Monongalia County Criminal Court Cases
Monongalia County criminal court cases can begin in Magistrate Court even when the accusation is a felony. Magistrates handle warrants, bail, initial appearances, misdemeanor cases, and felony preliminary proceedings. Circuit Court is the general-jurisdiction felony court for the Twenty-First Judicial Circuit. A felony complaint in Magistrate Court is therefore not a felony conviction. It is an early charging record that may be waived or heard before the matter is transferred, presented to a grand jury, or otherwise resolved.
Both courts operate from the Monongalia County Justice Center at 75 High Street in Morgantown. Magistrate Clerk Kandy McCauley is in Suite 25 at 304-291-7296. Circuit Clerk Donna Hidock is in Suite 12 at 304-291-7240. The circuit clerk publishes counter hours from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. That noon closure matters when requesting an older file or certified court case record. City ordinance matters may stay in a municipal court, so the county searches are not a substitute for Morgantown, Westover, or Star City municipal dockets.
Monongalia Court Cases by Court
The West Virginia Judiciary county roster lists three circuit judges and six magistrates serving Monongalia County. The number of judicial officers does not create separate public search systems. It does help explain why a docket may list a specific judge, room, and hearing date after the clerk assigns the criminal case.
The circuit bench includes Judges Perri Jo DeChristopher, Cindy Scott, and Michael Simms. Magistrates Ron Bane, Deanna Lindsay, James T. Pocius, Dimas Reyes, Tonya Rachelle Rogers, and Pette Tennant handle the lower-court work described by West Virginia Magistrate Court jurisdiction law. Circuit jurisdiction is addressed in W. Va. Code §51-2-2. Start with the case type, not the judicial officer's name, when choosing a Monongalia County court channel.
The manifest image from the official judiciary source shows the live Monongalia court directory.
View the source for the Monongalia County court roster.
The roster connects each court and clerk to the correct Justice Center suite and telephone number.
Searching Monongalia County Case Records
Use the free West Virginia Magistrate Case Record Search for misdemeanor cases, warrants reflected on a docket, and felony complaints or preliminary proceedings. It accepts a name or case number, works on mobile devices, and returns no more than 30 results. It supplies docket details but no downloadable documents. Circuit felony cases use WVPASS, which requires free registration and covers public circuit cases from 1999 forward. Searches are free; available document images cost $0.25 per page plus a card-processing charge.
- Open MCR Search for a magistrate matter, or WVPASS for a circuit felony file.
- Enter the first name, last name, or exact case number available for the Monongalia County case.
- Compare the Case ID, filing date, party, agency, charge citation, and case type before selecting a result.
- Read the docket in date order and distinguish a filed charge, hearing event, plea, and final disposition.
- Contact the Magistrate Clerk or Circuit Clerk for documents, certified copies, older records, or official status confirmation.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Name | Text | Unspecified | May be used as a name input |
| Last Name | Text | Unspecified | Search returns no more than 30 results |
| Case Number | Text | Unspecified | Alternative identifier |
| CAPTCHA | Challenge | Yes at entry | Controls automated access |
| Search | Button | Not applicable | Runs the query |
The official MCR interface illustrates the fields used for a Monongalia County magistrate search.
The narrow form is useful, but the portal's result cap and lack of file downloads make clerk verification part of a complete search.
Monongalia Dockets Without Documents
MCR Search can list an event such as Felony Complaint, Warrant Issued, Bond Set, Public Defender Granted, or Court Disposition Reporting. Those labels are index and docket information. They are not the complaint, warrant, order, or judgment itself. A searcher who needs the words in a filing must request the document from the Magistrate Clerk. This is also the right fallback when a common name pushes the desired Monongalia County court case beyond the 30-result window.
WVPASS offers circuit images when available, but its public coverage begins in 1999 and excludes juvenile and sealed cases. An unavailable image does not prove the filing is absent. Ask the Circuit Clerk about a paper or older file, the copy format, certification, and current price before visiting. Published research did not supply a general circuit-copy fee, so request a quote for the exact record.
Note: Search results are finding aids; the clerk's official file controls when a docket label and a signed order appear to differ.
