Philadelphia County Superior Court Case Search

In Philadelphia County, superior court records are official compilations of case events and judicial actions that occurred in the court. The records may include case files, docket sheets, opinions, judicial decisions on orders, and orders.

That said, the superior court maintains copies of these records and may disclose them upon request from the public. Note that the court has the right to prevent public access or searches to the following records:

• Government identification numbers, including social security, driver's license, financial account, and state identification numbers.
• Court documents that are sealed due to judicial or statutory reasons.
• Medical or psychological records
• Agreements between the parties as stated in 23 Pa.C.S. § 3105.

What kinds of cases have been heard in the Philadelphia Superior Court?

As the intermediate appellate court, the Philadelphia County Superior Court typically handles appeals concerning criminal and civil case judgments from the Court of Common Pleas. In addition, the court has jurisdiction over the following cases:

• Court cases involving minors and families, such as child custody and adoption.
• Class action suits, multi-county litigation, and tort claims.
• Cases involving mandamus and prohibitions of lower courts.

Philadelphia County Superior Court

The Philadelphia County Superior Court is an intermediate-level appellate court in Pennsylvania. It receives appeals concerning civil and criminal cases from the Court of Common Pleas. The court’s jurisdiction also covers family law cases and mandamus or prohibitions of lower courts. However, it does not handle appeals from state administrative agencies.

The superior court is considered the most important appellate judicial system since it resolves cases that concern public interests or family issues. For instance, it enables local residents to solve class action suits, business disputes, and family cases, including adoption, child custody, and spousal support. Local residents may use this court to get justice if they feel it was denied at the trial courts. With that being said, interested public members can find the Philadelphia Superior Court at:

Philadelphia Office
530 Walnut Street
Suite 315
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (215) 560-5800

Philadelphia County Case Lookup

Public members can look up Philadelphia County court cases through options maintained by the county courts. The options may include the following:

Online searches and requests through online platforms

The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania maintains a central database for all court cases tried in Philadelphia County. To search court case records on the platform, interested parties must select any of the following search options:

• Appellate search
• Court docket search
• Incident number search
• Participant name search
• Attorney name search
• Citation number search
• State Identification Number Search
• Parcel search.

Next, users must provide the relevant information for the selected search option. You can fine-tune the search results by adding the filing date or case status.

In contrast, inquirers can look up an online database of opinions from courts in the appellate judicial system. To search court opinions, inquirers must select the court and publication type.

Walk-in requests to access court records in Philadelphia County

Interested public members can access court records by walking into the courthouse that handled the case. To get the records, public members must provide a valid ID and information about the requested document. Note that the court only attends to in-person requests during business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Furthermore, the court charges up to $0.25 per page of photocopied court documents.

Note: There is no information about the availability of self-service terminals at the courthouses.

Mail-in requests for Philadelphia County court records

Interested parties may access court records by sending a mail request to the court that handled the case. For instance, you can send requests for superior court records to the superior court at:

Philadelphia Office
530 Walnut Street
Suite 315
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (215) 560-5800

The record must include the following documents:

• A completed request form for a court record in English or Spanish.
• A valid identification document (if requesting for confidential information)
• The required copy fees for the requested document. The courts may charge up to $0.25 per photocopy of a court document.

Upon receiving the request, the court will send an estimate of the required fees. Applicants may pay the required fees through acceptable payment options.

If unsure of the court in charge of the record, you may send a request to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts at:

Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts
Information Technology—Public Access Unit
P.O. Box 62307
Harrisburg, PA 17106-2307
Phone: (717) 795-2000
Fax: (717) 795-2002
E-Mail: ediin@pacourts.us

The request must include a public access recurring or non-recurring request form. Upon receiving the request, the agency will forward your requests to the appropriate court for processing.

Philadelphia Superior Court Case Search by Name

In Philadelphia County, interested parties can conduct name-based searches for superior court case records through online and offline options. For online name searches, inquirers must follow these steps:

1. Visit the UJS online case database.
2. Select "participant name" in the drop-down menu.
3. Type the case party’s full name into the allocated boxes.
4. Click "search" to bring up case files that involve the case party.

Note: Name-based searches are not accurate means of finding court documents. Such searches may bring up information about case parties with similar names. To narrow down search results, inquirers must include additional details like the filing date, birthdate, and case status.

Philadelphia Superior Court Docket Search

Court dockets contain information on case proceedings and related events that transpired in the court. Such records outline the case timeline, filed motions, court rulings, and upcoming hearings. To search Philadelphia County Superior Court dockets, inquirers must input the docket number in the state’s UJS case database. An alternative option is to make a request in person at the courthouse.

In Philadelphia County, court docket searches are important for the following reasons:

• It enables the public to stay informed about upcoming court events.
• It helps inquirers to track case progress.
• It ensures transparency in case proceedings.

Lookup Philadelphia County Superior Court Online

The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System provides online access to Philadelphia County superior court records and a separate database for superior court opinions on precedential or non-precedential issues.

Additionally, members of the public may be able to obtain online superior court records through third-party online platforms like Pennsylvaniacourtrecords.us. These sites are typically easy to use and do not restrict non-resident users from accessing them. In addition, some of these sites allow direct downloads of court documents. Nevertheless, they are mostly unregulated and may not contain accurate information on court events.

Supreme Court vs. Superior Court

Philadelphia County’s supreme and superior courts are both part of the appellate judicial system. However, they differ in terms of function, structure, and jurisdiction. In terms of structure, the Supreme Court has the highest appellate authority in Pennsylvania. This means the court’s rulings and decisions can overrule those of the lower courts. In contrast, the Superior Court serves as an intermediate appellate court whose duty is to oversee appeals concerning cases tried at the Court of Common Pleas.

Per Title 42 of PA Consolidated Statutes, the Supreme Court has original jurisdiction over the following cases:

• Habeas Corpus
• Prohibition or mandamus to lower courts.
• Quo warranto levied against officers that have a statewide jurisdiction.

In contrast, the superior court only has original jurisdiction in cases of mandamus and prohibition to lower courts. The court also has exclusive jurisdiction over appeals concerning judgments from the Court of Common Pleas.