State Court Records and
State Court Websites


Search State Court Websites or you may in person search State court recordswhere you will learn a lot of background information about any individual such as inheritance, civil and criminal cases, marriage and divorces, tax liens, judgements and other liens.

Find the location of various courts in any state as well as related local government judicial system websites, where you can find contact information, decisions, a state law library and state level legal resources .

About State Courts
State courts are very different in each state but they do have certain things in common. A typical state court system have trial courts:Some trial courts have limited jurisdiction such as family court, probatet court and traffic court and trial courts with general jurisdiction. Then there is the intermediate or appeals courts and finally the supreme courts which are the highest courts in each state. Most judges in state court system are elected or appointed for certain period of time.

Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction
These courts usually specialize in certain area are presided by a single judge so there are no juries:

  1. Probate court: handling wils and testaments, matters of inheritance
  2. Family court: handling divorces, adoption, child support and child custody cases
  3. Traffic court: handling traffic violations
  4. Juvenile court: handling issues with those under 18
  5. Small claims court: handling cases with values under $5000
  6. Municipal court: hanling cases regarding city ordinances.

Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction
these courts review cases that are not handled by limited jurisdiction courts and could be civil or criminal cases.

Intermediate Appellate Courts
Appellate courts which are available in some states usually are presided by a panel of judges. Usually two or three judges sit on a panel for appelate court and hear cases of appeals.

Highest State Courts also Known as Supreme Courts
All states have high courts whic review cases that have to do with legislature such as elections and the reapportionments Also they may accept cases of appeals that have been elevated to the higher court. Supreme courts are usually presided by a larger panel of judges such as 5 to 7 judges.



Court Records by State