How to Search Criminal Dockets
Court level comes first. For misdemeanors, warrants, bail events, preliminary felony proceedings, and other Magistrate matters, the free Magistrate Case Record Search (MCRSearch) works with a first and last name or a case number. Results cap at 30, so a case number is the stronger key. A CAPTCHA gate guards the entry.
Circuit Court cases run through WVPASS, which requires registration. Browsing case details costs nothing; public documents run 25 cents per page plus a card-processing charge. Coverage generally begins July 1, 1999. When a Magistrate register shows a case or bond transferred to Circuit Court, search again there, since the Circuit matter may carry a new number and its own set of filings.
- Identify Magistrate Court or Circuit Court from the notice, case number, case stage, or last event.
- Gather the exact name, case number, filing year, agency, and any known judge.
- Search MCRSearch for a Magistrate case or register in WVPASS for a Circuit case.
- Compare court, charge, plea, disposition, and the most recent settings.
- Ask the responsible clerk for the named paper or certified copy when an entry is not enough.
Monroe Criminal Docket Search Fields
The official Magistrate search instructions confirm the two routes into the system: name or case number. The portal's opening screen also separates the public Magistrate search from WVPASS and shows an access warning before any query controls appear.
The portal's opening screen also flags the access warning that appears before a Monroe County docket search can begin.
| Control | Use | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| First Name | Pair with last name | Use exact spelling when possible |
| Last Name | Main name field | Common names may reach 30 results |
| Case Number | Most precise key | Use the court identifier |
| CAPTCHA | Verification gate | Complete it in the live portal |
Note: MCRSearch warns that information may be incomplete, so confirm material facts with the Monroe County Magistrate Court Clerk.
What a Criminal Docket Shows
A Monroe County criminal docket is a register of case data and events, not the whole file. The official Magistrate sample splits case fields from a settings table, so read related fields together. A charge states an accusation, a plea records a response, and the disposition states the court's recorded result.
| Case Number | The court-assigned identifier. Payment systems may use formats such as ##-M##X-#####, but only use one when that system asks for it. |
|---|---|
| Location and Agency | The court location and originating law-enforcement or government agency. |
| Charge and Plea | The accusation and separate procedural response. Neither alone proves the final result. |
| Disposition | The outcome recorded by the court, read with the charge and judgment order. |
| Setting | Event type, date, time, room, location, judge, and reason closed. |
A past setting can linger after a continuance. "Reason closed" describes an event, not necessarily the whole case, so request the order behind the entry when exact terms matter.
Monroe Felony Dockets Use Two Systems
Checking only one portal can sink a felony search. Monroe County Magistrate Court may hold the complaint, warrant, first appearance, bond action, or preliminary hearing, while Circuit Court holds the trial-court record after indictment or information. Treat "Transfer to Circuit Ct" and "Bond Transferred to Circuit Ct" as routing clues, not dispositions.
Search both stages: find the Magistrate-origin record in MCRSearch, note the transfer event, then locate the receiving Circuit case in WVPASS or ask the Circuit Clerk for its number.
Documents split the same way. MCRSearch gives information but no online court documents, and WVPASS downloads are not certified even though it sells public Circuit papers. Ask the clerk for the exact complaint, bond order, plea order, judgment, or other paper required.
Stages on a Criminal Docket
No Monroe County criminal docket hits every possible step. Most entries trace a path from an initiating paper to hearings and a result. A warrant entry records warrant-related court action. It is not proof of service or current status. A notice of hearing shows notice. A motion to continue merely asks that a setting move. A waiver of preliminary hearing advances a case without proving guilt.
Docket flow: Filing → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
Some cases end early, and settings can repeat. A Magistrate-to-Circuit transfer adds a second record layer on top of the first. The West Virginia Rules of Criminal Procedure supply the statewide framework, while the individual docket shows what was actually recorded in Monroe County.
Monroe Criminal Docket Event Terms
Short event labels invite overreading. Tie Monroe County criminal docket entries to a later event or an underlying order before drawing conclusions. The official sample exposes abbreviations, but the court publishes no public glossary, so their full meanings should not be guessed.
- Hearing Continued
- The setting moved or was postponed. Look for a new date or order.
