Make Notes On Legal Pennsylvania Court Forms For Free

If you would like to request paper case records maintained by a magisterial district court office, please contact the appropriate magisterial district court office directly. If your request is complex, you may be asked by the magisterial district court to fill out a request form.

The judiciary's entry-level courts are located in more than 500 magisterial districts and in municipal courts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The next level, the state's trial courts or Courts of Common Pleas, are in judicial districts which mostly follow county boundaries.

In Pennsylvania, there are three federal district courts, state supreme court, a superior court, a commonwealth court, and trial courts with both general and limited jurisdiction. These courts serve different purposes, which are outlined in the sections below.

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the highest court in the Commonwealth and the oldest appellate court in the nation.

The Superior Court and Commonwealth Court act as intermediate appellate courts, with the Superior Court having jurisdiction over most civil and criminal matters, while the Commonwealth Court hears matters involving government regulations. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is the highest court in the state.

The Courts of Common Pleas are the general trial courts of Pennsylvania. They are organized into 60 judicial districts. Most districts follow the geographic boundaries of counties, but seven of the districts are comprised of two counties.