How to Search Criminal Dockets
Begin with the court level, not the name alone. The West Virginia court-record access hub connects the public to both state systems. WVPASS carries Circuit Court case information plus available documents. MCRSearch covers Magistrate Court cases. Expect overlap, too: a felony complaint, warrant, bond, or preliminary examination may begin in Magistrate Court before the case moves to Circuit Court.
Before searching, gather the full name, the case number if you have it, and the likely court. Keep every letter, digit, and mark of a case identifier intact. Then take a narrow path:
- Open MCRSearch for a misdemeanor or early felony matter, or WVPASS for a Circuit felony record.
- Enter a first name, last name, or case number in MCRSearch. For WVPASS, use party name, case number, and other available filters.
- Match the court and case identifier before reading charges or events. A shared name alone is not enough.
- Trace the newest settings, plea or trial event, disposition, sentence, and any appeal entry.
- Ask the proper Taylor County clerk for a missing filing, order, or certified copy.
Know the limits of each system. MCRSearch caps results at 30. It also puts a Terms and CAPTCHA gate in front of the search. It returns case information only, not an online document file. WVPASS offers non-certified public Circuit documents from July 1, 1999 forward, subject to access limits.
Taylor County Criminal Docket Portals
The portal split follows the path of a Taylor County criminal case. That also explains why one search can look thin. MCRSearch holds Magistrate Court information; WVPASS holds the Circuit Court record. Do not confuse either one with CourtPLUS E-File. That one serves registered filers and court users rather than the general public.
| Channel | Criminal record | Key limit |
|---|---|---|
| WVPASS | Public Circuit felony dockets and available documents | Documents are non-certified and cost $0.25 per page to view or download |
| MCRSearch | Magistrate misdemeanors, traffic, and preliminary felony information | No documents online; results stop at 30 |
| Circuit Clerk | Circuit filings, missing images, and certified records | A focused request needs the court and case number |
| Magistrate Clerk | Magistrate pleadings, orders, and copies | Call or visit for the actual documents |
When a portal comes up empty, write the identifier off a citation, bond paper, or notice. Then call the right clerk, stop at the counter, or ask whether a narrow written request can go by mail or fax. Taylor County posts no special online criminal-record request form and publishes no public-terminal schedule.
What a Criminal Docket Shows
Think of a criminal docket as a clock, not a story. Entries run in time order. They may name the case, the charge, the participants, filed papers, hearings, motions, bond activity, and final orders. Nothing there decides guilt. Taylor County publishes no docket-code list. So check an odd short label against the linked document or ask the clerk. Never borrow abbreviations from another county.
| Case Number | The court identifier, including its year and type characters; keep the exact format shown. |
|---|---|
| Charge | The offense description, cited law, and classification when the public record displays them. |
| Hearing Settings | Arraignment, preliminary examination, pretrial, plea, trial, sentencing, or review events. |
| Bond | Release terms, amount, change, forfeiture, or related court action when entered. |
| Plea and Disposition | The recorded plea and outcome, which must be read with the judgment or final order. |
| Related Case | A possible link between magistrate and circuit matters; the live Taylor display must be confirmed. |
A label of pending or active proves nothing about guilt. A closed label stays silent too, hiding whether the charge ended in conviction, acquittal, dismissal, deferral, or transfer. The last signed order tells you.
Taylor County Felony Docket Path
One felony can span two Taylor County courts. Magistrate Court handles the complaint, warrant, bail, initial appearance, and preliminary examination. Circuit Court is the general-jurisdiction court of record. It takes the felony after indictment or another authorized charging step. When the court or case number is unclear, search both levels.
Taylor County felony flow: Magistrate complaint › warrant or initial appearance › bond › preliminary examination › Circuit Court indictment or information › arraignment › pretrial proceedings.
A transfer can spawn a new case number. If the systems show a related case, record both identifiers. The Taylor County Circuit Clerk can sort out the Circuit file, and the Taylor County Magistrate Court Clerk can find the earlier Magistrate papers. That habit keeps you from mistaking the first record you find for the whole history.
Stages on a Criminal Docket
The docket sequence opens with a filed charge. Still, the first visible event depends on the court and the charging instrument. Arraignment comes next in many cases. That is when the charge is read and a plea is addressed. Pretrial entries may cover motions, discovery disputes, counsel, bond review, and settings. A plea hearing or trial can then produce a disposition. Sentencing may follow at once or on a later date.
Docket flow: Filing › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing.