- Reason Closed
- A field describing why an event ended, not why the case ended.
- Order, Criminal Judgment
- A judgment event. Obtain the order to confirm exact terms.
- Bond Release Printed
- An administrative paperwork event, not present custody status.
- Transfer to Circuit Court
- A change in court stage that calls for a Circuit search.
Note: A continued hearing is not a dismissal, and the newest visible event may still need confirmation from the clerk.
Which Court Holds Criminal Dockets
Monroe County Magistrate Court handles misdemeanors, felony preliminary hearings, fugitive first-rights proceedings, warrants, and bail. It also takes pleas. Citations come from the Sheriff, State Police, and Division of Natural Resources. The office sits at 500 Main Street in Union. Its general number is 304-772-3176. Magistrate Court Clerk Jeanne Gullette can be reached at 304-772-3321.
Monroe County Circuit Court shares the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit with Summers County. It keeps felony-level records once a case reaches Circuit Court. Criminal appeals and other Circuit categories stay there too. The current Monroe judiciary directory names Circuit Clerk Daniel Tickle and lists 304-772-3096 extension 4. A municipal citation stays with the town. An appeal can create a Circuit record. Federal matters belong in PACER and the Southern District of West Virginia.
Monroe Criminal Docket Filing Counts
The Judiciary's 2025 annual statistics count 50 Monroe County Circuit criminal filings: 36 felonies, two Magistrate appeals, one misdemeanor, and 11 other criminal cases. The 2024 total was 59, with 38 felonies, six Magistrate appeals, one misdemeanor, and 14 other criminal matters.
Treat these as filing categories, not crime counts or person-level outcomes. The Magistrate criminal table is hard to align reliably, so no Monroe Magistrate total is stated here.
Monroe Criminal Docket Clerk Handoff
When the portal does not show the document you need, go straight to the clerk for that court. Have the details ready. Give the court, case number, event date, document title, date range, and format. Say whether you want a plain or certified copy. Planning to mail a request? Call first about the fee, certification, postage, and the current delivery address. West Virginia Code §59-1-11 sets $1 per page for a Circuit Clerk copy or transcript. That figure is not a full quote.
The county's office-relocation notice explains the service limits that followed the courthouse fire and urges visitors to call ahead. It stays the official word on that access warning.
Check the location before you go. The county guarantees no public terminal, offers no county-specific court-record request form, and posts no current local criminal fee sheet. Whether you seek inspection, phone, counter, or mailed service, confirm the details before you send payment or travel.
Monroe Criminal Docket Treatment Track
Monroe County sends eligible defendants into a regional treatment option. That option is the Monroe/Summers Adult Drug Court. The state judiciary entry lists Magistrate Kevin Miller as the program's judge. Circuit Judge Amy L. Mann serves as backup. A probation contact is listed too. Launched in 2014, the program runs inside the regular state court system. There is no separate public criminal docket portal for it.
Start any Monroe County criminal docket search with the Magistrate or Circuit case itself. Participation records can carry special access limits. Send a document request straight to the court or clerk handling the case. One caution applies. A treatment-court listing never replaces the charge, plea, judgment, or setting entries in the underlying docket.
Public Access and Sealed Criminal Dockets
Public access does not put every Monroe County criminal docket document online. A public case can still hold a sealed, private, or redacted filing. Empty results have other causes too. The wrong portal, the name-result limit, spotty old WVPASS coverage, a transfer, or clerk-only custody. So ask the clerk directly. Ask whether an item is sealed, confidential, unscanned, outside coverage, or held somewhere else.
West Virginia FOIA leans toward open government, though exemptions apply. Court files also answer to court rules and sealing statutes. Frame any records request narrowly: name the court and the item, and ask the office to cite whatever restriction it claims.
Key Rules:
West Virginia Code §29B-1-1 states the public-access policy while preserving exemptions.
West Virginia Code §53-8-17 defines court records and sets the sealing process.
West Virginia Code §49-5-101 makes juvenile records generally confidential, with exceptions.
An empty result proves nothing about a juvenile case, a seal, a dismissal, or an acquittal. Only the court can confirm status, and broader tactics across court levels appear in the Monroe County case search.