Vanderburgh County Trial Courts
The Indiana court structure has appellate courts and trial courts. State appellate courts include the Supreme Court of Indiana, the Court of Appeals of Indiana, and the Indiana Tax Court. Trial courts include circuit courts, superior courts, and local city or town courts. The Indiana Judicial Branch explains that the different trial-court names often reflect local history more than a clean statewide split in jurisdiction. Vanderburgh County uses both Vanderburgh Circuit Court and Vanderburgh Superior Court.
The Superior Court page says the court was established by the General Assembly in 1877 and is a court of general jurisdiction. It has seven elected judges and five magistrates appointed by those judges. The same research notes more than 70 court employees, including court reporters, riding bailiffs, bailiffs, probation officers, and court administrators. The Circuit Court page names Judge Ryan D. Hatfield as elected in 2024 for a term beginning in 2025, with magistrates Celia M. Pauli, Ryan C. Reed, and Joshua G. Orem.
Most courthouse work is centered in the Civic Center court area in downtown Evansville. The practical trial-court address is 825 Sycamore Street, Evansville, IN 47708, with some court and Clerk functions also using the City-County Administration Building at 1 NW Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Clerk of the Courts maintains records and copy channels for the trial court system.
Vanderburgh County Court List
The local court table is judge, room, and division based rather than numbered in the style used by some states. The following table uses the researched court and office list, including judge rooms and phones where the county published them. Room and calendar details should be checked against the hearing notice or court office before arrival.
| Court / Office | Type | Address / Room | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderburgh Circuit Court | General trial court | 825 Sycamore St., Civic Center Courts Building | 812-435-5192 |
| Vanderburgh Superior Court | General jurisdiction | Civic Center Complex / Courts Building | See judge rooms |
| Judge Robert J. Pigman | Superior Court | Room 216 | 812-435-5410 |
| Judge Mary Margaret Lloyd | Superior Court | Room 120 | 812-435-5966 |
| Judge Wayne S. Trockman | Superior Court | Room 122 | 812-435-5870 |
| Judge Thomas A. Massey | Superior Court | Room 116 | 812-435-5114 |
| Judge Leslie C. Shively | Superior Court | Room 225 | 812-435-5401 |
| Judge Jillian N. Kratochvil | Superior Court | Room 118 | 812-435-5202 |
| Judge Gary J. Schutte | Superior Court | Room 129 | 812-435-5126 |
| Small Claims Court Office | Small claims | Room 220, courtroom 223 | 812-435-5142; filing 812-435-5678 |
| Juvenile Division | Juvenile | 1 NW MLK Jr. Blvd., Room 129 | 812-435-5126 |
| Family Court | Domestic relations and juvenile paternity | Civic Center court system | Clerk 812-435-5160; reporter 812-435-5729 |
| Traffic / Misdemeanor | Traffic violations and misdemeanor matters | Room S231 / S241 depending on issue | 812-435-5160 |
Trial Courts and Lower Courts
Vanderburgh County does not use a separate county court label in the same way some states do. The State Court Structure Map identifies Circuit Court, Superior Court, City Court, Town Court, Small Claims Division, and Traffic Violations Bureau as the useful local distinctions. The table frames where a reader is most likely to search or ask questions.
| Feature | Circuit Court / Superior Court | Small Claims / Traffic | City or Town Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | Primary Vanderburgh trial court system for civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, and related matters. | Specialized local paths for small claims, traffic payments, misdemeanor traffic, and Traffic Violations Bureau issues. | Local ordinance, traffic, or town/city matters where a local court has jurisdiction. |
| Records | Public case information generally searched through MyCase when not confidential. | Payment and docket details may use MyCase, ePay, or Clerk counters depending on the matter. | May appear in statewide systems if the court uses them, otherwise contact the issuing court. |
| Copies | Official court copies route through the Clerk or maintaining court. | Traffic and small claims questions often begin with the Clerk or the published room/contact. | Use the notice, ticket, or local court contact for copies and disposition proof. |
| Appeal Path | Generally to the Court of Appeals of Indiana, with possible transfer review by the Supreme Court of Indiana. | Depends on the case type and judgment route. | Local rules can vary, so use the judgment notice or Clerk/court guidance. |
Vanderburgh Case Movement
Case movement depends on the case type. A civil case begins with a complaint or petition, then moves through service, response, motions, hearings, settlement activity, trial if needed, judgment, and appeal. A criminal case moves from arrest, citation, or prosecutor filing into initial hearing or arraignment, pretrial settings, plea or trial, disposition, sentencing, and possible appeal. Family and probate matters use petitions, notices, hearings, orders, and later compliance or accounting entries.