Inside a Monongalia County Case File
A Monongalia County court case record can connect the original complaint to each later court event. The most useful items depend on the question. A charging document identifies the accusation, while the disposition and judgment reveal what the court ultimately did. Multiple counts may end differently, so never reduce a whole case to the first charge on the screen.
| Case Number & Court | Identifies the year, court system, county code, case type, sequence, and court holding the file. |
|---|---|
| Charging Document | May be a complaint in Magistrate Court or an indictment in a Circuit Court felony case. |
| Docket Entries | Chronological filings and events, with dates, descriptions, filers, and sometimes closure reasons. |
| Hearing Dates | Can show the appearance date, room, judge, hearing event, and whether that event closed. |
| Disposition & Judgment | Reports outcomes by charge, such as guilty, dismissed, or not guilty, with related dates. |
| Sentence & Conditions | May identify confinement, nonmonetary terms, probation, financial judgments, restitution, or other conditions. |
MCR Search may also show related cases, bond identifiers, bond type and status, parties and roles, civil judgments, and a docket filer. Those fields should be traced by count and date. A plea and a disposition are distinct, and a bond entry says nothing by itself about guilt. Request the signed judgment or sentencing order when the exact result matters.
Reading Monongalia Court Case Terms
Observed Monongalia Case IDs include forms such as 24-M31M-03165 and 25-M31F-00187. The parts identify the year, magistrate system, county code 31, misdemeanor or felony indicator, and sequence. The letter F marks a felony-type magistrate record, not a final finding of guilt. When that felony proceeds, a later circuit indictment and circuit case record may become the key file.
- Initial appearance
- The early magistrate event addressing identity, rights, counsel, and release or bail.
- Arraignment
- The trial-court proceeding where the accusation is formally presented and a plea is received.
- Disposition
- The result for a charge or case, such as guilty, dismissed, or not guilty.
- Bond transferred
- A docket signal that bond handling moved with the felony matter to Circuit Court.
- Preliminary hearing waived
- The person gave up that magistrate hearing; it does not state the final circuit outcome.
The West Virginia Public Defender Services source provides context for appointed counsel noted on a docket.
An entry granting a public defender concerns representation at that stage, not the disposition of the criminal charge.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A common Monongalia County felony path begins with a complaint or warrant and service in Magistrate Court. The docket may next show an initial appearance, bond, appointed counsel, and a preliminary hearing or waiver. A transferred or indicted felony continues in Circuit Court for arraignment, discovery, motions, a plea or trial, disposition, sentencing, and a possible appeal. A misdemeanor often remains in Magistrate Court through judgment.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
The path is a reading aid, not a promise that every Monongalia County criminal court case has each event. Dismissal, waiver, diversion, or another lawful outcome can change the sequence. For the broader distinction between an arrest record and a filed case, use the Monongalia County arrest lookup.
Municipal or Monongalia Court Case
A Morgantown, Westover, or Star City citation may stay in that city's municipal court, while a state-law misdemeanor belongs in Magistrate Court and a felony ultimately belongs in Circuit Court. The location of an event does not by itself select the custodian. Read the issuing agency, charging authority, citation, and court name. A city bench warrant may not appear where a reader expects to find a county warrant.
If neither county portal produces the expected Monongalia County criminal case, contact the municipal clerk shown on the citation before assuming there is no record. The city pages for Morgantown criminal records, Westover, and Star City explain their distinct local channels. This comparison prevents the common error of asking the Circuit Clerk for a municipal citation or asking a city clerk for an indictment.
Federal Cases Near Monongalia County
Federal criminal cases are separate from the West Virginia magistrate and circuit systems. Monongalia County lies in the Northern District of West Virginia, and the research identified no federal district courthouse inside the county. The nearby federal courthouse is in Clarksburg. Use PACER for federal dockets rather than MCR Search or WVPASS.
The official PACER source currently lists a $0.10 per-page charge, normally capped at $3 for a case-specific document or report, with quarterly charges of $30 or less waived. A temporary price change is announced for 2027, so confirm the current schedule before ordering. Its assigned image shows that separate federal access layer.
PACER does not turn a state case into a federal case, and the federal prison in Morgantown does not make local state charges searchable there.
Case Record Access & Restrictions
Public access has firm limits. WVPASS excludes sealed and juvenile matters. The victim-identity protection law restricts identifying information for victims of listed sexual offenses. Expunged records are removed from ordinary public judicial access and segregated, although defined criminal-justice access may remain. A missing public result can therefore reflect a lawful restriction, an older file, a different court, or incomplete search terms.
West Virginia FOIA applies to agency-held records, but it does not override court rules or specific confidentiality laws. The state's five-working-day public-record framework can govern a proper request to a public body, while exemptions under §29B-1-4 may protect private or law-enforcement material. Ask the clerk what can be inspected, what must be redacted, and whether certification is available. Do not treat MCR Search as an official background check. State repository disclosure follows the separate fingerprint and authorization rules in §15-2-24.
Note: When a Monongalia County case is absent online, verify the court and filing era before drawing any conclusion about its status.