Kanawha County
Named after the Kanawha River and established on October 5, 1789, Kanawha County is regarded as the most populous county in West Virginia, with over 180,000 West Virginians. The county covers about 901 square miles and several cities, including Charleston - the county seat and West Virginia's state capital.
The Kanawha County trial court system consists of the Circuit Court, the Family Court, and the Magistrate Court. The Circuit Court has jurisdiction over all civil cases involving over $300, proceedings in habeas corpus, mandamus, quo warranto, prohibition, and certiorari, felonies, and certain misdemeanors. The court also hears appeals from the Magistrate Court and decisions of the Family Court on domestic violence.
The Family Court primarily handles cases of divorce, annulment, paternity, separate maintenance, allocation of parental responsibility, and domestic violence proceedings. The Magistrate Court has jurisdiction over civil cases with claims involving less than $10,000, misdemeanor cases, and may conduct felony preliminaries.
In Kanawha County, public court records are documents from legal proceedings and other matters handled by a court with jurisdiction over the county. This includes documents from Circuit Court, Family Court, and Magistrate Court cases, such as court processes, transcripts, court orders, and judgments.
The Kanawha County Circuit and Magistrate Court Clerks are the primary recordkeepers of the county's public court records and are responsible for preserving, organizing, and sorting these records. The Circuit Court Clerk is responsible for cases handled by the Circuit and Family Courts, while the Magistrate Court Clerk is responsible for Magistrate Court cases.
Public court records in Kanawha County are generally accessible to the public. The West Virginia Judiciary maintains a Magistrate Record Search database whereby anyone may access case records handled by the Magistrate Court. Note that the actual court documents for these cases are unavailable online and can only be obtained from the Magistrate Court Clerk.
Likewise, you may only obtain records of cases from the Circuit and Family Courts from the Circuit Court Clerk. You may reach the Circuit Clerk at (304) 357-0440 and the Magistrate Court Clerk at 304-357-0422 or visit the respective court in person.
