Perry County Court Docket Basics
A docket is the court's event log. In Indiana MyCase, the Perry County docket usually appears as the chronological case summary, often called the CCS. It can list filings, notices, hearings, orders, continuances, judgments, sentencing entries, financial events, and other case activity in date order. It may also show linked public documents when MyCase makes them available. A docket entry is still only a pointer to an event or document. It does not always include the full motion, exhibit, transcript, or certified order.
Perry County has a simpler local court structure than many counties. The local rules state that Perry Circuit Court is the only court of record for Perry County, Indiana. That means local civil, criminal, probate, family, traffic, infraction, and related trial-level court dockets usually route through the same court system and the same clerk's office. If a case is federal, bankruptcy, or federal appellate, it is outside the Perry Circuit Court docket and must be searched through the federal court systems.
- Chronological Case Summary
- The Indiana docket-style list of case events, filings, hearings, orders, and financial entries.
- Hearing
- A scheduled court event that may show date, time, type, and court assignment when public.
- Disposition
- The final or current result of a case or charge, such as judgment, dismissal, plea, or sentence.
Search Perry County Court Dockets Online
Indiana MyCase is the main online channel for public Perry County court dockets. The Indiana Courts MyCase landing page routes public users to case lookup, and the Perry County page on the Indiana Judicial Branch site also points case search users to MyCase. Search by case number when possible. If a case number is not known, search by party name, business name, attorney name, attorney number, citation number, or filing-date filters.
The MyCase landing page is the official source shown here. It is the front door for public Perry County court dockets before a user moves into the case-search screen.
Once a case is found, the docket or chronological case summary should be reviewed together with any linked public documents and hearing details.
- Open MyCase and choose By Case, By Party, or By Attorney based on the details available.
- Enter one case value in By Case mode, such as case number, citation number, or cross-reference number.
- For a name search, enter last name first, then add first name, middle name, date of birth, or business name only as the portal allows.
- Use court, category, case status, and file-date filters to reduce statewide results to Perry Circuit Court matters.
- Open the case result and read the chronological case summary for docket entries, hearing dates, document links, and disposition details.
Perry County Docket Entry Fields
The research file did not capture a named sample Perry County case, but it did inventory the public MyCase case-summary structure and the fields that typically appear. A Perry County court docket may be sparse in one case and detailed in another. Criminal, civil, probate, and family cases can use different event names, and confidential items may be hidden or described without public detail.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Entry date | The date the filing, hearing, order, payment, notice, or other event was entered. |
| Event type | The kind of docket action, such as hearing, motion, order, continuance, judgment, sentence, or notice. |
| Case number and caption | The court identifier and case style, including State v. defendant or civil party names when public. |
| Hearing details | Date, time, hearing type, and court assignment when the information is public. |
| Document link | A public document link when MyCase makes the order or filing available online. |
| Financial entry | Fines, fees, credits, payments, or balances, subject to clerk verification. |
| Disposition | The case or charge outcome, such as judgment, dismissal, plea, conviction, sentence, or closure. |
Perry County Courts With Dockets
Perry County's official local court sources point to one local court of record: Perry Circuit Court. The Indiana court directory lists Judge Lucy Goffinet and Magistrate Karen A. Werner for the court, with the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk keeping the official court records. The county prosecutor files felony, misdemeanor, traffic, infraction, and juvenile adjudication matters in the local court system when state-law prosecution is involved. Probate is not a separate courthouse in the research. It is handled as the Probate Division of Perry Circuit Court.
| Court or office | Docket role | Search or request channel |
|---|---|---|
| Perry Circuit Court | Only court of record for local trial-level matters. | Search public cases in MyCase, then contact court or clerk as needed. |
| Perry County Circuit Court Clerk | Keeps official court records, permanent records, court money, and certified copies. | Visit, call, mail, or fax the clerk for official records. |
| Probate Division of Perry Circuit Court | Estate, guardianship, trust, will, and related probate dockets. | Search MyCase and request official files from the clerk. |
| Federal courts | Federal civil, criminal, bankruptcy, and appellate dockets. | Use PACER and the Southern District or bankruptcy CM/ECF systems. |
Perry County Dockets vs Case Records
A docket helps track case movement. A full case record may include pleadings, motions, evidence, orders, judgments, sentencing documents, transcript-related items, and other papers held by the clerk. MyCase may link many public documents, but the help page says some documents are not online. If a public document is not linked in the chronological case summary, the user should contact the clerk in the county where the case is heard.
| Docket | Full Case Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Date-ordered event list. | Case file with pleadings, orders, judgments, and other papers. |
| Best use | Track hearings, filings, case status, and disposition. | Review exact language in filings, orders, certified copies, and final papers. |
| Access | Often visible in MyCase if public. | Some online, some through clerk request. |
| Limits | May omit confidential details or unlinked documents. | May include restricted filings that require court review or cannot be released. |
Note: A docket entry can prove that an event occurred, but the clerk's copy controls when exact order language matters.
Read Perry County Court Dockets
Start with the case caption, court, filing date, and status. Then read the chronological case summary from oldest to newest so the sequence makes sense. In a criminal docket, early entries may include charging information, probable cause, initial hearing, bond, counsel appointment, and pretrial settings. Later entries may show plea, trial setting, verdict, disposition, sentence, probation, fines, costs, and restitution. In civil and probate dockets, look for complaint or petition, service, appearances, motions, orders, judgment, accounting, distribution, or closure entries.
Docket words can be short but important. A motion is a written request for the judge to act. An order is the judge's direction or decision. A continuance is a postponed hearing or deadline. A judgment is an enforceable court decision. A disposition is the case or charge outcome. For a criminal case, a charge is not the same as a conviction. The full criminal file is covered more closely in Perry County criminal court records.
- Check whether the case status is open or closed before assuming a docket shows the final outcome.
- Read hearing entries with date, time, and hearing type together because a setting may later be continued.
- Use document links when present, but call the clerk when a public order or filing is not linked.
- Confirm financial balances with the clerk because online amounts may not show the latest payment or interest.
Federal Dockets Near Perry County
Some cases involving Perry County people or events are not Perry County court dockets. Federal civil, criminal, constitutional, diversity, and federal-question cases route to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Bankruptcy cases route to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Federal appeals go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. These dockets are searched in PACER and CM/ECF, not through the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk.
The Southern District of Indiana CM/ECF system is one federal docket channel tied to district court cases.
Use that system only for federal district matters. A Perry Circuit Court docket remains in MyCase and with the local clerk.
The Southern District of Indiana Bankruptcy CM/ECF system is separate again because bankruptcy has its own federal docket.
That split prevents a common search error: a bankruptcy docket will not appear in the Perry County MyCase docket just because the debtor lives in Perry County.
Perry County Docket Copy Requests
When the online docket is incomplete, when a document is not linked, or when an official copy is needed, contact the Perry County Circuit Court Clerk. The clerk's office is at 2219 Payne Street, Tell City, IN 47586. The phone number is 812-547-3741, and regular county hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central. Written requests should include the case number if known, party names, case type, date range, requested item, copy type, return address, and payment instructions confirmed by the clerk.
Perry County court staff can give the same procedural information to both sides, but they cannot provide legal advice, choose forms, predict outcomes, or advise what should be filed. For court-date questions that are procedural rather than copy requests, the Perry Circuit Court phone number is 812-547-7048.