Washington County Criminal Court Cases
Washington County criminal court cases are split by charge level. The Fifth District Court in St. George hears all felonies and class A misdemeanors. The Fifth District clerk holds the pleadings, orders, minute entries, judgment, and sentence for those cases. Most class B and C misdemeanors, infractions, traffic matters, and local ordinance cases go to Washington County or a city justice court. A search limited to the district court can therefore miss a lower-level case.
The elected Washington County Clerk/Auditor is not the clerk of court. Criminal dockets belong to the Utah State Courts. Venue should be confirmed from the citation, case number, or court location shown in the index. Juvenile matters also use the Fifth District and Juvenile Court building, but juvenile delinquency files are not public Xchange cases. Court level and public access are separate questions.
Washington County District Case Desk
The felony records counter is at Fifth District Court, 206 West Tabernacle, Suite 100, St. George, UT 84770, phone 435-986-5700. It is the local destination when a Washington County criminal case involves a felony or class A misdemeanor, when an online entry looks incomplete, or when the official court file must be checked. The clerk can supply records but cannot give legal advice.
The Utah Courts MyCase page shows the separate route available to a party in a supported case. The official source illustrates why party access and a public index should not be confused.
MyCase is free for eligible parties, but it is not a general public name search and does not support every case type.
Fifth District Court
206 West Tabernacle, Suite 100
St. George, UT 84770
435-986-5700
Searching Washington County Case Records
Utah Courts Xchange is the statewide remote index for public district and justice court information. Set the scope to Washington County and choose both jurisdictions for breadth. Search by an exact case number when known. For a name search, pair the surname with a first name, birth date, case type, or date range. The index can return no more than 500 results, so added filters matter for a common name.
The official Xchange gateway below is the starting point for remote Washington County case records.
Public CORIS information appears after courthouse entry, but sealed, expunged, and juvenile cases are excluded.
- Open Xchange and choose court cases rather than judgments only.
- Select both District Court and Justice Court, then set Washington County as the search scope.
- Enter a case number or party name. Add birth date, case type, court, or date range to narrow the match.
- Open the case number and read the extended event history, charge entries, and disposition.
- Purchase an available public document or ask the named court clerk for the official file or copy.
| Field | Type | Required | Washington County search use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Selection | Unspecified | Choose district, justice, or both |
| Case Number | Text | Optional | Not unique statewide, so confirm court |
| Last / First Name | Text | Optional | Asterisk can find name and middle-initial variations |
| Search Scope | Selection | Optional | Set Washington County, statewide, or a court |
| Birth Date | Date | Optional | Helps distinguish criminal defendants |
| Citation Number / Location | Text / selection | Optional | Use together because citation numbers are not statewide unique |
| Date Range | Expandable panel | Optional | Limits broad or common-name results |
Washington County Xchange Access Choices
Remote access and courthouse access serve the same public index but have different costs. Guest Xchange use starts with $10 credit. Each search costs $0.35, and an available electronic document costs $1. A subscription has a $25 setup charge and costs $40 per month, includes 500 searches, and charges for more searches or documents. Public terminals are free at most district courthouses and at the Utah State Law Library.
The official Xchange coverage page explains the exclusions and court-data limits that affect a Washington County criminal case search.
A free terminal can be the best choice for one file, while remote access is useful when several Washington County dockets must be compared.
Inside a Washington County Case File
A Washington County criminal case file records what was filed and what the judge did. Xchange results show the county, court location, case type, case number, filing date, party names, available criminal defendant birth date, party code, and a link to case history or documents. The official clerk file may contain the information or complaint, notices, motions, hearing minutes, orders, judgment, sentence, and financial accounting.
| Case number and court | Identifies the venue, file, and charge level. |
|---|---|
| Charging document | States the prosecutor's allegations; it is not proof of guilt. |
| Parties and charges | Shows party roles and offense information entered by court staff. |
| Docket events | Lists filings, hearings, minute entries, motions, and orders in time order. |
| Disposition and judgment | Shows conviction, acquittal, dismissal, plea, or other recorded result. |
| Sentence and accounting | Records the ordered terms plus fines, fees, trust, payments, and balances. |
Read the outcome for each charge. An open case has not reached its terminal disposition. A complaint records an allegation, while the later judgment controls the adjudicated result.
Washington County Justice Court Files
The Washington County Justice Court handles county class B and C misdemeanors, infractions, and many traffic matters. Its office is at 197 East Tabernacle Street, St. George, UT 84770. The clerk can be reached at 435-301-7480 or jcwashco@utcourts.gov from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays except county holidays. Municipal justice courts keep their own dockets, so the court location in Xchange should control where a copy request goes.
The county court source shows the local court channel used for lower-level Washington County criminal cases.
The Fifth District clerk should not be assumed to hold a city or county justice-court file.
Note: Court proceedings, including electronic proceedings, may not be recorded, photographed, or transmitted under Utah court administration rules.
How a Criminal Case Moves
A Washington County criminal case may start with an arrest or citation, then move through probable-cause review and prosecutor screening. The prosecutor files a complaint or information when a charge proceeds. The court then handles the first appearance or arraignment, pretrial discovery and motions, a plea or trial, judgment, sentencing, and possible post-judgment motions or appeal. Not every case uses each stage, and district and justice court procedure can differ.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
The docket controls. A dismissal ends the charge as stated but does not by itself erase an earlier arrest. An acquittal is a not-guilty result. A plea in abeyance holds a plea under set terms and may later lead to dismissal.
Washington County Case Number Traps
A case or citation number may look exact and still produce several matches because neither is unique across Utah. Pair the number with Washington County, the court location, or the citation location. Name searches can also overmatch. The Xchange help page recommends using a birth date, case type, and date range to narrow results. A wildcard may find middle-initial or name variations, but it can also broaden the list.
The Xchange search help documents the controls used to resolve these Washington County case-record problems.
If the result list reaches 500 entries, add the court, birth date, charge type, or filing-date range rather than treating the first page as complete.
Case Record Access and Restrictions
Utah court records follow judicial access rules. Xchange displays public CORIS information, not every document held by a clerk. Sealed and expunged Washington County cases are excluded, as are juvenile delinquency, child welfare, and termination matters. Private victim information and other restricted content may be redacted even when the public case history remains visible. A missing online record can reflect access status, older coverage, a different justice court, or incomplete conversion rather than proof that no case exists.
Most district courts used CORIS by the end of 1998, but justice-court start and conversion dates vary. Public electronic district documents filed since July 1, 2010 are generally available for purchase. Older or incomplete files may require the clerk or Utah State Archives. For a wrong docket entry, contact the clerk that maintains the case; a correction to a Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification record follows a separate BCI process.
Ask for the segregable public part when one document contains both open and restricted facts. The court clerk applies judicial access rules to the court copy. A police agency applies GRAMA classifications to its own report, so a records request sent to the county administrative clerk cannot replace a request to the court that holds the criminal docket.
Washington County Case Outcome Terms
A short set of Utah terms helps separate allegations from results in Washington County criminal court cases. Look for the event that resolves each charge, not just the first charge block shown in the case history.
- Disposition
- The recorded result, such as conviction, dismissal, or acquittal.
- Information
- The prosecutor's formal charging document.
- Plea in abeyance
- A Utah agreement that holds a plea without entering conviction while stated terms are completed.
- Judgment
- The court's formal ruling, which controls over the initial allegation.
- Sentence
- The consequence ordered after a conviction, which may include custody, a fine, or supervision.
The Washington County arrest lookup covers the earlier booking and agency records, while the court docket supplies the filed charge and final result.