The Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas
Pennsylvania runs a single statewide court system, and each judicial district has a Court of Common Pleas. Dauphin County is the 12th Judicial District. The court is a general-jurisdiction trial court, which means it can hear nearly any kind of case. It handles criminal and civil jury trials, juvenile hearings, support and custody, divorce, adoption, estate matters, guardianship, land-use disputes, name changes, license-suspension appeals, and emergency injunctions.
The court sits in the Dauphin County Courthouse at the corner of Front and Market Streets in Harrisburg. Its stated mission is to assure equal access, fair treatment, and the efficient resolution of disputes. Civil records here are kept by the Prothonotary, and criminal records by the Clerk of Courts.
The court also runs several specialty programs for eligible people, including ARD diversion, RALLY Recovery Court, Veterans Court, Mental Health Court, and Team MISA. These problem-solving courts trade jail time for treatment and supervision, and they publish their own yearly calendars. The Orphans' Court division of the same court handles estates, guardianships, and adoptions through the Register of Wills.
Court of Common Pleas Judges
The 12th Judicial District has a bench of Common Pleas judges led by a president judge. Each judge sits in a numbered courtroom in the courthouse and has a direct phone line. The table lists the judges and their courtrooms from the county directory.
| Judge | Phone | Courtroom |
|---|---|---|
| President Judge Scott Arthur Evans | (717) 780-6665 | Courtroom #1, Fifth Floor |
| Judge Deborah E. Curcillo | (717) 780-6720 | Courtroom #3, Third Floor |
| Judge Andrew H. Dowling | (717) 780-6650 | Courtroom #5, Third Floor |
| Judge William T. Tully | (717) 780-6546 | Courtroom #8, Fifth Floor |
| Judge Edward Marsico, Jr. | (717) 780-6602 | Courtroom #4, Third Floor |
| Judge John Joseph McNally | (717) 780-6420 | Courtroom #6, Fifth Floor |
| Judge Royce L. Morris | See judge directory | Dauphin County Courthouse |
The Court of Common Pleas judges page carries the full directory and any updates to courtroom assignments.
Magisterial District Courts in Dauphin County
Below the Court of Common Pleas, the Magisterial District Courts handle the first steps of most cases. They take traffic and non-traffic citations, minor criminal charges, landlord-tenant disputes, and small civil claims up to $12,000. They also set bail, issue warrants, and hold preliminary hearings. The 12th Judicial District runs fifteen of these courts plus Night Court and Central Court, with a $7.3 million budget, ninety employees, and about 100,000 cases a year. Night Court and Central Court at the Judicial Center on Mall Road handle arraignments and after-hours matters for the whole county.
| District | Judge / Office | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12-1-01 | Hon. Marian Urrutia | 2125 Paxton Church Road, Harrisburg | (717) 545-4143 |
| 12-1-02 | Hon. J. Matthew Pianka | 2967A North 7th Street, Harrisburg | (717) 238-3388 |
| 12-1-04 | Hon. Mikaela Sloan | 1520 Walnut Street, Harrisburg | (717) 233-1220 |
| 12-1-05 | Hon. Hanif L. Johnson | 538 South 29th Street, Harrisburg | (717) 231-3500 |
| 12-1-06 | Hon. Wendy J. F. Grella | 5925 Locust Lane, Harrisburg | (717) 671-8640 |
| 12-2-01 | Magisterial District Court 12201 | 1201 S. 28th St., Harrisburg | (717) 558-1160 |
| 12-2-02 | Hon. Kenneth A. Lenker | 102 Agnes Street, Harrisburg | (717) 939-6996 |
| 12-2-03 | Hon. David H. Judy | 50 Canal Street, Royalton | (717) 944-4463 |
| 12-2-04 | Magisterial District 12-2-04 | 1805 North Cameron St., Harrisburg | (717) 233-3599 |
| 12-2-05 | Hon. Paul T. Zozos | 1300 Rolleston Street, Harrisburg | (717) 234-0949 |
| 12-3-01 | Hon. Rebecca J. Margerum | 185 Manors Road, Elizabethville | (717) 362-3396 |
| 12-3-03 | Magisterial District Court | 5925 Stevenson Avenue, Harrisburg | (717) 545-0261 |
| 12-3-04 | Hon. Dominic A. Pelino | 576 East Main Street, Hummelstown | (717) 583-1912 |
| 12-3-05 | Hon. Dale Klein | 8010 Bretz Drive, Harrisburg | (717) 671-8720 |
| 12-0-00 | Night Court | 451 Mall Road, Harrisburg | (717) 547-4010 |
| 12-0-01 | Central Court | 451 Mall Road, Harrisburg | (717) 780-6824 |
The Magisterial District Judge directory lists each office with its full contact and email.
