Union County Court Case Lookup

Criminal Court Cases in Union County

Union County criminal court cases move through two main court levels. A Magisterial District Judge handles a preliminary arraignment, bail, the preliminary hearing, summary offenses, and traffic or nontraffic matters. A felony or misdemeanor that proceeds is filed in the Union County Court of Common Pleas. Union and Snyder Counties form Pennsylvania's 17th Judicial District. The Common Pleas docket then records the formal information, arraignment, motions, plea or trial, disposition, and sentence.

The Union County Clerk of Courts is the custodian of the Common Pleas criminal file. Its first-floor counter is at 103 South Second Street, Lewisburg, PA 17837. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the office number is (570) 524-8751. Pennsylvania boroughs do not create separate municipal criminal courts, so a search for a Lewisburg, Mifflinburg, or New Berlin case must use the proper Magisterial District Court or Common Pleas channel.

The county's official court page shows how the local bench fits within that shared judicial district. The image below comes from the Union County Court of Common Pleas source page.

That court-level view helps a reader choose the trial-court path instead of treating every docket as a lower-court record.

Union County Criminal Court Levels

The filing level matters. MDJ 17-03-01 serves Lewisburg, East Buffalo, Kelly, and Union townships from 103 South Second Street in Lewisburg. MDJ 17-03-02 serves Mifflinburg, New Berlin, and listed western and northern areas from 343 Chestnut Street, Suite 2, Mifflinburg. Paper requests go to the issuing office. Serious charges that pass the preliminary stage continue to Common Pleas, while summary and other minor matters may remain on the MDJ docket.

Do not assume that the nearest office made the record. Use the incident location, docket prefix, or UJS court label to identify the correct court. The county maintains a current contact directory for both districts. Its structure is visible on the Union County Magisterial District Court page, which is the source for the following image.

The district listings provide the practical bridge between a UJS search result and the office that can address a paper-record request.

Union County Case Record Searches

The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania Web Portal is the free online starting point. It covers appellate courts, Courts of Common Pleas, and Magisterial District Courts. A name search works when the docket number is unknown. A docket or police incident and complaint number can be more exact. Select Union County and the right court level before judging the results.

1. Open UJS Case Search and choose Court of Common Pleas or Magisterial District Court.
2. Select Participant Name, Docket Number, Police Incident or Complaint Number, or Organization as the search route.
3. Choose Union County and add a filing-date range or case status when those filters help narrow a common name.
4. Open a possible match and compare the docket, court, filing date, charge rows, event history, and status.
5. Download the public docket sheet when offered, then ask the Clerk or issuing MDJ for a needed non-online or certified item.

The official search screen groups these choices by court and search type. The next image is drawn from the UJS Case Search interface.

Those controls make a targeted Union County court case lookup possible without relying on a broad web search or private aggregator.

Missing Union County Docket Results

A missing result does not prove there was no case. First check the spelling, county, court type, and filing range. A recent complaint may not yet appear at the expected level. A matter can begin before an MDJ and later reach Common Pleas, leaving records at both stages. Older files, migrated data, sealed material, or a limited-access order can also change what the public portal returns.

For a recent lower-court matter, call the issuing MDJ and give the name, approximate filing date, and any incident or docket number. For an older Common Pleas file, unavailable pleading, or certified record, contact the Union County Clerk of Courts. Ask for a specific existing document. Court staff can explain access and copy methods, but they cannot give legal advice. Fees for paper and certified copies should be confirmed before ordering because the research did not establish a current applicable amount.

Note: The UJS docket is court information, not a Pennsylvania State Police criminal-history background check.

What a Criminal Case File Contains

A Union County criminal case file follows one prosecution, not a person's full history. Its docket sheet can identify the court, case status, filing and initiation dates, counsel, bail, events, hearings, and charge-level results. Common Pleas files may also include the complaint, formal information, motions, plea papers, orders, verdict, and sentence material. Public online access does not mean every pleading or exhibit can be downloaded.

Protected identifiers and sealed information are omitted or redacted. Financial entries also need care. Bail, fines, costs, and restitution have different meanings and should not be combined into one amount owed.

Reading Union County Case Dispositions

Read each charge row. A case caption may show what was filed, but the disposition column shows how a count ended. One count can be withdrawn or dismissed while another ends in a guilty plea or verdict. A conviction is guilt established by plea or verdict. An acquittal is a not-guilty verdict. A dismissal is a court termination of the charge, while nolle prosequi means the prosecutor ended that charge without trial.

Status and bail answer different questions. An active status means the case has not reached a final end in the displayed court. Disposed means the court recorded outcomes, yet an appeal or later order may follow. Bail concerns pretrial release and appearance. It is not a disposition. When the public sheet is unclear, note the exact docket number and charge sequence before asking the Clerk for the related order.

Information

The prosecutor's formal charging document in Common Pleas.

Arraignment

The stage when charges are formally presented and a plea process begins.

Disposition

The result recorded for one charge.

Nolle prosequi

A prosecutor's decision to end a charge without trial.

Sentence

The court-ordered consequence after a conviction.

Criminal Case Stages in Union County

A Union County criminal case may start with a complaint and arrest or summons. An MDJ addresses preliminary arraignment and bail, then holds a preliminary hearing when required. A case that proceeds to Common Pleas receives a formal information and arraignment. Pretrial motions and conferences follow. The matter may end by plea, trial, or dismissal, and a conviction can lead to sentencing and later post-sentence or appeal activity.

Case flow: Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing

The docket records event dates, not the full testimony or proof behind each event. Timing depends on custody and procedure. If the arrest itself is the issue, the official agency and jail channels described in the Union County arrest search address records that the court file does not hold.

Union County Treatment Court Cases

The 17th Judicial District Drug and DUI Treatment Court adds a distinct local path for admitted participants. Its four phases combine treatment, testing, probation contact, court status hearings, curfews, community service, and growing independence. Successful completion can take about 14 months. Admission is not automatic, and no public docket should be read as a promise that a person qualifies.

The program's rules matter because its events and consequences can surface in a case file. A missed status hearing or other violation may lead to sanctions, suspension, a jail detainer, a revocation petition, or a Gagnon hearing. The county's 17th Judicial District Treatment Court page provides the official local material and is the source for the image below.

This program view shows why some Union County dockets include supervision and review events beyond a simple plea-and-sentence path.

Access Rules for Case Records

Pennsylvania court records follow the UJS Public Access Policy and judicial access rules. They are not handled as ordinary executive-agency requests under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law. Public docket sheets are broad, but juvenile material, sealed files, limited-access cases, victim information, medical details, minor names, Social Security numbers, and other protected identifiers can be absent or redacted.

Clean Slate limited access may block a qualifying case from ordinary public view without destroying every authorized record. Expungement is a different remedy that removes or destroys qualifying material under Pennsylvania law. If a known Union County case does not appear, the sound response is to verify the court level and ask the custodian about access. Do not try to bypass a restriction through another portal.

Union County Certified Case Copies

A portal docket may be enough to understand the public timeline. It is not always the right record for an official filing, an older paper matter, or a certified copy. Contact the Union County Clerk of Courts for Common Pleas documents. Provide the docket number, the title or date of the exact item, and the form of copy needed. Ask about the current fee, payment method, and delivery options before sending funds.

For an MDJ case, contact the issuing district office instead. UJS notes that a complex paper-record request may require its request form. Court staff can locate and copy existing public records, but they cannot interpret a sentence, recommend a filing, or advise how to appeal.