Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas

Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas Overview

Pennsylvania's trial court of general jurisdiction is the Court of Common Pleas. Westmoreland County is the Tenth Judicial District, and its court sits at the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg. This court hears the serious and large matters: felony and misdemeanor criminal cases held for court, major civil suits, family and divorce cases, juvenile matters, and Orphans' Court probate business. It also hears appeals from the magisterial courts below it.

The court works alongside the elected record offices in the courthouse complex. Criminal Common Pleas files sit with the Clerk of Courts. Civil files sit with the Prothonotary. Estate and Orphans' Court files run through the Register of Wills. The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas overview explains how these general-jurisdiction courts are organized by judicial district.

Westmoreland County Magisterial District Courts

The Court of Common Pleas hears the big cases, but most residents meet the court system first at a Magisterial District Court. These minor courts are spread across the county so people do not need to drive to Greensburg for every traffic ticket, small claim, or preliminary hearing. Westmoreland County has fifteen magisterial offices, each led by a magisterial district judge. The full list below comes from the state judge directory.

You can confirm any office and find a fax number on the state directory. The magisterial district judge search lets you look up an office by county, district number, judge last name, or ZIP code.

The listing shown above returns each office with its address, phone, fax, and a map string. Match your case to the right office before you call, since each magisterial judge handles only the cases in that district.

Court of Common Pleas vs. Magisterial District Court

Pennsylvania does not use a county court layer between these two. The split is simpler than in many states. The Court of Common Pleas is the court of record for serious cases. The Magisterial District Court is the limited-jurisdiction court for minor matters. The table below compares the two on the points that matter most for finding and understanding a Westmoreland County case.

The dividing line shapes your search. A traffic ticket and a felony can both be Westmoreland County court records, but one lives in a magisterial docket and the other in a Common Pleas docket. The court dockets page breaks down each docket format, and the court records page walks through the portal search.

How a Case Moves Through the Westmoreland County System

Cases enter the system at the level that fits the charge or claim. A criminal case usually begins before a magisterial district judge, then moves up if charges are held for court. A civil suit may start and finish at the magisterial level for small claims, or it may begin at Common Pleas for larger matters. Each path can end in an appeal to a higher court.

Criminal flow: Arrest › Preliminary Arraignment (MDJ) › Preliminary Hearing (MDJ) › Held for Court › Arraignment (Common Pleas) › Pretrial › Trial or Plea › Sentencing › Appeal to Superior Court

Civil flow: Complaint Filed (MDJ small claims or Common Pleas) › Answer › Discovery › Pretrial › Trial › Judgment › Appeal

The offices that hold these records change as the case moves. Early criminal steps sit with the magisterial office. Once a case is held for court, the Clerk of Courts keeps the criminal docket. Civil filings go to the Prothonotary. Appeals are processed through the Prothonotary up to the appellate courts.

Civil, Family, and Criminal Divisions

The Court of Common Pleas runs in divisions, and the judges are grouped by the kind of case they hear. The criminal division handles felony and misdemeanor cases held for court. The civil division hears money suits, property disputes, and other civil claims. The family division covers divorce, custody, support, and protection-from-abuse matters. Orphans' Court handles estates, guardianships, and adoptions.

The county posts its current judge groupings on the court's about page. The court about page lists which judges sit in the criminal, civil, family, and Orphans' Court groups. Court Administration coordinates scheduling, jury management, and the day-to-day running of the trial court across all divisions.

For records, the division tells you the office. Criminal goes to the Clerk of Courts. Civil and family go to the Prothonotary, except that marriage licenses and estates run through the Register of Wills. See the Clerk of Courts page for criminal files and the Prothonotary page for civil and family files.

The Tenth Judicial District

Westmoreland County stands alone as the Tenth Judicial District. The district covers the whole county and no other. Its elected Common Pleas judges hear the trial-court docket and supervise the magisterial offices within the district. Appeals from this court generally go to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania for most civil and criminal matters, while government and agency cases may go to the Commonwealth Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania has the final, mostly discretionary word.

The county itself is one of the oldest in western Pennsylvania, created in 1773, with Greensburg as its seat. The courthouse has long served as the center of county government. It houses the trial court, Court Administration, and the elected record offices that keep the case files. That long history is why the county can hold both very old estate records and modern statewide electronic dockets in the same building.

Specialty Courts in the Tenth Judicial District

The Court of Common Pleas runs problem-solving courts that mix supervision with treatment. These programs are not automatic, and a participant must meet local criteria and follow the program's rules. Adult Probation is a key partner, monitoring testing, reporting, and court-ordered conditions for each participant.

The Treatment Court serves defendants whose conduct is tied to substance use, pairing judicial oversight with testing, case management, and probation support. The Veterans Court coordinates court supervision with VA services, mentoring, and treatment for justice-involved veterans. Serious or disqualifying history can rule a person out of either track.

Federal Courts Serving Westmoreland County

Some cases are federal, not state, and they never appear in the county or state court records. Westmoreland County is part of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. That court handles federal criminal prosecutions, civil-rights suits, constitutional claims, federal-question and diversity cases, and federal habeas matters for the region. Attorneys file through its CM/ECF system, and the public can read dockets through the federal access service.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania shown above is the main federal trial court for the area. Federal docket access for the public runs through a separate national system rather than the state UJS portal.

That national system is PACER, which charges per-page fees but offers exemptions and free courthouse-terminal access in some cases. It is how the public pulls federal docket information for Westmoreland County matters.

Register with PACER to search federal dockets across the district and bankruptcy courts. PACER fees can be waived in certain research or public-interest situations, so check the exemption rules before you assume a cost.

Appeals from the Western District move up to the federal appeals court for this circuit. That court reviews federal trial-court decisions from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit shown above hears appeals from the Western District. Its opinions and dockets are part of the federal record, separate from the state court system.

Bankruptcy cases follow their own track. They do not go to the district court's general docket or to the county court at all.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania shown above handles bankruptcy filings for Westmoreland County residents and businesses. For state-side searches instead, the court records page covers the UJS portal in full.

Related Westmoreland County Resources

For dockets and case lookup, see court records and court dockets. For clerk contact info, see the Prothonotary page for civil files and the Clerk of Courts page for criminal files.