Warren County Trial Court
The Court of Common Pleas is Pennsylvania's primary trial court. The Unified Judicial System describes common pleas courts as general trial courts organized into 60 judicial districts. Warren County is part of the 37th Judicial District with Forest County, and each county keeps a separate courthouse and filing system. The common pleas judges maintain offices in Warren County and travel to Forest County as needed.
The 37th Judicial District court site says the district was formed in 1874 from Warren, Forest, and Elk Counties. Elk County separated in 1883, leaving Warren and Forest in the district. The court departments and directions page gives local department locations, courthouse directions, and satellite office information.
The department listing is important because Warren County court work is split among courthouse offices, the Hickory Street Annex, and Magisterial District Court offices.
Warren County Court Offices
The common pleas court sits at the Warren County Courthouse in the City of Warren. Judges' Chambers and Court Administration are on the second floor. The Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts is on the first floor for civil and criminal common pleas filings. Adult Probation, Juvenile Probation, and the Family Hearing Office also operate from courthouse locations listed in the local research.
| Office / Court | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court Administration | Common Pleas administration | 204 Fourth Avenue, second floor, Warren, PA 16365 | 814-728-3530 |
| Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts | Civil and criminal common pleas filings | 204 Fourth Avenue, first floor, Warren, PA 16365 | 814-728-3440 |
| Family Hearing Office | Family hearing matters | 204 Fourth Avenue, first floor, Warren, PA 16365 | 814-728-3488 |
| Adult Probation | Post-sentence supervision | 204 Fourth Avenue, basement, Warren, PA 16365 | 814-728-3520 |
| Juvenile Probation | Juvenile supervision | 204 Fourth Avenue, third floor, Warren, PA 16365 | 814-728-3500 |
Common Pleas and MDJ Courts
Warren County does not use a Texas-style county court or justice court model. The correct Pennsylvania comparison is Court of Common Pleas versus Magisterial District Court. Common pleas handles general trial matters, while MDJ courts handle preliminary criminal matters, traffic and summary cases, landlord-tenant actions, and smaller civil disputes. The two levels connect when a case is appealed, bound over, scheduled for Central Court, or moved into common pleas for further proceedings.
| Feature | Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Court |
|---|---|---|
| Role | General trial court for Warren County common pleas matters | Lower court for traffic, summary, preliminary criminal, landlord-tenant, and smaller civil cases |
| Common Records | Civil filings, criminal informations, divorce, family, orders, sentencing, summary appeals | Citations, summary offenses, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, landlord-tenant filings |
| Primary Clerk | Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts | Issuing Magisterial District Judge office |
| Online Dockets | UJS public docket sheets where public | UJS MDJ docket sheets and calendars where public |
Warren County Case Flow
Case movement depends on the case type. A civil common pleas case is filed with the Prothonotary, answered or otherwise responded to, scheduled through the court, resolved by order or judgment, and may be appealed. A criminal case may begin with arrest or complaint activity, pass through MDJ preliminary stages, and then continue in common pleas through information, arraignment, pretrial events, plea or trial, disposition, sentence, and appeal.
Criminal flow: Complaint or arrest › MDJ preliminary stage › Central Court preliminary hearing › common pleas information › arraignment › pretrial › plea or trial › sentencing › appeal.
Civil flow: Complaint or petition filed › service › answer or response › motions or conferences › hearing or trial › order or judgment › appeal.
Note: Court Administration can answer scheduling and operations questions, but it cannot provide legal advice.
Warren County Court Divisions
Common pleas work in Warren County includes civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probation, and Orphans' Court related work. Civil filings and divorce records are handled by the Prothonotary. Criminal common pleas filings are handled by the Clerk of Courts. Orphans' Court filings, wills, estates, guardianships, and marriage licensing are handled by the Register of Wills, Recorder of Deeds, and Clerk of Orphans' Court.
The local court calendar uses terms that help explain docket entries. Warren County calendar materials list treatment court, PFA, juvenile permanency, juvenile delinquency, arraignment, change of plea, Gagnon II, sentence court, ARD/DUI, civil argument, criminal argument, support court, settlement conference, and account confirmation events. These are not all separate courts, but they may appear as hearing types or scheduling categories in a common pleas docket.
- Civil division records include complaints, judgments, motions, orders, and eminent-domain or right-of-way matters.
- Criminal division records include informations, pleas, orders, sentence events, probation entries, costs, and restitution.
- Family records include divorce and related domestic filings, with confidential material handled under court policy.
- Orphans' Court records include estates, accounts, guardianships, and petitions handled by the secondary clerk office.
37th Judicial District
Warren County shares the 37th Judicial District with Forest County. Research identifies Hon. Maureen A. Skerda as President Judge and Hon. Gregory J. Hammond as Judge in 2024 court calendar materials. Jessica A. Arnold is listed as Court Administrator, with Tyra Olson and Gabrielle Carlson as deputy court administrators in calendar materials. Each county keeps its own courthouse and filing system, which is why a Warren County case should be routed through the Warren County courthouse or Warren County MDJ office even though the judicial district also includes Forest County.
The main courthouse is at 204 Fourth Avenue, Warren, Pennsylvania 16365. The UJS county profile lists phone 814-728-3530 and hours Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The courthouse is at Fourth Avenue and Market Street in Warren, with parking lots from Fourth Avenue and Fifth Avenue according to local court directions.
Warren County Courthouse
204 Fourth Avenue
Warren, PA 16365
814-728-3530
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Warren County MDJ Offices
Magisterial District Courts are the lower courts that handle much of the day-to-day public case volume. Warren County has three MDJ offices. The local MDJ page lists each district, office, judge or vacancy status, coverage area, address, phone, fax, and hours. It also explains that payments can be made by cash, check, or money order, and that all Warren County MDJ offices have after-hours drop boxes.
The Magisterial District Judge office listing is the local source for Warren County MDJ court locations and payment instructions.
MDJ office selection matters because traffic citations, summary cases, landlord-tenant records, and preliminary criminal matters are tied to the court where the case originated.
| District | Judge / Status | Area Served | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37-2-01 | Hon. Raymond F. Zydonik | City of Warren; Sheffield and Cherry Grove Townships | 333 Hickory Street, Warren, PA 16365-2230 | 814-723-2260 |
| 37-3-01 | Hon. Laura S. Bauer | Clarendon and Sugar Grove Boroughs; Conewango, Elk, Farmington, Glade, Mead, Pine Grove, Sugar Grove Townships | 4234 Market Street, North Warren, PA 16365-5200 | 814-723-6750 |
| 37-4-01 | Vacant on current MDJ page | Bear Lake, Tidioute, Youngsville, and western/southern township coverage | 37 Railroad Street, Youngsville, PA 16371-1430 | 814-563-4682 |
Central Court Hearings
Warren County uses a Central Court rule for criminal preliminary hearings. The local MDJ page says the President Judge directed all criminal preliminary hearings to be held in Central Court. Regardless of the originating district court, those hearings are disposed of in the Forest County or Warren County Courthouse, and Warren County's three district judges hear cases on a rotating basis.
This affects how a docket looks. A case may start with a complaint in one MDJ district, show a preliminary hearing under Central Court, and then move to common pleas if the charges are held for court. The common pleas docket becomes the place to follow later criminal case events, while the MDJ docket remains useful for the early stage.