Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas
The Court of Common Pleas is the primary Lackawanna County trial court. It is not a federal court and it is not the Magisterial District Court system. Pennsylvania's Common Pleas courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction, and Lackawanna County is the 45th Judicial District. Local official material describes this court as hearing criminal, civil, family, juvenile, and Orphans' Court matters. The county history page states that the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas was first established in 1878 and consists of nine judges, one of whom serves as President Judge.
The county Court of Common Pleas page identifies the case categories, specialty court programs, judges, and related court contacts. The Pennsylvania UJS Lackawanna County court page gives the courthouse address, phone, and weekday hours. Court records tied to this court are generally searched through UJS Case Search, Lackawanna Public Access Inquiries, or the correct Clerk of Judicial Records division.
The Pennsylvania UJS page is a statewide reference for the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas.
That source confirms the county court's place in the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System.
Lackawanna County Court Locations
Court functions in Lackawanna County are spread across several downtown Scranton locations and one criminal-justice facility. Civil and criminal Common Pleas cases use the historic Lackawanna County Courthouse at 200 North Washington Avenue. The Government Center at 123 Wyoming Avenue houses the Court Administrator's Office, Family Court Center, Civil Division of the Clerk of Judicial Records, Register of Wills, Clerk of Orphans' Court, and county Right-to-Know officer. Central Court and preliminary criminal processing are at the Criminal Justice Center at 1360 Wyoming Avenue.
| Facility | Primary court role | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lackawanna County Courthouse | Civil and criminal Court of Common Pleas, Public Defender | 200 North Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503 | 570-963-6773 |
| Lackawanna County Government Center | Court Administration, Family Court, Civil Clerk, Register of Wills, Orphans' Court | 123 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503 | 570-963-6723 civil clerk |
| Criminal Justice Center | Central Court and countywide preliminary hearings | 1360 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509 | 570-963-6436 |
| Brixx Building | Treatment Court office | 130 North Washington Avenue, 2nd Floor, Scranton, PA 18503 | 570-496-1736 |
The Court Administrator page is the best local source for office hours, motion-court timing, ADA materials, and courthouse function notes.
Those details are practical because the court campus has several offices within a few blocks.
Lackawanna Court Jurisdiction
The Court of Common Pleas hears serious criminal prosecutions, civil actions involving money or property, malpractice matters, injunctions, family cases, juvenile matters, adoption, termination of parental rights, Orphans' Court matters, estates, guardianships, and appeals from lower courts. The county page also lists adult drug court, juvenile drug court, DUI court, and Family Drug Court as specialty court programs. These specialty programs may affect docket events, probation, treatment orders, or compliance hearings, but eligibility and treatment records are not open just because a docket exists.
Magisterial District Courts sit below Common Pleas and handle traffic and non-traffic summary matters, landlord-tenant disputes, civil claims below $12,000, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, bail, search warrants, arrest warrants, oaths, acknowledgments, and emergency protection relief. Central Court standardizes many countywide preliminary-hearing matters and uses an on-call district judge rotation for 24-hour coverage.
| Case type | Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Courts / Central Court |
|---|---|---|
| Civil | Major civil cases, equity, liens, judgments, appeals from district judges | Civil claims under $12,000 and landlord-tenant matters |
| Criminal | Felony and misdemeanor cases after bind-over or filing, pleas, trials, sentencing | Preliminary arraignment, bail, preliminary hearing, warrants, summary offenses |
| Family and juvenile | Divorce, custody, PFA, child support, dependency, truancy, juvenile matters | Emergency PFA relief and limited preliminary functions |
| Traffic | Summary appeals and some related criminal matters | Traffic citations, non-traffic summary cases, PAePay-eligible obligations |
Lackawanna Magisterial District Courts
Lackawanna County has ten Magisterial District Judges plus Central Court. The county's district court page states that each district judge is elected for a six-year term and that the courts use Pennsylvania's automated District Judge System. These courts matter for Court of Common Pleas records because many criminal cases begin with a complaint, bail setting, preliminary arraignment, and preliminary hearing before a case is held for Common Pleas.
