The Erie County Court of Common Pleas
Pennsylvania runs a unified court system, and the Court of Common Pleas is the county-level trial court of general jurisdiction. Erie County is the Sixth Judicial District. Its Court of Common Pleas hears felony and misdemeanor criminal cases, major civil actions, family matters, and Orphans' Court estate and guardianship cases. The county describes the modern trial court as a nine-judge bench. Court Administration runs the daily operations of the court.
This is the court people mean when they search for "Erie County court." It is not a "district court" in the trial sense; Pennsylvania uses the Court of Common Pleas as its main trial court and reserves "district" for the lower magisterial courts and for the separate federal system. Getting the name right matters, because a search for the wrong court name leads to the wrong records.
The court's jurisdiction is broad. The same bench that hears a felony trial also handles civil suits, divorce and custody cases, and Orphans' Court estate matters, divided among administrative judges. Because the jurisdiction is general, almost any major Erie County case ends up here at some point, whether it starts in a magisterial court and is held for court or is filed directly with the Prothonotary. That central role is why the Court of Common Pleas is the anchor of the county's records system.
Court of Common Pleas Judges
The Erie County Courts homepage lists the current trial judges. President Judge John J. Mead leads the bench, with administrative judges over the trial and family divisions. The judges listed by the county are below.
- President Judge John J. Mead.
- Judge David G. Ridge, Administrative Judge for the Trial Court, Criminal and Civil.
- Judge Erin C. Connelly Marucci, Administrative Judge for Family and Orphans' Court.
- Judges John J. Trucilla, Joseph M. Walsh III, and Marshall J. Piccinini.
- Judges Peter J. Sala and Emily M. Merski.
The District Attorney, Elizabeth Hirz, prosecutes criminal cases before this court, while the Public Defender represents qualified defendants. The Clerk of Courts and the Prothonotary keep the criminal and civil records, respectively.
Erie County Magisterial District Courts
Magisterial district judges, or MDJs, run Pennsylvania's lower courts. In Erie County they handle traffic citations, non-traffic summary cases, landlord-tenant matters, smaller civil claims, and the preliminary steps of criminal cases. The county publishes every MDJ office with its district number, judge, service area, address, and phone. The full list is below.
| District | Judge | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 06-1-01 | Christine S. Rush | 824 East Sixth Street, Erie, PA 16507 | 814-451-6524 |
| 06-1-02 | Edward M. Wilson | 1021 Parade Street, Erie, PA 16503 | 814-451-6530 |
| 06-1-03 | Alison Scarpitti | 809 West 12th Street, Erie, PA 16501 | 814-451-6528 |
| 06-1-04 | Paul Bizzarro | 861 1/2 East 38th Street, Erie, PA 16504 | 814-451-6522 |
| 06-1-05 | Timothy S. Beveridge | 1571 West 38th Street, Erie, PA 16508 | 814-451-6520 |
| 06-2-02 | Laurie A. Mikielski | 3608 West 26th Street, Erie, PA 16506 | 814-451-6518 |
| 06-2-04 | Denise M. Buell | 732 Worth Street, Corry, PA 16407 | 814-665-7285 |
| 06-3-01 | Lisa R. Ferrick | 4230 Iroquois Ave., Erie, PA 16511 | 814-451-6516 |
| 06-3-02 | Scott B. Hammer | 10300 West Main Road, North East, PA 16428 | 814-725-9693 |
| 06-3-03 | Susan Strohmeyer | 9333 Tate Road, Suite 109, Erie, PA 16509 | 814-451-6511 |
| 06-3-05 | Brian McGowan | 1230 West Townhall Road, Suite 300, Erie, PA 16509 | 814-451-6532 |
| 06-3-06 | Denise Stuck-Lewis | 8952 Main Street, McKean, PA 16426 | 814-476-7734 |
| 06-3-08 | Jeffrey Gadley | 6880 Route 215, East Springfield, PA 16411 | 814-922-7117 |
The district number on a docket points to the right office, so matching it to this list gives you the judge, address, and phone.