How a Case Moves Through the System
Cases climb a clear ladder in Pennsylvania. Most start in a Magisterial District Court, move up to the Court of Common Pleas for trial, and can then be appealed to the state appellate courts. The flow below shows the path.
Case flow: Magisterial District Court › Court of Common Pleas › Superior Court or Commonwealth Court › Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
A criminal case shows this clearly. The magisterial court holds the preliminary hearing and decides whether the charge is strong enough to proceed. If it is, the case is bound over to Common Pleas, where the Clerk of Courts opens the trial file. Civil cases above the small-claims limit start in Common Pleas through the Prothonotary.
Knowing the ladder helps you find a record. If a case is still at the magisterial stage, search the MJ-12 docket. Once it moves up, look for the CP-22 Common Pleas docket. A single matter can show on both levels, with the magisterial docket linking to the Common Pleas case it became. That link lets you follow a case from its first hearing to its final judgment.
Common Pleas vs Magisterial District Court
The two trial levels do very different work. The Court of Common Pleas is the general-jurisdiction court for major matters. The Magisterial District Court is the minor court that handles first steps and small cases. The comparison sorts them out.
| Feature | Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Court |
|---|---|---|
| Role | General-jurisdiction trial court | Minor court, first step |
| Civil limit | No dollar cap | Up to $12,000 |
| Criminal | Felony and misdemeanor trials | Summary cases, preliminary hearings |
| Records held by | Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts | Searched through the UJS portal |
The Appellate Path From Dauphin County
When a Court of Common Pleas case is appealed, it leaves the county for a state appellate court. Most criminal and civil appeals go to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania. Cases against state or local government go to the Commonwealth Court. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort and reviews select matters.
The Clerk of Courts and the Prothonotary prepare the record for these appeals. For how the criminal appeal process works, see the Clerk of Courts page.
The two intermediate courts split the work by subject. The Superior Court takes most everyday criminal and civil appeals. The Commonwealth Court handles cases that involve government, agencies, and certain public matters. Appellate dockets use their own format and are searchable through the statewide portal, so you can track a Dauphin County appeal even after it leaves the county.
Federal Courts Serving Dauphin County
Some cases from Dauphin County are federal, not county, matters. Harrisburg is a major location in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Federal cases are separate from the Court of Common Pleas and are searched in the federal system, not the county portal. Because Harrisburg is the state capital, federal offices and the federal courthouse sit close to the county courthouse downtown.
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania hears federal trials for the region. Most federal document access runs through a national system.
PACER provides federal case and document access, with an account required for most records. The court's own filing system handles case events.
The Middle District CM/ECF system is the electronic case filing platform for the federal trial court. Bankruptcy has its own court.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania handles federal bankruptcy cases. Federal appeals go higher still.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reviews federal appeals from the Middle District, the federal counterpart to the state appellate path.
Courthouse Location and Hours
The Court of Common Pleas sits in the Dauphin County Courthouse in downtown Harrisburg. The same building holds the Prothonotary, the Clerk of Courts, the Register of Wills, the Sheriff, and the Law Library. Use the contact card below for the main address and hours.
Dauphin County Courthouse
101 Market Street
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 780-6665
Open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mon-Fri
Searching Court of Common Pleas Records
To find a Common Pleas case, match the tool to the record type. Criminal and magisterial dockets show in the statewide UJS portal. Civil cases since November 2001 show in the county civil case search run by the Prothonotary. Both are free, and you search by name or docket number.
For step-by-step search help, see the court records and court dockets pages, which cover the portals and the docket fields in detail.