| Court | Coverage / office | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45-0-00 Central Court | Central Court | 1360 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, PA 18509 | 570-963-6436 |
| 45-1-01 | Old Forge, Taylor, Moosic | 1 Maxson Drive, Old Forge, PA 18518 | 570-457-3320 |
| 45-1-02 | Scranton wards 9, 10, 16, 17 | 130 N. Washington Ave., Scranton, PA 18503 | 570-963-6518 |
| 45-1-03 | Scranton wards 11, 12, 19, 20, 24 | 1629 Pittston Avenue, Scranton, PA 18505 | 570-963-6516 |
| 45-1-05 | Scranton wards 4, 5, 6, 14, 15, 18, 21, 22 | 1600 Farr Street, Scranton, PA 18504 | 570-963-6503 |
| 45-1-06 | Scranton wards 1, 2, 3, 7, 13, 23 and Dunmore | 2012 West Pine Street, Dunmore, PA 18512 | 570-963-6521 |
| 45-1-08 | Dickson City, Olyphant, Throop | 901 Enterprise St., 2nd Floor, Dickson City, PA 18519 | 570-383-0421 |
| 45-3-01 | Dalton, Clarks Summit, Clarks Green, La Plume, Abingtons, Glenburn, Waverly, Newton, Ransom | 104 Shady Lane Rd, PO Box 427, Chinchilla, PA 18410 | 570-587-1909 |
| 45-3-02 | Moscow, Jefferson, Roaring Brook, Elmhurst, Madison, Spring Brook, Covington, Clifton, Thornhurst | 113 N Main St, Moscow, PA 18444 | 570-842-2111 |
| 45-3-03 | Carbondale, Vandling, Fell, Carbondale Twp., Scott, Benton | 38 N Main St, Carbondale, PA 18407 | 570-282-3181 |
| 45-3-04 | Archbald, Jermyn, Mayfield, Blakely, Jessup | 400 Church Street, 2nd Floor, Archbald, PA 18403 | 570-876-0570 |
Note: The district court listed on a citation, complaint, or docket controls the next hearing or payment question.
Lackawanna County Case Flow
Criminal cases often start in a Magisterial District Court or Central Court. A complaint is filed, the defendant may have a preliminary arraignment, bail can be set, and a preliminary hearing decides whether the case moves forward to the Court of Common Pleas. If held for court, the District Attorney files the formal charging document in Common Pleas, and the Clerk of Judicial Records maintains the criminal case file.
Criminal flow: Complaint or arrest › preliminary arraignment › bail › preliminary hearing › information filed › formal arraignment › motions › plea or trial › disposition › sentence › appeal.
Civil cases may begin directly in Common Pleas or arrive as appeals from a Magisterial District Court. Family matters route through the Family Court Division at the Government Center. Probate and guardianship matters are under Orphans' Court and the Register of Wills / Clerk of Orphans' Court office.
Lackawanna Court Motions and Administration
The Court Administrator's Office supervises and supports several court operations, including Magisterial District Judges, Central Court, Adult Probation, Juvenile Probation, Domestic Relations, court reporters, law library, and interpreter services. Posted hours for the Court Administrator are 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Civil motion court is listed for 9:00 a.m. on weekdays in the main courthouse, while family motion court is at the Family Court Center at 123 Wyoming Avenue at 9:00 a.m.
Discovery motion court is listed for Monday and Thursday at 9:30 a.m., and Court en Banc is listed for the last Friday of each month in courtroom 3 at 9:00 a.m. Orphans' Court motions are sent to orphanmotion@lackawannacounty.org on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. The county warns that motion court closes when the last attorney or self-represented litigant is heard, so late arrival can matter.
Lackawanna Specialty Courts
Lackawanna County uses specialty court programs for certain qualifying cases. Treatment Court is described by the county as a judicially supervised rehabilitative program for non-violent offenders with substance-use issues and related criminal activity. The Treatment Court office is in the Brixx Building at 130 N. Washington Avenue, 2nd Floor, Scranton, with coordinator Mariliz Loftus and phone 570-496-1736.
The county also identifies DUI Court, Mental Health Court, Veterans Court, Gagnon Court, juvenile drug court, and Family Drug Court through court and Adult Probation materials. These programs can produce docket entries or compliance events in criminal or family records, but treatment eligibility and clinical details are not ordinary public record content.
The county's Treatment Court material gives local program context and staff contacts.
The 25-year milestone source also notes more than 1,000 Treatment Court graduates.
Lackawanna Court History
The Lackawanna County courthouse is one of the most useful local anchors for older court records. The official history describes the courthouse as an 1884 Romanesque Revival building enlarged in 1896 with a third story and reconstructed roof. It has rough-cut coursed local stone, tile shingles, Onondaga limestone trim, a raised basement, hipped roof, and a five-story clock tower. Those history details are more than local color. They explain why courthouse offices remain tied to long-running records that predate modern online portals.
The Clerk of Judicial Records has maintained custody of Court of Common Pleas documents since 1878. The Register of Wills also has records dating as far back as 1878, while marriage-license records date to October 1885. Older files, genealogy searches, and certified copies may require direct office contact even when a docket or index appears online.
Common Pleas vs Federal Court
The Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas is separate from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The federal courthouse in Scranton is the William J. Nealon Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse at 235 North Washington Avenue. Federal criminal prosecutions, federal-question civil cases, diversity civil cases, prisoner cases, habeas matters, and bankruptcy records use federal systems such as CM/ECF and PACER.
The federal court's public homepage is not the source for county Common Pleas filings, but it is relevant when a case number, party, or charge belongs to federal court.
Checking the court level first prevents mixing county trial court files with federal docket records.