West Virginia Court Records

West Virginia Court Record Lookup

West Virginia WV court records are public documents available to anyone performing West Virginia court records search. Many court document and court forms are essential to executing the judge’s decision, from getting a driver’s license reinstated to establishing child custody and collecting a judgment.

Limited jurisdiction courts

Municipal courts are established in cities and have jurisdiction over traffic tickets and violations of municipal ordinances. Similarly, magistrate courts, located in each county, are limited to misdemeanor cases, issuing warrants, and preliminary hearings.

Family courts are found in 26 locations in West Virginia. These courts handle divorce records, custody, domestic abuse, WV child support, and similar matters.

Problem-solving courts are those which attempt to keep nonviolent offenders out of the prison system by offering treatment alongside penalties. These courts currently include drug courts for adults and juveniles.

Trial courts

Circuit courts are the general trial courts of West Virginia, arranged in 31 judicial circuits. These West Virginia courthouses handle all civil and WV criminal records as well as hear appeals of cases from lower courts.

A new division of circuit court is a business court, which was created to speed the process of civil suits between businesses. These courts are located in 7 regions of the state.

Records can be accessed by conducting West Virginia court record lookup. Some case information may be restricted due to confidentiality laws, including juvenile cases and those which name some crime victims.

There were 12,450 criminal cases filed in circuit court in a recent year, including 7,700 felonies and 867 misdemeanors.

Appellate court

Five justices serve on the state supreme court, the highest court in the state. This body takes selected appeals of disputed decisions from lower courts and state agencies and may interpret the state constitution for state legislators and officials.

Federal court

Each state has at least one federal court, called U.S. District Court. These WV courtrooms have jurisdiction over federal law violations, bankruptcy petitions, and multi-state lawsuits. Anyone can access West Virginia court records online via conducting West Virginia court case lookup.

West Virginia Notable Court Cases

In 2012, Skylar Neese was reported missing, and her two "'best friends" admitted to stabbing her to death six months later. Her body was abandoned in the woods and later recovered. The defendants, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf, stated they killed Neese because they didn't want to be her friend any longer. Shoaf was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment and Eddy received life imprisonment.

In 2002, Samantha Burns, a Marshall University Community and Technical College student was reported missing. Three years later, Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks admitted they abducted and killed her, though her remains have never been recovered. Basham and Fulks are currently on death row.

Shawn Lester pleaded guilty in 2012 to the sniper shooting of Jeanie Patton. He is currently serving a 40-year sentence. Two other people, Okey Ray Meadows Jr. and Gary Carrier Jr. were also killed in a similar fashion, though no evidence that Lester committed the crime has surfaced.

In 1880, African-American citizens were not allowed to serve on juries in West Virginia. Taylor Strauder was a black man who was convicted by an all-white jury, and later appealed his conviction to the U.S. Supreme Court stating that the exclusion of African-Americans on the jury violated the Equal Protection Clause and Fourteenth Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed and vacated the conviction.