Search Bucks County Common Pleas Cases

Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Overview

The Court of Common Pleas is Pennsylvania's general trial court. It is the workhorse of the state court system. In Bucks County the court hears all criminal, civil, family, and Orphans' Court matters. It holds original jurisdiction over cases that are not assigned to another court, and it hears appeals from the minor courts and from certain agency decisions. That broad reach is why so many public records pass through it. If a case is serious, or if it does not fit a smaller court, it ends up here. The county's own Common Pleas page gives the official summary of what the court does.

Bucks County makes up the Seventh Judicial District, which was first set up in 1683. That makes it one of the oldest court districts in the state. The Common Pleas page lists the court as having 15 judges, though the current judge roster shows 16 names. Judges run for office and serve ten-year terms. Bucks County is rated as a class 2A county under state law, a tier based on population. The court sits in Doylestown, the county seat.

The bench is led by President Judge Raymond F. McHugh. Other current judges include Wallace H. Bateman, Denise M. Bowman, Stephen A. Corr, C. Theodore Fritsch Jr., Charissa J. Liller, Brian T. McGuffin, James M. McMaster, Robert J. Mellon, Jeffrey G. Trauger, Jordan B. Yeager, Matthew D. Weintraub, Amy M. Fitzpatrick, Linda Bobrin, Tiffany M. Thomas-Smith, and Dawn DiDonato Burke. The full list is kept on the county Judges page.

Bucks County Magisterial District Courts

Below the Court of Common Pleas sits the minor judiciary. Bucks County has 18 Magisterial District Courts, staffed by 18 judges and about 113 judicial clerks. These local courts are the front door for a huge share of the county's caseload. Together they process about 130,000 cases a year, receipt around $16 million, and handle roughly 10,000 criminal cases a year. Their work covers parking tickets, summary and traffic offenses, the early steps of misdemeanor and felony cases, preliminary arraignments and hearings, civil and landlord-tenant claims up to $12,000, and even marriages at a judge's discretion.

Each court carries a district number in the 07 series, which marks it as part of the Seventh Judicial District. The table lists every court with its judge, address, and phone. The county keeps an official roster on its District Courts page.

These courts also use the E-Pay, or PAePay, system for fines and costs. At the close of a preliminary hearing, a Magisterial District Court does one of three things with the charges. It dismisses them, lets the defendant waive them to court, or holds them for court and sends the case up to the Court of Common Pleas.

Note: The district numbers are not a simple 1-through-18 count, so confirm the right court by address or municipality rather than by guessing the next number.

Court of Common Pleas vs. Magisterial District Court vs. Appellate Courts

Pennsylvania stacks its courts in three broad layers, and Bucks County touches all of them. The Court of Common Pleas is the general trial court in the middle. Below it sit the Magisterial District Courts, the minor judiciary that handles small and early-stage matters. Above it sit the appellate courts, which review what the trial courts decide. The table sorts out who does what.

The appellate layer has more than one court. The Superior Court takes most criminal, civil, and family appeals. The Commonwealth Court handles government and public-law matters. Above both, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort.

How a Case Moves Through the Bucks County System

Most cases do not start at the Court of Common Pleas. They climb to it. A criminal case usually begins with a citation or an arrest. From there it goes to a Magisterial District Court for a preliminary arraignment and a preliminary hearing. If there is enough evidence, the case is held for court and moves up to the Court of Common Pleas for trial. After a verdict or judgment, a party who wants to challenge the outcome can appeal.

The path then runs to the Superior Court or the Commonwealth Court, and from there it may reach the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. The simple version reads like this.

Case flow: Magisterial District Court › Court of Common Pleas › Superior Court or Commonwealth Court › Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

Civil, Family, and Criminal Divisions

The Court of Common Pleas in Bucks County is not one undivided court. It runs separate streams of work. The criminal side handles charges held for court from the minor judiciary, along with trials, pleas, and sentencing. The civil side hears lawsuits, judgments, and property disputes. The family side, known as Domestic Relations, covers divorce, custody, and support. The Orphans' Court branch deals with estates, wills, and guardianships.

The court also oversees a set of support offices that keep the system running. These include Adult Probation, Juvenile Probation, Domestic Relations, the Law Library, and the administration of the 18-court Magisterial District system. Each office serves a piece of the larger caseload.

Where the records live depends on the division. Civil and family records are kept by the Prothonotary. Criminal records are kept by the Clerk of Courts. Probate and estate records are kept by the Register of Wills. For a closer look at those offices, see the Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts pages.

Judicial District

Bucks County stands on its own as the Seventh Judicial District of Pennsylvania. That district was first established in 1683, which ties the court back to the earliest days of the colony. The county is not grouped with any neighbor for trial-court purposes, so every Common Pleas case in the county belongs to the Seventh District. President Judge Raymond F. McHugh leads the bench. Because the district matches the county line, a docket search set to Judicial District 07 returns Bucks County cases. Bucks County is classed as a 2A county, a population-based tier the state uses for court funding and staffing.

Magisterial and Lower Courts

The Magisterial District Courts are the local courts most residents meet first. A Bucks County magisterial judge can handle parking violations, summary offenses, and traffic offenses. The same judge runs the preliminary steps for misdemeanor and felony charges, including preliminary arraignments and preliminary hearings. On the civil side, these courts hear landlord-tenant disputes and small money claims up to $12,000. A magisterial judge may also perform marriages, at the judge's own discretion.

Money matters at these courts run through the E-Pay, or PAePay, system, which lets people pay fines and costs online. Because the early steps of serious cases happen here, the outcome of a preliminary hearing decides whether a charge is dropped or sent up. A case held for court leaves the magisterial level and lands with the Court of Common Pleas. The full court roster sits on the county District Courts page.

Bucks County Justice Center

The Court of Common Pleas sits at the Bucks County Justice Center in Doylestown. The building is a five-level complex that houses far more than the judges. It also holds the District Attorney, the Public Defender, the Sheriff, the Prothonotary, the Clerk of Courts, and court administration. That mix means most court business can be done under one roof. The minor judiciary across the county is run from here as well, under a deputy court administrator. The contact card below lists the main court line and the office that oversees the Magisterial District Courts.

To pull up a docket from any of these courts, you can use the statewide and county search tools. The Pennsylvania UJS Case Search covers criminal, traffic, and magisterial dockets, while the county Web Viewer covers civil and probate files. Set the county or judicial district to Bucks to narrow your results.

Related Bucks County Resources

For dockets and case lookup, see court records and court dockets. For traffic and citation matters that start in the minor courts, see traffic court records. For clerk contact details, see the Prothonotary for civil and family files and the Clerk of Courts for criminal files.