Lancaster Courts

The Lancaster County Court system is part of the larger state court system. Our County courts include the first two levels in our state system:

• Magisterial District Courts
• the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas

Magisterial Courts are the lowest court level in the state system.  They handle:

• Criminal arraignments and bail hearings in most criminal cases
• Less serious criminal and civil cases
• Traffic/parking cases.

Courts of Common Pleas are the main trial courts in our system.  They handle:

• More serious criminal and civil cases
• Family law cases
• Appeals from Magisterial District Courts

More info on the state court system:

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Additional Resources:

• Here is a state court system flow chart arranged by courts' jurisdictional authority. It also shows how cases are appealed through the court system.
• County-by-county caseload statistics, broken down by year
• A Citizen's Guide to the Pennsylvania Courts