Montgomery County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Montgomery County is the most populous county in Maryland. It was created on September 6, 1776, and named for Richard Montgomery, a Revolutionary War general born in Ireland. Most Montgomery County residents live in Germantown, which is its largest community, Silver Spring, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, and Rockville, its county seat. It has a population of 1,062,061 and its population keeps growing since 2010. The myriad of cases resolved in Montgomery County are executed by the Circuit Courts, District Courts, and Orphans' Court.

Most cases start in the circuit courts and they are courts where jury trials are held. The Circuit Courts handle domestic violence, juvenile, more serious crimes, and child support cases. Cases from District Courts and the Orphans' Court are appealed to the Circuit Courts. The District Courts are non-jury trial courts and hear traffic violation cases, replevin actions, landlord/tenant cases, and domestic violence/peace orders, and they have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts over criminal cases such as misdemeanors and certain felonies. The Orphans' Court is also known as probate court in Montgomery County, it resolves matters regarding the validity of wills and proper transfer of properties that are involved in legal dispute and questioning, that is the administration of a deceased's estate who died with a will or without a will. It also exercises jurisdiction over the guardianship of a minor's asset. In Montgomery County, the circuit judges also serve as the judges in the Orphan's Court.

During the 2023 fiscal year, over 24,000 cases were filed, and over 23,000 cases were disposed of. From FY19-FY2023, the number of cases filed was highest in 2019 (17,106), followed by 2023. The cases filed in FY2020-FY2022 were between the range of 12,000 and 14,000, this shows that the crime rate was on the high side after 2019, while the number of cases disposed of was the highest in 2019 (16,820). A digital recording system known as CourtSmart is used to electronically record court proceedings and these records are stored on-site or in secure archives. The Clerk of the Circuit Court makes proper legible entries of court records, files them, and provides official court records. The clerk's office delivers copies of court records upon request and also replaces worn-out records with new ones. The public can search for court records on the Maryland Judiciary Case Search website. Guardianship, juvenile, adoption, and child abuse or neglect case records created or maintained by an agency that is required by statute to be kept are confidential court records.

The District Courts, Circuit Courts, and the Orphans' Court have and maintain sheer responsibility in dispensing free and efficient justice by implementing the use of advanced technology in their day-to-day activities. They bring about innovative solutions to the requests of the public in resolving legal matters. Through the enhancement of technological tools, Montgomery County can decrease wait time for court record requests and increase access to virtual hearings for trials or scheduled cases.