Rock County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Rock County is named for the Rock River which bisects the county north to south and has its county seat in Janesville. It has a population of over 163,817 residents. Rock County was created as a territorial county on December 7, 1836 from Milwaukee County and organized on February 19, 1839. The Circuit Court and Municipal Courts possess versatile legal skills and are preoccupied with solving a series of legal disputes. These two courts are the pillars of the court system in Rock County and deliver justice with speed.

There is only one Circuit Court in Rock County. This Circuit Court is in Janesville. This court is the only trial court in the county with original jurisdiction over most civil and criminal cases. It also decides cases that are heard in the lower courts (Municipal Courts). It also has a drug, family, operating while intoxicated, and veterans court, and these are treatment courts for offenders. The Municipal Courts handle less serious crimes in Rock county such as property maintenance violations, ordinance violations, retail thefts, trespasses, underage alcohol violations, petty crimes, and handle issues resulting in disorderly behaviors. The Municipal Courts are:

• City of Beloit Municipal Court (Beloit)
• City of Edgerton Municipal Court - in Edgerton serves the city of Edgerton, towns of Albion and Futon
• City of Evansville Municipal Court - in Evansville serves Evansville city and town of Fulton
• City of Milton Municipal Court - in Milton
• Town of Milton Municipal Court - in Milton
• Town of Turtle Municipal Court - in Beloit
• Village of Orford Municipal Court - in Orford and
• Village of Clinton Municipal Court - in Orford

In Wisconsin's system Circuit Court caseload statistics report in 2023, Rock County, had 40,458 cases, and the number of cases were from complaint, begin pending, opened, reopened, transferred in, and re-activated cases. Total disposed cases were 27,706. The Clerk of the Circuit Court is entitled to keep and maintain court proceedings in a way that it is easy to retrieve court records. Circuit Court records are accessible on the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access (WCCA)/Wisconsin Court System website or at various Municipal Courts representing Rock County. Per Wisconsin statute, certain court records are confidential such as mental health commitment, guardianship, adoption, bankruptcy (Federal Court), and juvenile (except for those filed in the Circuit Court) court records are not passed down to the public because they are strictly confidential and the court's private affairs.

The Rock County court system is enthusiastic about protecting individual rights, privileges and liberties. It aims to maintain the rule of law, and to provide a forum for the resolution of disputes that is fair, accessible, independent and effective. Some of the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court include helping both young and old to fit into the society again by rolling out several programs which seek to correct offenders. The Municipal Courts on the other hand handle small crimes at local level making sure that law and order are enforced at the grass root. Rock County's centralized system makes the process of viewing court records less complex.