Search Luzerne County Court Cases

Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas

Luzerne County is Pennsylvania's 11th Judicial District. The Court of Common Pleas sits at the Luzerne County Courthouse in Wilkes-Barre and serves as the county's general trial court. It handles felony and major misdemeanor criminal cases after lower-court preliminary proceedings, civil actions above Magisterial District Court jurisdiction, family matters, PFA matters, juvenile and dependency cases, and Orphans' Court division matters.

The county describes the 11th Judicial District mission in terms of fair, timely, impartial justice, legally fair dispute and case resolution, access to justice, innovative services, and public trust. Docket access is mostly through statewide tools, while paper and certified-copy access depends on the office that keeps the record: Prothonotary for civil matters, Clerk of Courts for criminal matters, and Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court for estate and adoption-related filings.

Luzerne County Court System

The local hierarchy starts with Magisterial District Courts and Central Court, then moves to the Court of Common Pleas when a case type or appeal belongs in the general trial court. Appeals from Common Pleas criminal and most civil matters generally go to Pennsylvania Superior Court. Some government, administrative, and public-law matters go to Commonwealth Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the final state appellate court.

Luzerne County Magisterial Courts

The county's Magisterial District Court page says Luzerne County maintains sixteen district courts strategically located throughout the county, each presided over by an elected Magisterial District Judge. These lower courts are often the first stop for traffic tickets, summary criminal cases, landlord-tenant cases, municipal code matters, civil claims up to $12,000, preliminary arraignments, and preliminary hearings.

The county's Magisterial District Judges Offices page explains jurisdiction and links the public to docket and payment tools.

That lower-court layer is critical because many criminal and traffic records begin there before a Common Pleas filing or summary appeal exists.

The official MDJ office table is the controlling source for district numbers, judges, addresses, and phones.

The county's own table should be used over third-party payment pages when office address details differ.

Luzerne County Case Flow

Case movement depends on the type of case. A civil claim at or below the Magisterial District Court limit can start at the MDJ level, while larger civil actions start in Common Pleas and are filed through the Prothonotary. A criminal case may begin with preliminary arraignment and preliminary hearing work at the MDJ level, then move into Common Pleas after charges are held for court and the prosecutor files formal charging documents.

Criminal flow: MDJ preliminary stage › Common Pleas filing › arraignment › pretrial motions › plea or trial › disposition › sentence › appeal.

Civil flow: complaint or petition › service › answer or response › motions › discovery or hearing › trial or order › judgment › appeal.

Traffic and summary appeal flow: citation or summary case at MDJ › payment, hearing, or disposition › summary appeal to Common Pleas when allowed.

Luzerne County Courthouse Access

The courthouse sits at 200 N River Street in downtown Wilkes-Barre near the Susquehanna River. County guidance identifies free public parking at the Water Street Parkade, 5 Water Street, with a pedestrian tunnel under North Street to the rear and handicap entrance. The rear entrance opens at 8:00 a.m. Annex visitors use a separate lot at 153 N River Street for Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, Assessors, Marriage Licenses, and Information Technology business.

The building is also a major local court-history anchor. The county's history page traces earlier courthouse buildings after Luzerne County's 1786 establishment, the 1892 grand jury pressure for a safer courthouse, and the current courthouse opening after years of disputes, architects, and costs. The South Lawn page describes the cruciform plan, rotunda, dome base, Ohio sandstone walls, reinforced-concrete structure, and terra-cotta roof coverings.

Those courthouse details help distinguish the Common Pleas page from lower-court pages, because the main trial court operates from the county's central courthouse complex.

Luzerne County Court Visit Rules

Security rules are specific. The official weapons notice says the courthouse entrance is covered by 18 Pa.C.S. § 913 and prohibits firearms or dangerous weapons, although lockers are available at the security checkpoint under § 913(e). The electronic-device notice states that devices must be powered off in courtrooms and that broadcasting, photos, audio, video, or motion pictures are not allowed without permission.

Language access is also documented. The Notice of Language Rights lists the Language Access Coordinator at the courthouse, with phone 570-830-8406 or 570-830-5190 and email languageaccesscoordinator@luzernecounty.org. Parties have the right to an interpreter at no cost in court proceedings, and the notice includes English, Spanish, Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Vietnamese, Nepali, Korean, Polish, Punjabi, Portuguese, Somali, Haitian Creole, and French.

Luzerne County Specialty Courts

Luzerne County Treatment Court, also called Drug Court, began in January 2006 and is described by the county as an evidence-based diversionary adult program targeting recidivism. Approved participants enter a guilty plea, receive deferred final sentence or order after accepting program terms, and may receive dismissal of charges after successful completion. Eligibility is limited by residence, age, charge type, and non-violent criteria.

The county also has Veterans Treatment Court for veterans whose service may connect to PTSD, traumatic brain injury, mental health disorders, substance use, and criminal-justice involvement. Federal court is separate: Luzerne County is in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, with federal records searched through PACER and CM/ECF rather than county offices.

The U.S. Attorney page for the Middle District is one federal source tied to prosecutions outside the county Common Pleas system.

Federal prosecution records are not maintained by the Luzerne County Clerk offices.

A May 2026 federal case news item involving Luzerne County defendants illustrates the county-state-federal distinction.

When a case is federal, use the Middle District and PACER path instead of UJS Common Pleas docket sheets.

Recent local reporting also noted Treatment Court certification recognition.

Treatment Court remains part of the Luzerne County Common Pleas criminal-case ecosystem, not a separate public record repository.