Daviess County Trial Courts
Indiana trial courts are circuit courts, superior courts, and city or town courts where those local courts have been created. The Indiana Judicial Branch explains that trial-court names often reflect legislative history and local custom more than a simple hierarchy of power. In Daviess County, the working county trial court structure is the Daviess Circuit Court and the Daviess Superior Court. Both are located in the county courthouse, and both feed records through the County Clerk and Indiana's Odyssey/MyCase system.
Daviess County is in Judicial District 25 with Dubois, Knox, Martin, Perry, Pike, and Spencer Counties. Appeals from local trial courts generally go to the Court of Appeals of Indiana, with the Indiana Supreme Court as the highest state court. Federal cases are separate and route to the Southern District of Indiana, usually through the Evansville federal courthouse for this region.
The county's County Courts page tells users to contact the Clerk or the court directly for case questions and document copies.
Daviess County Court List
Daviess County has two primary county trial courts in the official local structure. The Clerk maintains the filed case records, while the court pages identify the judges, phone numbers, hours, and case-role notes. The Superior Court page states that it handles all criminal offenses and some prior small claims and civil litigation. The Circuit Court page provides the circuit court judge and contact route and gives the same no ex parte communication warning as the Superior Court page.
| Court | Judge or Officer | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daviess Circuit Court | Hon. Gregory Smith; Tonya R. Hosford, Referee in state directory | 200 E. Walnut Street, Washington, IN 47501 | 812-254-8670 |
| Daviess Superior Court | Hon. Daniel S. Murrie | 200 E. Walnut Street, Washington, IN 47501 | 812-254-8671 |
| Daviess County Clerk | Lauren Milton, Clerk | 200 E. Walnut Street, Washington, IN 47501; P.O. Box 739 mailing | 812-254-8664 local; 812-254-8669 state directory |
| Prosecutor's Office | Abby Brown, County Prosecutor | 200 E. Walnut Street, Washington, IN 47501 | 812-254-8673 |
The courthouse also houses the Clerk of the Courts, Prosecutor, Probation, and Child Support offices. Non-court county offices are often at the Government Center, but court users should not assume that a record request belongs there. Daviess County court records, certified copies, case questions, and most court-payment issues center on the courthouse and the Clerk.
The Daviess Circuit Court page publishes the circuit judge, phone, address, hours, and ex parte warning.
The Daviess Superior Court page identifies the court's criminal-case role and court contact details.
Daviess County Court Types
Daviess County should not be described with Texas-style county courts or justice courts. The official Indiana court directory reviewed for this project did not show a separate Daviess County city court. The practical comparison for a Daviess County record search is between the circuit/superior trial courts, any city or town courts that may exist elsewhere in Indiana, and the statewide appellate courts that review trial-court decisions.
| Topic | Daviess Circuit / Superior | City or Town Court | Indiana Appellate Courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Daviess role | Main county trial courts for civil, criminal, traffic, family, estate, guardianship, and juvenile case records. | No separate Daviess city court was located in the official directory reviewed. | Review trial-court decisions rather than start ordinary county cases. |
| Record holder | Daviess County Clerk and the court maintaining the case. | Would be the local city or town court if established. | Court of Appeals of Indiana or Indiana Supreme Court records. |
| Public search | MyCase for public, non-confidential Daviess case information and some documents. | Depends on the local court and state systems. | Indiana appellate portals and official appellate records. |
| Official copies | County Clerk or court directly. | Local court directly. | Appellate clerk or court system, depending on record. |
This comparison also explains why a broad web search for a Daviess County district court can mislead users. The state-correct terminology is Circuit Court and Superior Court. Public records should use that terminology when filtering MyCase or calling a local office.
Daviess County Case Flow
A Daviess County case record begins when a filing or charging document is accepted into the court system and assigned a cause number. The Clerk keeps the file, the assigned court manages hearings and orders, and MyCase displays public case information when the case is not confidential, sealed, or expunged. The public docket may show the case type, filing date, parties, attorneys, chronological case summary entries, hearing events, financial entries, and public documents where available.
Criminal flow: Arrest or charge review › filed information or complaint › initial hearing or arraignment › pretrial events › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing › appeal if filed.
Civil flow: complaint or petition filed › summons/service › answer or response › motions and hearings › judgment or order › post-judgment activity › appeal if filed.
The jail Court Times page lists initial arraignment hearings on Mondays at 10 a.m. and Thursdays at 8:30 a.m., subject to holidays and weather. That schedule is useful for recent bookings, but a specific case date should still be verified through MyCase, the Clerk, or the court because dockets change.
Daviess County Court Records
The Daviess Clerk page lists the county-level case types that the Clerk keeps: civil, criminal, traffic tickets, estates, guardianships, and juveniles. Family-related records such as divorce, custody, child support, paternity, and protective orders may appear in MyCase when public, but certified divorce decrees and marriage certificates are requested from the county clerk where the event or case occurred. Probate and guardianship matters are handled through the trial court system and Clerk rather than through a separate probate court page.
Public access is not the same for every division. Indiana Access to Court Records Rule 4 states that court records are generally accessible unless excluded. Rule 5 excludes certain cases and record categories. Rule 6 governs the process for excluding otherwise public records, and Rule 9 deals with access to records that are excluded. Juvenile, adoption, protected-person, sealed, expunged, mental-health, medical, financial-account, and minor-related details may be restricted or redacted.
The Indiana Access to Court Records rules index is the statewide source for court-record access rules.
Daviess Judicial District 25
The Indiana Judicial Branch Daviess County page places Daviess in Judicial District 25 and links MyCase, e-filing, local rules, the district governance plan, and court statistics. It also notes that attorneys are required to e-file in Daviess County and that others are encouraged to e-file. E-filing is a filing method, not a public certified-copy system. Public case search still runs through MyCase, and official copies still come from the court maintaining the record.
Local rules and statewide e-filing matter most to attorneys, parties, and self-represented filers. A public user who only needs to look up a case can use MyCase without filing anything. A party who needs to file a pleading, answer, motion, or response should confirm the current e-filing route and local rule requirements before submitting documents.
The Indiana Judicial Branch statewide e-filing page explains the e-filing system used in Daviess County.
Daviess County Court Conduct
The Circuit Court and Superior Court pages both warn against ex parte communication. Ex parte means communication with the judge outside the presence or hearing of the other parties. The local pages cite Code of Judicial Conduct Rule 2.9 and explain that judges are generally prohibited from considering those communications, except for limited scheduling or administrative circumstances. Written communications may be shared with all parties.
For records access, that rule means case questions should go to the Clerk, the court office, an attorney, or the proper filing process, not to a private message to the judge. Questions about jury duty, an upcoming court date, or a document copy should be directed to the local court or Clerk. Questions about legal strategy, eligibility, expungement, or what to file should be handled through counsel or official self-help resources rather than court staff advice.
The public access framework is current and local enough for Daviess users: search MyCase for non-confidential case data, call the Clerk or court for official copies, use e-filing only when filing a document, and remember that appeals move out of the county trial court record into the Court of Appeals of Indiana or, in limited matters, the Indiana Supreme Court.
Indiana Access to Court Records Rule 4 states the general public-access rule for court records.
