiday: Date:
New Year's DayMonday, January 1, 2018
Martin Luther King, Jr. DayMonday, January 15, 2018
Presidents' DayMonday, February 19, 2018
Good FridayFriday, March 30, 2018
Memorial DayMonday, May 28, 2018
Independence DayWednesday, July 4, 2018
Labor Day Monday, September 3, 2018
Columbus DayMonday, October 8, 2018
Election Day (AOPC only, Appellate Courts will be open)Tuesday, November 6, 2018
Veterans Day (observed)Monday, November 12, 2018
Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 22, 2018
Day after ThanksgivingFriday, November 23, 2018
Christmas DayTuesday, December 25, 2018

Supreme Court Caseloads & Clearance Rates