Wayne County Trial Courts
The Indiana Judicial Branch describes two broad levels: appellate courts and trial courts. The appellate courts are the Supreme Court of Indiana, the Court of Appeals of Indiana, and the Indiana Tax Court. Trial courts include circuit courts, superior courts, and local city or town courts. In Wayne County, the state trial court group is Wayne Circuit Court and Wayne Superior Courts Nos. 1-3, with Hagerstown Town Court listed as the local town court.
The Indiana Judicial Branch Wayne County page places Wayne County in Judicial District 18 with Fayette, Franklin, Rush, Union, and Wayne counties. The county's court records are searched through MyCase or Doxpop, while official records and certified copies come through the Clerk of Courts. Probate is not assigned to a separate probate court in the research; it is a docket of the Wayne Circuit and Superior Courts administered through the Clerk.
Wayne County Court Table
The Indiana courts directory gives the local Wayne County court roster, officer names, addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers. All listed Wayne Circuit and Superior Courts share the courthouse address in Richmond. Hagerstown Town Court has a separate town-court address and phone. The table is framed around the primary court or office, the type of trial court function it serves, and the public contact details from the state directory.
| Court or office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wayne County Clerk's Office, Tara Pegg | Clerk of Courts for trial court records | 301 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374-4200 | 765-973-9220 |
| Wayne Circuit Court, Hon. April A. Drake | Circuit trial court | 301 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374-4200 | 765-973-9266 |
| Wayne Superior Court No. 1, Hon. Ronald Moore | Superior trial court | 301 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374-4200 | 765-973-9259 |
| Wayne Superior Court No. 2, Hon. Gregory A. Horn | Superior trial court | 301 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374-4200 | 765-973-9260 |
| Wayne Superior Court No. 3, Hon. Mark Cox | Superior trial court, traffic and small claims functions | 301 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374-4200 | 765-973-9269 |
| Wayne Superior Court No. 3, Kaarin M. Lueck and Austin Shadle | Magistrate and commissioner functions | 301 East Main Street, Richmond, IN 47374-4200 | 765-973-9269 |
| Hagerstown Town Court, Hon. Susan Bell | Local town court | 49 East College Street, Hagerstown, IN 47346-1299 | 765-489-6219 |
Fax details from the same directory include 765-973-9490 for the Clerk, 765-973-9250 for Wayne Circuit Court and Superior Courts Nos. 1 and 2, 765-973-9423 for Superior Court No. 3, and 765-489-5100 for Hagerstown Town Court. The full court directory is maintained by the Indiana Judicial Branch, not by a private search vendor.
Note: Wayne Superior Court No. 3 is the key Wayne County court for traffic and small-claims location details in the Clerk research.
Wayne County Court Comparison
Wayne County Circuit and Superior Courts should be separated from Hagerstown Town Court and federal courts. These systems can involve the same person or event, but they do not keep the same record set. A Richmond-area traffic stop, a small claim, a felony case, a probate estate, and a federal prosecution may all require different search paths. The court label on the ticket, complaint, indictment, petition, or docket is the best way to choose the right record source.
| Point of comparison | Circuit and Superior Courts | Hagerstown Town Court | Federal courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | Wayne County state trial court cases, including civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, and small claims categories. | Local town-court matters listed by the Indiana courts directory. | Federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, appellate, and custody records outside Wayne County trial court control. |
| Search path | MyCase, Doxpop, and Clerk of Courts requests for official copies. | Search MyCase where available and contact the town court for local files. | PACER, CM/ECF, federal court sites, and federal agency locators. |
| Record custodian | Wayne County Clerk of Courts for official local trial court records. | Hagerstown Town Court for town-court files. | Southern District of Indiana, Bankruptcy Court, Seventh Circuit, BOP, or other federal custodian. |
| Appeal route | Court of Appeals of Indiana, with possible transfer to the Supreme Court of Indiana. | Depends on the town-court matter and Indiana procedure. | U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit for federal appeals. |
The federal comparison matters because Wayne County is served by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Those records are not certified by the Wayne County Clerk of Courts.
Wayne County Case Movement
A Wayne County case moves through a court system based on filing type and court assignment. Criminal cases begin when an arrest, summons, warrant, or prosecutor's filing creates a court case. Civil and family cases begin with a complaint, petition, notice of claim, or other filing. Probate cases start with an estate, guardianship, trust, or related petition. Traffic and small claims matters have local counter details tied to Superior Court No. 3 and the Small Claims-Traffic Office.
Criminal flow: Law-enforcement event or charge › prosecutor filing › initial hearing › pretrial entries › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing or probation › appeal when filed.
Civil and family flow: Complaint or petition › summons or notice › response › motions or hearings › order or judgment › collection, compliance, modification, or appeal.