Later entries still matter. An appeal, a correction, a probation review, or a post-judgment motion can arrive after the first final order. When a case moved up from Magistrate Court, compare the Circuit docket with the earlier MCRSearch information. Do not assume the two records clash.
Note: A docket date can mark a filing or entry. The signed order controls what the judge actually ruled.
Reading Taylor County Criminal Outcomes
MCRSearch may display a disposition. Its own disclaimer warns the information may not be accurate or complete. Treat that label as an index fact. The order or certified judgment is the sound source for the legal result. Payment data tells you even less. Paying an amount does not by itself show whether a charge was reduced, dismissed, deferred, or adjudicated.
- Disposition
- The recorded outcome of a charge or case.
- Acquittal
- A not-guilty outcome after the court process; it is not the same as dismissal.
- Dismissal
- An order ending a charge without necessarily deciding guilt at trial.
- Deferred
- A result held under stated conditions and a specific legal process.
- Continuance
- An existing hearing moved to a later date.
The live Taylor County systems may use other words. The county publishes no official code sheet. Quote the exact label when you ask a clerk what it means.
Which Court Holds Criminal Dockets
Three courts divide the criminal work in Taylor County. Magistrate Court takes misdemeanors, traffic cases, warrants, bond matters, and the early stages of felonies. Circuit Court holds felony cases of record plus Circuit criminal appeals. Grafton Municipal Court handles ordinance violations under local control. A municipal charge stays out of the state criminal docket, even if city police wrote the ticket.
For clerk contact, the Circuit Clerk sits at 214 W. Main St., Room 104, Grafton, WV 26354. The phone there is 304-265-2480. The Magistrate Court Clerk works from the Courthouse Annex at 214 W. Main St., Grafton. That number is 304-265-5762. For current details, the official Taylor County court directory is the place to check.
Taylor County Criminal Record Offices
Circuit Clerk: Room 104, 214 W. Main St., Grafton, WV 26354
304-265-2480
Magistrate Clerk: Courthouse Annex, 214 W. Main St., Grafton, WV 26354
304-265-5762
Certified Taylor County Criminal Records
Certified copies take one extra step after the portal search. Find the Taylor County criminal docket first, then tell the clerk exactly which paper you need. Include the case number, court, document title, and docket date when you have them. WVPASS downloads are not certified. The Circuit Clerk certifies Circuit records and can explain anything unavailable online.
Magistrate documents are a different path. MCRSearch does not carry them. The administrative rules price Magistrate photocopies at $0.25 per page and faxes at $2 per page, so confirm delivery method and total with the Taylor County Magistrate Court Clerk before sending money. Circuit copy fees follow state fee law, and a quoted figure should match your specific request.
Narrow beats broad here. Asking for the judgment, sentencing order, bond order, or one named docket entry moves faster than demanding an entire file. Check whether the clerk accepts pickup, mail, or fax. Taylor County publishes no set turnaround promise.
Taylor County Criminal Docket Limits
A blank search result can mean several things. Maybe the case sits in the other court. Perhaps it is under a different number or spelling. It may fall outside the available date range, be transferred, undigitized, sealed, juvenile, or expunged. A second portal will not bypass a lawful restriction, so do not try.
West Virginia sorts records into public, confidential, sealed, and expunged levels. Even a public case can hold a hidden filing or redacted data. Juvenile records carry separate statutory protection. After the required court process, expungement removes qualifying material from ordinary public view.
Search check: If a Taylor County criminal docket is missing, confirm the court, exact case number, spelling, and transfer status with the filing clerk before drawing a conclusion.
No public result does not mean no case exists. It also does not prove a seal. Only the clerk or an authorized court order can settle the record's status.
Public Access and Sealed Criminal Dockets
West Virginia law starts from openness, but statutes and court orders set firm boundaries. Send a focused request to the clerk who holds the record. Broad FOIA language cannot override juvenile confidentiality, a seal, an expungement, or a protected filing.
Key rules:
W.Va. Code § 51-4-2 makes court records open to inspection and directs clerks to furnish copies unless a special rule applies.
W.Va. Code § 49-5-101 protects juvenile court and law-enforcement records except for access allowed by law or court order.
W.Va. Code § 61-11-25 provides a petition route for sealing qualifying dismissed, acquitted, diverted, or deferred charges.
Start with WVPASS for an ordinary public Circuit case. For an ordinary public Magistrate case, MCRSearch identifies the matter and the Magistrate Clerk supplies the documents. Anyone entitled to a restricted record must use the statute or court-order process that fits it.