Court of Common Pleas vs Magisterial District Court
The trial levels do different work, and the federal court is separate again. The comparison below shows how the three relate for an Erie County resident.
| Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Court | Federal District Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | County trial court | Local lower court | U.S. Western District |
| Case types | Felony, major civil, family, probate | Traffic, summary, small civil | Federal crimes and civil cases |
| Records held by | Clerk of Courts and Prothonotary | The local MDJ office | PACER and the clerk of court |
| Appeals to | Superior Court | Court of Common Pleas | Third Circuit Court of Appeals |
For the records each court holds, see Erie County court records and court dockets.
How a Case Moves Through the System
Most criminal cases start at the magisterial level and move up if they are serious enough. Civil cases follow their own track depending on the amount and type. The flow lines below show the common paths in Erie County.
Criminal flow: Complaint and Arrest › Magisterial District Court (arraignment, bail, preliminary hearing) › Held for Court › Court of Common Pleas › Sentencing › Superior Court appeal
Civil flow: Filing with the Prothonotary or a magisterial claim › Answer › Hearing or Trial › Judgment › Appeal
Traffic and small civil matters often stay at the magisterial level unless appealed, while felonies and major civil cases live in Common Pleas. Estate and guardianship matters route to the Orphans' Court division.
Specialty Courts in Erie County
Erie County runs problem-solving courts within the Court of Common Pleas. Treatment Court works to keep people out of jail through drug, alcohol, or mental health treatment, paired with court supervision, random testing, and regular review. The county describes it as a structured program, not an easy way out, with sanctions for noncompliance.
The county's Treatment Court page explains the program structure.
You can review the Erie County Treatment Court page for how the program works.
The county also runs a Veterans Treatment Court for justice-involved veterans, which pairs court supervision with treatment and mentoring.
The Veterans Treatment Court page covers that specialty program.
A Family Dependency Treatment Court serves dependency cases where substance use affects safe parenting.
The Family Dependency Treatment Court page describes that program.
These programs sit inside the trial court, so their records remain part of the Common Pleas system.
Finding Your Magisterial District
Erie County's magisterial districts follow city wards, Millcreek voting districts, boroughs, and townships. That means the right office depends on where the matter arose, from East Springfield and McKean to Corry, North East, Harborcreek, and the Erie city wards. To find the office for a specific case, search the statewide portal by citation, docket number, or name, then read the office number on the docket.
Once you have the office number, such as 06-1-02 or 06-3-08, match it to the table above for the judge, address, and phone. The county also offers a magisterial district map for residents who know their municipality or ward but not the office number.
The geography is granular on purpose. City wards split among several Erie offices, Millcreek Township is divided across more than one district by voting precinct, and rural townships and boroughs each map to a specific judge. A case in Corry, North East, Waterford, or McKean will route to a different office than one in downtown Erie. Checking the docket office number against the list is the surest way to reach the right counter for a hearing, a payment, or a record request.
Appeals and the Appellate Courts
Appeals from the Erie County Court of Common Pleas generally go to the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the statewide intermediate court for most criminal and civil appeals. Some government and agency matters go to the Commonwealth Court instead. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania is the court of last resort and takes select cases.
Summary appeals from magisterial decisions, including traffic, are filed with the Clerk of Courts, while direct appeals move from Common Pleas to the Superior Court. For those fees and the filing process, see the Erie County Clerk of Courts.
Federal Court in Erie
Federal cases are separate from the county system. Erie County sits in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, which keeps an Erie courthouse at 17 South Park Row, across from Perry Square. The Erie Division serves Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, McKean, Venango, and Warren counties.
The federal district court covers the western part of the state.
You can review the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for federal case information.
The court's location page shows the Erie federal courthouse and its hours.
The federal court locations page lists the Erie courthouse and directions.
Federal appeals go to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, not the state courts.
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals hears appeals from the Western District.
Federal dockets are searched through PACER, not the state portal, so use the federal tools for any federal case.