Juniata Court of Common Pleas
The Juniata County Court of Common Pleas is Pennsylvania's local general trial court for Juniata County. Juniata is part of the 41st Judicial District with Perry County. The county judicial district page names President Judge Kenneth A. Mummah, Judge Andrew J. Bender, and Court Administrator Christina L. Zook. Court contact information is listed at the courthouse annex, while district administration is listed at the Perry County Courthouse in New Bloomfield.
Common Pleas jurisdiction is broader than the county's two Magisterial District Courts. It includes felony criminal cases, misdemeanors held for court, major civil actions, family matters, juvenile matters, appeals from minor courts, and Orphans' Court division matters. The Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts files, dockets, and indexes criminal, civil, and juvenile actions. Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court functions cover estates and marriage licenses.
The state judiciary's official county page is the source for court contact details and court hours.
That state page is useful for confirming the local Court of Common Pleas contact before calling about a hearing, docket, or court office.
Juniata Court and MDJ List
Juniata County has one Court of Common Pleas within the 41st Judicial District and two Magisterial District Courts. The lower courts matter because many traffic, summary, landlord-tenant, small civil, and preliminary criminal records start there before any Common Pleas filing exists. Use the court number shown on a citation, complaint, or UJS docket to reach the right office.
| Court | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court of Common Pleas, 41st Judicial District | General trial court | 26 N. Main Street, Mifflintown, PA 17059 | 717-436-7709 |
| Magisterial District Court 41-3-01 | Lower court | 30 N. Main Street, Mifflintown, PA 17059 | 717-436-7722 |
| Magisterial District Court 41-3-02 | Lower court | 212 N. Fourth Street, Port Royal, PA 17082 | 717-527-4949 |
| Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts | Filing office | 1 N Main St., P.O. Box 68, Mifflintown, PA 17059 | 717-436-7715 |
MDJ 41-3-01 covers Delaware, Fayette, Fermanagh, Greenwood, Monroe, and Susquehanna townships plus Mifflintown and Thompsontown boroughs. MDJ 41-3-02 covers Beale, Lack, Milford, Spruce Hill, Turbett, Tuscarora, and Walker townships plus Mifflin and Port Royal boroughs.
Common Pleas vs Magisterial Courts
Pennsylvania does not use the same county court or justice court labels found in some states. In Juniata County, the practical split is between the Court of Common Pleas and the two Magisterial District Courts. The statewide appellate courts sit above them.
| Feature | Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Courts | Appellate Courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | General trial court for major local cases | Lower court for traffic, summary, small civil, landlord-tenant, and preliminary criminal matters | Review appeals and public-law matters |
| Criminal records | Felonies, misdemeanors held for court, pleas, trials, sentencing | Complaints, preliminary arraignments, bail, preliminary hearings | Appeal docket sheets and appellate orders |
| Civil records | Common Pleas civil actions and family matters | Landlord-tenant and smaller civil claims | Appeals from trial court rulings |
| Record access | UJS for many dockets; Prothonotary/Clerk for files | UJS and the specific MDJ office | UJS appellate docket sheets |
Juniata Case Flow
A criminal case often starts below Common Pleas. The Magisterial District Court may handle the complaint, preliminary arraignment, bail, and preliminary hearing. If the charges are held for court, the case moves to the Juniata County Court of Common Pleas, where the criminal information, arraignment, motions, plea or trial, disposition, sentencing, and appeal entries may appear.
Criminal flow: Complaint or arrest › preliminary arraignment › bail › preliminary hearing › held for court › Common Pleas information › plea or trial › disposition › sentencing › appeal.
Civil flow: complaint or petition filed › service › answer or response › motions › conference or hearing › order, judgment, settlement, or trial › post-trial filings › appeal when allowed.
UJS Case Search can help identify the docket and court. For civil Common Pleas files not shown online, contact the Prothonotary with the caption, docket number, party names, and specific document needed.
Juniata Common Pleas Divisions
The Court of Common Pleas covers more than one record type. Criminal records include charges held for court, pleas, sentencing orders, fines, costs, restitution, and appeals. Civil records include trespass, assumpsit, equity, ejectment, mechanic's liens, stipulations against liens, judgments, and other filings identified by the Prothonotary. Family records can include divorce, custody, support, and protection matters, but some family information may be redacted or restricted.
Juvenile records require extra care. The Prothonotary page says juvenile actions are filed, docketed, and indexed by the office, but juvenile delinquency and dependency records are restricted by law and court policy. A public search should not be expected to expose juvenile case details in the same way as an adult criminal docket.
The Middle District of Pennsylvania federal court system is separate from Juniata County Common Pleas. The Middle District court locations are in Scranton, Harrisburg, Williamsport, and Wilkes-Barre, not Juniata County.
Federal civil, federal criminal, bankruptcy, and PACER searches use federal systems, while Juniata County Common Pleas records use county and Pennsylvania judiciary channels.
41st Judicial District
The 41st Judicial District serves Juniata and Perry Counties. Its page links the 2026 Court Calendar, the 41st Judicial District Language Access Plan, Perry/Juniata County Local Rules of Orphans' Court Procedure, and Perry/Juniata County Local Rules of Civil Procedure. Those links are useful for court schedules, local rule context, language access, and procedural questions that cannot be answered by the docket alone.
The court-administration office listed in the research is at the Perry County Courthouse, East Main Street, New Bloomfield, PA 17068, phone 717-582-5143. That shared administration address does not mean Juniata County filings go to Perry County. Juniata case files and local office contacts still depend on the specific Juniata court, Prothonotary/Clerk of Courts, Register of Wills, or MDJ office involved.
Juniata Magisterial District Courts
The Juniata County Magisterial District Judges page lists both local MDJs and notes that both accept the ePay Online Case Payment System. Magisterial District Court docket sheets can cover traffic citations, non-traffic summary offenses, landlord-tenant cases, smaller civil claims, preliminary arraignments, bail, warrants, and preliminary hearings. These courts are often the first stop for a traffic ticket or criminal complaint.
Both MDJ offices are searchable through the Pennsylvania judiciary's online docket systems, but the court named on the citation or docket is the office to call for plea, hearing, payment, or local scheduling questions. PAePay can accept eligible online payments by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, or ATM/debit card, but paying a traffic citation online requires attention to the plea rules shown in the payment system.
The Middle District judges page confirms federal court serves many Pennsylvania counties from federal offices, which is distinct from Juniata's 41st Judicial District trial court work.
Use the court name and docket type to keep county Common Pleas, MDJ, appellate, and federal searches in the correct system.