Probate flow: Petition or application › notice or publication › appointment or order › inventory and administration › final report › closing order.
The official case trace is the Chronological Case Summary maintained by the Clerk. MyCase may show public CCS entries and some linked documents, but online data is not the official court record. For certified Wayne County court records, the request must go to the Clerk of Courts.
Wayne County Court Divisions
The Wayne County court structure covers more than one kind of case. Clerk research lists criminal case categories as felonies, misdemeanors, and miscellaneous criminal matters. Civil categories include torts, civil plenary cases, protective orders, miscellaneous civil, reciprocal support, small claims, domestic relations, mental health, adoption, supervised and unsupervised estates, guardianships, trusts, CHINS, juvenile delinquency, juvenile status, juvenile miscellaneous, and juvenile paternity. Those categories show why the local trial court page must be framed as Circuit and Superior Courts.
Wayne Superior Court No. 3 has a special practical role in the public-facing research. The Clerk's small-claims page states that traffic court is held in the judge's courtroom for Wayne Superior Court No. 3 on the second floor of the courthouse. Small-claims court is held in the magistrate's courtroom for Wayne Superior Court No. 3 on the first floor. The Small Claims-Traffic Office is in the southeast corner on the second floor.
- Criminal dockets can include charges, warrants, bond entries, pleas, judgments, commitments, and sentencing orders.
- Civil dockets can include complaints, summonses, motions, hearings, judgments, garnishments, and collection entries.
- Family and domestic records can include divorce, custody, support, financial declarations, mediation, and post-decree activity.
- Probate dockets can include wills, inventories, heir notices, publications, guardianships, trusts, and final reports.
- Traffic and small claims records connect strongly to Superior Court No. 3 and the courthouse Small Claims-Traffic Office.
Wayne County Judicial District
Wayne County is part of Indiana Judicial District 18. The district grouping in the research includes Fayette, Franklin, Rush, Union, and Wayne counties. Judicial district placement does not mean that all records are held in one regional courthouse. A Wayne County case filed in Wayne Circuit Court or a Wayne Superior Court remains a Wayne County trial court record, with online access through statewide systems and official copies through the Wayne County Clerk of Courts.
The Wayne County Courthouse is also a major local anchor for the court system. Official county history says the courthouse was designed by Cincinnati architect James W. McLaughlin, built with 600 car loads of Indiana limestone and 3 million bricks, and supported by 125 stone cutters working on site with steam-powered hoists. The interior includes a grand marble staircase and an open well with galleries. Wayne County describes it as the largest Romanesque courthouse in Indiana.
Wayne County Lower Courts
Hagerstown Town Court is the lower court specifically named in the Wayne County research map. The state directory lists Judge Susan Bell, the East College Street address, and the town court phone. Town-court matters may involve local ordinance or traffic issues depending on the ticket and court label. If a citation or notice names Hagerstown Town Court, the search path should include MyCase where available and direct contact with that town court.
Local city or town courts in Indiana sit outside the county's Circuit and Superior Courts, even though they are part of the broader Indiana trial court structure. That makes the court name on the document important. A Wayne Superior Court No. 3 traffic case, a Hagerstown Town Court matter, and a federal ticket or prosecution do not use the same clerk counter or same docket system.
Federal Court Records
Federal matters connected to Wayne County do not begin in Wayne Circuit or Superior Court. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana is the federal trial court serving this part of Indiana. Federal bankruptcy records are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Federal appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Federal case records often require PACER or CM/ECF rather than MyCase.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana is the federal source for bankruptcy filings that are separate from Wayne County Circuit and Superior Courts records.
Bankruptcy records are separate from Wayne County civil judgments, probate dockets, and small-claims records held through local trial courts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit is the federal appellate court for Indiana federal cases.
That appellate source helps distinguish Indiana state appeals from federal appeals after a Southern District case.
Wayne County Court Boundaries
A person can move between local, state, and federal systems, so court records and custody records should not be merged. Wayne County criminal charges, local warrants, bond orders, and sentencing entries belong in the local court and Clerk record path. If a person is transferred to federal custody after a federal case, Wayne County court records may stop showing day-to-day custody status. The federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator is one separate federal custody source.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator is the federal custody source for people held after federal sentencing or transfer.
The locator is useful only after a federal custody path exists; it does not certify Wayne County criminal court judgments or local warrants.
Free legal research services can also help identify opinions or docket references, but they do not replace the originating court's record. CourtListener is one free research source for opinions and some federal docket references.
CourtListener may help with opinion research, while Wayne County Clerk records remain the source for official local trial court copies.
Note: Federal PACER or agency records and Wayne County MyCase or Clerk records answer different questions, even when names overlap.