Criminal flow: Arrest or charge filing › Initial hearing › Arraignment › Pretrial settings › Plea or trial › Disposition › Sentencing › Appeal.
Civil flow: Complaint or petition › Service › Answer › Motions or discovery › Hearing or trial › Judgment › Collection or appeal.
Probate flow: Petition › Appointment order › Notices and inventory › Claims or accountings › Final report › Closing order.
For public research, the chronological case summary in MyCase is the main event list. For certified orders, filings, and older records, use the Vanderburgh County Clerk of the Courts.
Vanderburgh Trial Court Divisions
The county research identifies several functional areas inside the trial court system. Civil records include civil plenary, collections, torts, mortgage foreclosures, foreign judgments, name changes, proceedings supplemental, evictions, and small claims. Criminal records include felony and misdemeanor cases filed by the prosecutor. Family records include divorce, legal separation, custody, support, paternity, parenting time, and domestic relations. Probate records include estates, guardianships, trusts, and related filings.
Small Claims has a dedicated office on the second floor of the County Courts Building, Room 220, with courtroom 223 nearby. The Family Court contact path sends initiating domestic relations and juvenile paternity questions to the Clerk and existing domestic relations or juvenile paternity questions to the Family Court court reporter. The Juvenile Division uses Room 129, phone 812-435-5126, fax 812-435-5043, and weekday hours listed in the research file. Juvenile access is narrower than adult court access under Indiana law.
Traffic and misdemeanor matters have their own practical route. Traffic payments are handled through the Misdemeanor Clerk's Office cashier window in Room S241, and the Misdemeanor and Traffic page says a person with a warrant from that court can appear in Room S231 with the case number and be added to the next available court session.
Federal Court Is Separate
Vanderburgh County is also home to federal court activity, but federal records are not Vanderburgh County trial court records. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana has an Evansville federal courthouse at the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, 101 Northwest Martin Luther King Boulevard, Evansville, IN 47708. Federal civil and criminal records are searched through PACER and CM/ECF, not MyCase or the county Clerk.
The Southern District of Indiana handles federal crimes, civil rights actions, diversity cases, federal-agency litigation, habeas and prisoner cases, and other federal-question matters. Bankruptcy records are handled by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana, not by the Vanderburgh County Clerk. That distinction matters when a case caption says United States, a federal agency, or U.S. District Court rather than State of Indiana or Vanderburgh County.
Note: A downtown Evansville federal courthouse address does not mean the record is held by the county courts.
Vanderburgh Courthouse Access
Primary local court work occurs in the Civic Center Complex in downtown Evansville, about seven blocks north of the Ohio River. The research file identifies the Civic Center Courts Building at 825 Sycamore Street as the practical courthouse address for trial-court courtrooms, with judicial offices and courtrooms also tied to the Administration Building. For navigation, the closest named streets are Sycamore Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Vine Street, and NW 9th Street.
Visitors should confirm whether a hearing, payment, filing, or records request belongs in the Courts Building or the City-County Administration Building before arrival. The official research did not provide a complete parking-fee schedule, so public parking and street parking should be checked locally. Court users who need interpreter help, hearing assistance, or ADA accommodation should contact the specific court or Clerk office before the court date.
Vanderburgh Court Sources
The Indiana Judicial Branch court structure page explains the appellate and trial court levels used to classify Vanderburgh County Circuit Court and Superior Court.
That statewide structure is the reason this local page treats Circuit Court and Superior Court together as the county's primary trial courts.
The Vanderburgh Superior Court page documents the court's establishment, judges, magistrates, and staff.
Those details support the local court table and explain why Superior Court carries a large share of general jurisdiction work.
The Vanderburgh Circuit Court page supplies the Circuit Court judge and magistrate information used in the trial court overview.
Circuit Court remains part of the same local court access path for case research, hearings, and Clerk copy requests.
The Southern District of Indiana homepage and the Evansville federal courthouse page show the separate federal court system in Evansville.
Federal filings are searched through federal systems, not through the Vanderburgh County Clerk or MyCase.
The Evansville federal courthouse source identifies the Winfield K. Denton Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse used for Southern District proceedings.
The federal courthouse is useful local context, but it is not the filing location for Vanderburgh County trial court records.