Sussex County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Created in 1683, Sussex County is home to over 240,600 residents and is considered the second most populous county in Delaware. The county is also the state's largest, with over 900 square miles. Its county seat is Georgetown City. Sussex County is home to a Superior Court, a Court of Chancery, a Court of Common Pleas, a Family Court, Justice of the Peace Courts, and Alderman's Courts.

Located in Georgetown, the Superior Court is the highest in Sussex County, with broad authority to hear all civil and criminal matters, excluding equity cases. This court entertains felonies, drug offenses, and appeals from administrative agency decisions. The Court of Chancery specializes in equity cases and handles complex commercial disputes, probate, trust, fiduciary matters, and title-to-land disputes. The Court of Common Pleas is more focused on felony preliminary hearings and misdemeanor offenses. This court also has the authority to deal with name change petitions and civil cases involving $75,000 or less. The Family Court handles family and juvenile matters, including divorce, child custody, child neglect, and juvenile delinquency. Sussex County has six Justice of the Peace Courts, with three located in Georgetown, two in Seaford, and the last one in Rehoboth Beach. These Courts exercise jurisdiction over civil cases with a value of up to $25,000. Criminal cases heard in the Justice of the Peace Courts include misdemeanors and non-felony motor vehicle cases. Finally, the Alderman's Courts oversee minor civil and criminal cases, including traffic offenses. These courts are located in Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Laurel, and Rehoboth Beach.

Reports by the Delaware Criminal Justice Council show that Sussex County accounts for 34% of the overall statewide offenses. The county is reported to have witnessed 406 violent crimes in 2022. Each year, approximately 2,000 cases (civil and criminal) are filed in the Sussex County Superior Court. The Family Court handles 8,000 cases, the Court of Common Pleas 20,000 cases, the Justice of the Peace 20,000 cases, and the Alderman's Courts a total of 5,000 cases. In Sussex County, the Clerk of each court is responsible for maintaining court records filed in that court. Civil case records of the Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Justice of the Peace Court are now available online via CourtConnect. For records of other courts, anyone may contact the relevant court that handled the case.

In summary, Sussex County's court system consists of a Superior Court, a Court of Chancery, a Court of Common Pleas, a Family Court, Justice of the Peace Courts, and Alderman's Courts. These courts ensure transparency and public trust in the judicial process by providing public access to court records in Sussex County.