Montgomery County Trial Courts
Indiana does not use a county-level "district court" label for Montgomery County trial courts. The Indiana Judicial Branch explains that Indiana trial courts are circuit courts, superior courts, and city or town courts where locally created. Montgomery County's local trial courts are Montgomery Circuit Court, Montgomery Superior Court I, and Montgomery Superior Court II, all housed in the courthouse at 100 E Main St. in Crawfordsville.
The Indiana courts overview places these courts within the state trial-court system, and the Indiana Judicial Branch Montgomery County page links local rules, MyCase, e-filing, statistics, and official court contact paths. Montgomery County belongs to Judicial District 11 with Fountain, Parke, Vermillion, and Warren counties.
For public users, the court name tells where the case is assigned and how to read the cause number. Montgomery Circuit Court uses the 54C prefix. Superior Court I uses 54D01. Superior Court II uses 54D02. Those prefixes are useful search clues in MyCase and in requests to the Clerk of the Circuit Court.
Montgomery Circuit and Superior Courts
The county trial-court table is the core directory for Montgomery County court records. It identifies the judge, room, phone, and the case notes documented in the research. The Clerk's Office is included because it is the records counter for filings, copies, payments, and public-record requests.
| Court or Office | Type | Address / Room | Phone | Case notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montgomery Circuit Court | Circuit Court | Room 201, 100 E Main St., Crawfordsville, IN 47933 | 765-364-6450 | Judge Darren Chadd; juvenile, civil, felony and higher criminal; 54C prefix. |
| Montgomery Superior Court I | Superior Court | Room 301, 100 E Main St., Crawfordsville, IN 47933 | 765-364-6447 | Judge Heather Barajas; 54D01 prefix; tied to Adult Drug Court. |
| Montgomery Superior Court II | Superior Court | Room 303, 100 E Main St., Crawfordsville, IN 47933 | 765-364-6455 | Judge Daniel Petrie; criminal, civil, domestic relations, probate, small claims, traffic, ordinance; 54D02 prefix. |
| Clerk of the Circuit Court | Records office | Room 102, 100 E Main St., Crawfordsville, IN 47933 | 765-364-6430 | Sondra Sixberry; record keeping, payments, marriage, divorce, copies, elections. |
The Montgomery Circuit Court page confirms the judge, room, phone, jurisdiction notes, and 54C cause-number prefix.
The Circuit Court source is important for identifying Montgomery County trial court records filed under the 54C prefix.
That prefix can help separate Circuit Court cases from Superior Court cases during a MyCase search.
Montgomery Court Structure Compared
Many states route local cases through district, county, justice, or JP courts. Montgomery County does not follow that model. For Crawfordsville and the county as a whole, current public-record routing centers on the courthouse trial courts and statewide MyCase. The research did not locate a separate Crawfordsville city court or Montgomery County town court page for current public-record routing.
| Question | Circuit Court / Superior Court | County Court | Justice / JP or City Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does it serve Montgomery County trial cases? | Yes. These are the local trial courts. | No separate Indiana county-court structure found for Crawfordsville record routing. | No separate current Crawfordsville city/town court page located in the research. |
| Where are records searched? | Indiana MyCase and Clerk of the Circuit Court. | Not a local Montgomery court search channel. | Use only if a local city/town court exists and is identified by official source. |
| Common case types | Civil, criminal, juvenile, family, probate, small claims, traffic, ordinance by local assignment. | Not applicable from researched Montgomery court structure. | Not located for current Crawfordsville public-record routing. |
| Copy source | Clerk of the Circuit Court for official county trial-court records. | Not applicable. | Not applicable from available official research. |
Montgomery Superior Court Records
Montgomery Superior Court I and Superior Court II handle a large share of local trial-court work. Superior Court I is associated with the Adult Drug Court in the state problem-solving court directory and uses cause prefix 54D01. Superior Court II handles a broader list of civil, domestic relations, tort, plenary, collection, small claims, criminal, traffic, ordinance, and probate matters, and it has a certified Veterans Treatment Court. Its prefix is 54D02.
The Montgomery Superior Court I page gives the local room, phone, judge, and 54D01 cause-prefix information.
Superior Court I records can be identified by the 54D01 prefix when searching Montgomery County court cases.
That local page also helps distinguish Superior Court I from Superior Court II in courthouse routing.
Montgomery Court Case Flow
Case flow depends on the record type, but most Montgomery County court records follow a clear path from filing or citation to docket activity and final order. MyCase can show the public chronological case summary, but certified documents and courthouse-only records must be requested from the Clerk.
Criminal flow: Incident or arrest › prosecutor charging decision › case filing › initial hearing › pretrial hearings › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing › probation or appeal.
Civil flow: complaint or petition › service › answer or response › motions and hearings › settlement, dismissal, or trial › judgment › collection, appeal, or closing.
Traffic flow: citation or UTT › MyCase entry › payment, hearing, or contest › disposition › financial summary › possible BMV driver-record effect.
Probate flow: petition or will filing › Superior Court II assignment › appointment or orders › notices, inventory, claims, accounting › final distribution or closing.
Search Montgomery Court Cases
Public Montgomery County court records are searched through Indiana MyCase. Search by case number when known. If searching by person, use last name plus first name, middle name, or date of birth, keeping in mind that date of birth may narrow results too much and does not display in case details. Citation numbers are useful for traffic cases, and attorney or court filters can help when a name is common.
MyCase may show case number, court, case type, filing date, status, parties, attorneys, chronological case summary, hearings, charges, financial summary, and some public document links. It does not show all documents. Protection-order cases are not found in MyCase, juvenile records are generally restricted, and sealed or expunged cases may be absent from public results.
Official copies, current balances, transcripts, older files, and documents with no online link should be handled through the Clerk. The Montgomery County Clerk of the Circuit Court is the record-keeping office for the local trial courts.
Note: MyCase is a public access tool, but the official record remains with the court and clerk.
Federal Court Is Separate
Federal court is not a substitute for Montgomery County Circuit Court or Superior Court. Montgomery County is in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. Federal civil cases, federal crimes, bankruptcy matters, federal-question cases, and certain federal appeals or reviews are handled in federal systems, not by the Montgomery Clerk.
The Southern District of Indiana court locations page lists the Indianapolis federal courthouse for the district.
The federal court location source helps distinguish Montgomery County trial court records from federal district records.
Use the federal courthouse and PACER for federal cases, not the county clerk counter.
The PACER CM/ECF lookup for Indiana Southern District Court identifies the federal electronic filing and docket access route for that court.
PACER is the official federal docket access system for Southern District of Indiana case records.
That federal access channel is separate from Indiana MyCase and Montgomery County clerk copy requests.
Appeals From Montgomery Courts
Appeals from Montgomery County trial-court judgments generally move into Indiana's appellate system. The Indiana Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court, and the Indiana Supreme Court has discretionary review and certain mandatory jurisdiction. The Indiana Tax Court handles tax matters. Appeal records are separate from the original trial-court file, but the trial-court docket may show notices, orders, and entries tied to the appeal.
Federal appeals follow a different route. Appeals from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. That path applies to federal cases, not ordinary Montgomery County Circuit Court or Superior Court cases.