Jefferson County Court Overview
Pennsylvania's Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction. The Unified Judicial System states that these courts are organized into 60 judicial districts and hear major civil and criminal cases. Jefferson County is Judicial District 54. The county-level court is not called a district court in Pennsylvania; the state-correct trial-court name is Court of Common Pleas.
The Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas page identifies Honorable John H. Foradora as the judge and lists court administration contacts. District Court Administrator Chad B. Weaver and Assistant District Court Administrator Kala Adams are listed at the courthouse phone line. Court Recorder Brittany Kelichner and Judicial Secretary Karen Long also appear in the official staff listing. These contacts support scheduling, jury, transcript, hearing, and administration questions rather than broad public-record database searches.
The official Pennsylvania judicial district page was captured for Jefferson County court research.
Judicial District 54 is the key local identifier when narrowing statewide UJS search results to Jefferson County court records.
Jefferson County Common Pleas Contacts
The Court of Common Pleas sits at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Brookville. The UJS Jefferson County court page lists courthouse hours as Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the county contact page repeats those normal business hours. Jury service has separate phone routing: jury questions go to Karen Long, while jurors checking whether they still need to attend jury selection call the attendance confirmation line after 5 p.m. on the Friday before the selected jury duty date.
| Court or office | Judge or officer | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson County Court of Common Pleas | Honorable John H. Foradora | 200 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825 | 814-849-1624 |
| District Court Administrator | Chad B. Weaver | 200 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825 | 814-849-1621 |
| Assistant District Court Administrator | Kala Adams | 200 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825 | 814-849-1621 |
| Court Recorder | Brittany Kelichner | 200 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825 | 814-849-1639 |
| Jury questions | Karen Long | 200 Main Street, Brookville, PA 15825 | 814-849-1624 |
| Jury attendance confirmation | Recorded line | Call after 5 p.m. before jury selection | 814-849-1656 |
Jefferson County Magisterial Courts
Magisterial District Courts are the lower courts for many Jefferson County matters. Traffic citations, non-traffic summary cases, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, bail decisions, landlord-tenant matters, and small civil claims often start at this level. A Common Pleas search may not be the first place to look if the case is still at the MDJ stage.
Use the municipality covered by the citation, complaint, or incident to identify the correct MDJ office. This is especially important for traffic court records and bench warrant questions because local lower-court records can remain tied to the issuing MDJ.
| District | Judge | Municipalities covered | Address | Phone / Fax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54-3-01 | Jacqueline Mizerock, Esquire | Bell, Punxsutawney, Gaskill, Ringgold, McCalmont, Timblin, Oliver, Worthville, Perry, Young, Porter | 222 N. Findley Street, Suite 110, Punxsutawney, PA 15767 | 814-938-9381 / 814-938-2289 |
| 54-3-02 | David B. Inzana, Esquire | Big Run, Brockway, Falls Creek, Henderson, Polk, Reynoldsville, Snyder, Sykesville, Washington, Winslow | 453 E. Main St., PO Box 26, Reynoldsville, PA 15851 | 814-653-9611 / 814-653-7858 |
| 54-3-03 | Gregory M. Bazylak, Esquire | Barnett, Beaver, Brookville, Clover, Corsica, Eldred, Heath, Knox, Pine Creek, Rose, Summerville, Union, Warsaw | 182 Main St., Brookville, PA 15825 | 814-849-3673 / 814-849-3690 |
The official Magisterial District Judges page was captured as a source for these lower-court divisions.
The three MDJ offices explain why a Jefferson County court record search may need both statewide UJS search fields and local court-office context.
Common Pleas vs MDJ Courts
Jefferson County does not use a county-court layer like some other states. The practical split is between the Court of Common Pleas, the Magisterial District Courts, and Orphans' Court functions within the Common Pleas system. Each level creates different records and has different public search patterns.
| Point | Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Courts | Orphans' Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | Major civil, criminal, family, and appeals from lower court | Traffic, summary, preliminary criminal, landlord-tenant, small civil | Estates, guardianships, adoptions, accounts, marriage records |
| Local office | Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts | Issuing MDJ office | Register and Recorder as Clerk of Orphans' Court |
| Online search | UJS for many criminal dockets and public calendars | UJS for MDJ docket sheets and traffic records | Limited public online detail; use office and Infocon where available |
| Common limits | Civil/family public access may be limited | Juvenile, sealed, expunged, and limited-access cases hidden | Adoptions and some guardianship details restricted |
Jefferson County Case Flow
A traffic citation or summary criminal matter usually begins before an MDJ. If a person is found guilty of a summary offense and wants to appeal, Jefferson County's Prothonotary instructions say the criminal summary appeal must be filed within 30 days from the MDJ sentencing date. The local filing cost listed in the research is $52.00 and non-refundable. After filing, the office provides a copy to mail to PennDOT so points or suspension are placed on hold until the Common Pleas hearing.
Criminal flow: arrest or citation › MDJ preliminary arraignment or summary proceeding › preliminary hearing where required › held for court if the case moves forward › Common Pleas filing › arraignment › pretrial motions › plea or trial › disposition › sentence › appeal.
Civil and family flow: complaint or petition filed with the Prothonotary › service and answer › conferences, motions, or hearings › order, decree, judgment, or settlement › post-trial or appeal activity when allowed.
Note: UJS entries can lag behind filing-office activity, so recent filings may require a direct call to the proper office.
Search Jefferson County Court Records
UJS Case Search is the main statewide public search tool. Search by docket number when known, or use participant name with Jefferson County and Judicial District 54 to narrow results. The search form also supports OTN, complaint number, citation number, incident number, organization, date filed, and court office fields. Public docket sheets can be printed without an account, while secure docket sheets require login and approved access.
For public calendar information, Jefferson County has a county Court of Common Pleas calendar page and event search. The research notes that the county calendar updates every 30 minutes and may appear blank during update windows. If that happens, the county's own instruction is to refresh again in one to two minutes.
Federal cases are separate. Jefferson County is in the Western District of Pennsylvania for federal court, where PACER and CM/ECF are used instead of UJS. The Western District homepage and PACER listing were captured for this build.
Federal references help prevent a common search error: using a county court portal for a U.S. District Court case.
Jefferson County Court Access
The courthouse has one main public entrance maintained by an armed deputy. The Sheriff page says visitors pass through a magnetometer and packages pass through an x-ray machine. This security detail matters for court appearances, paper filings, and in-person record requests because extra time may be needed before a hearing or filing deadline.
ADA accommodation requests route to Benjamin R. White, ADA Coordinator, at Jefferson Place, 155 Main Street, 2nd Floor, Brookville, PA 15825. The Jefferson County courts recommend making ADA requests as soon as possible, preferably at least three business days before the court proceeding or UJS program. Language access materials include interpreter request forms and complaint materials, with separate forms for criminal and Magisterial District Judge matters.
The official jurisdiction page for the Western District was also captured as part of court-structure research.
Jurisdiction context is useful when deciding whether a record belongs in county court, state appellate court, or federal court.
Jefferson County Specialty Programs
Jefferson County court materials link to Regional Drug Court, and the probation page lists Treatment Court as a service. The research does not show full eligibility criteria, phase length, or graduation statistics in accessible official text. It is accurate to describe these as problem-solving or treatment-linked criminal supervision programs, not as a general public docket database.
The Probation Department also lists work release, community service, bail supervision, house arrest with electronic monitoring, urine testing, DUI school, pre-sentence investigations, parole plan investigations, sex offender registration, assistance to local law enforcement, and fines and costs collections. These programs can appear in sentencing or supervision records after a Common Pleas criminal disposition.