Caroline County Court Docket
Caroline County court docket records are kept by the Circuit Court Clerk in Denton and are searchable online through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search system. This page covers how to search the docket, what types of cases are filed in Caroline County, how to get copies of records, and who to contact at both the Circuit and District courts serving this Eastern Shore county.
Caroline County Court Docket Overview
Caroline County Circuit Court
The Circuit Court for Caroline County is located at 109 Market Street, Room 123, in Denton. This court handles the county's most significant matters: felony criminal cases, civil suits over $30,000, divorce, custody, child support, guardianship, and appeals from the District Court. The Clerk of the Circuit Court for Caroline County is Terry B. Lord, who can be reached at (410) 479-1811 during regular business hours. Mailing address is P.O. Box 458, Denton, MD 21629-0458.
Caroline County is part of the 2nd Judicial Circuit, which includes Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot counties. The shared circuit means judges may rotate among these five counties, but each maintains its own separate docket. For Caroline County cases specifically, the clerk's office in Denton is the right contact. You can also reach the clerk by fax at (410) 479-1142 or email at terry.lord@mdcourts.gov.
Several additional court staff support the Circuit Court's operations. Family Magistrate S. Craig Sewell handles domestic matters and can be reached at (410) 479-2303. Court Administrator Logan R. Rogers manages daily operations at (410) 479-4109. Family Support Services are coordinated by Mary K. Bartholomy at (410) 479-5735. Court Auditor Anne C. Ogletree oversees financial review of estate accountings at (410) 479-2573. Probate matters go through the Register of Wills office, reachable at (410) 479-0717.
Court hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. This is slightly earlier than many other Maryland county courts, which open at 8:30 AM, so keep that in mind if you're making the drive to Denton from elsewhere on the Eastern Shore.
The Maryland courts resource page for Caroline County provides an overview of court docket access and record lookup tools available to the public.
This resource page is a useful starting point for finding docket access tools specific to Caroline County.
| Address | 109 Market Street, Room 123, Denton, MD 21629 |
|---|---|
| Mailing | P.O. Box 458, Denton, MD 21629-0458 |
| Phone | (410) 479-1811 |
| Fax | (410) 479-1142 |
| terry.lord@mdcourts.gov | |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Judicial Circuit | 2nd Judicial Circuit (Caroline, Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, Talbot) |
Caroline County District Court
The District Court serving Caroline County is located at the Multi-Service Center, 207 S. 3rd Street in Denton. Phone is (410) 819-4600. This court handles misdemeanors, traffic and motor vehicle cases, landlord-tenant disputes, civil claims under $30,000, and small claims up to $5,000. There are no jury trials at the District Court level. All cases are decided by a judge.
Caroline County's District Court is part of District 3, the Upper Eastern Shore district. The same district covers Cecil, Kent, Queen Anne's, and Talbot counties. This grouping is different from the Circuit Court's 2nd Judicial Circuit, though the same counties overlap. The key difference: for District Court cases, you'll contact the Multi-Service Center on 3rd Street, not the Circuit Court on Market Street.
If you're not sure which court handled a particular case in Caroline County, the Maryland Judiciary Case Search tool at casesearch.courts.state.md.us covers both. Search results show whether a case is Circuit or District Court. Case numbers also differ by format, so once you find a case, you can tell at a glance which court it's in.
Searching the Caroline County Docket Online
The free way to search the Caroline County court docket online is through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search at casesearch.courts.state.md.us. No account is needed. You can search by name, case number, citation number, or attorney. The system covers both Circuit and District Court cases for Caroline County and includes felony and misdemeanor criminal records, civil cases, family law, and traffic matters.
Name searches default to exact matching. If you're not sure about a spelling, add a percent sign (%) at the end to get partial matches -- for example, "Barnes%" would return Barnes, Barneston, Barnesworth, and similar. This is helpful for common Eastern Shore names with multiple spelling variants. The system caps results at 500 per search, so if you're looking for someone with a common surname, add a first name or narrow by date range to get usable results.
The online docket updates overnight. What you see reflects the prior day's filings -- real-time case status is not available online. You'll also see docket entries and status, but not scanned document images. To get actual documents, you need to visit the clerk's office at 109 Market Street or submit a mail request. One other thing: a 2024 change to Maryland law removed certain dismissed and acquitted criminal cases from the online system. If a name search comes up empty but you expected a result, that may be why.
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search portal is the primary online tool for searching Caroline County court docket records by name, case number, or citation.
Use this portal to search the Caroline County docket for free without creating an account.
For Caroline County land records connected to court matters -- deeds filed after a property settlement or title dispute judgment -- search MDLandRec.net for free after registering. Caroline County land records go back to 1774, which reflects the county's long history as one of Maryland's Eastern Shore originals. Deeds and related instruments recorded since then are part of the land records system separate from the main court docket.
Caroline County Record History and Coverage
Caroline County was created on March 15, 1774 from parts of Dorchester and Queen Anne's Counties. That means court records here go back over 250 years, which is unusual even by Maryland standards. Civil case records date from 1774. Marriage records date from 1774. Divorce records go back to 1774 as well. Online Case Search coverage for criminal cases starts from October 10, 2000. Records before that date exist but require an in-person visit or mail request to access from the Denton courthouse.
Historical records from before the online era are maintained by the Circuit Court Clerk's office. Some older materials may also be available through the Maryland State Archives. If you're looking for pre-2000 criminal records or historical civil cases in Caroline County, the clerk at (410) 479-1811 can advise on the best way to request them and what records are currently accessible.
Probate records -- wills, estate inventories, guardianship of adults -- are held by the Register of Wills, not the Circuit Court Clerk. These are separate offices. The Register of Wills for Caroline County can be reached at (410) 479-0717. Probate records are also partially available through the Maryland Register of Wills system and the State Archives for older cases.
Types of Cases in the Caroline County Docket
The Caroline County Circuit Court docket includes felony criminal cases, major civil suits, divorce and separation proceedings, custody and child support cases, domestic violence petitions, juvenile delinquency and CINA (child in need of assistance) matters, guardianship, and appeals from the District Court. Each case type gets a distinct prefix in the case number: "K" for criminal, "C" for civil, "F" for family. If you already know the case number, searching by it is faster than a name search.
The District Court docket in Caroline County covers misdemeanor criminal matters, traffic violations, civil claims under $30,000, peace order petitions, and small claims. District Court case numbers use a different format from Circuit Court numbers. When using the online Case Search, you can filter by court type to narrow results to just Circuit or just District Court cases, which helps when looking for a specific matter.
One type of record that does not appear in either docket is expungement orders. When a court grants an expungement in Maryland, the underlying records are removed or shielded from public view. If a Case Search comes up empty for a name you expected to find, expungement is one possible explanation -- alongside the 2024 changes to dismissed case visibility mentioned earlier.
Getting Copies of Caroline County Court Records
Plain copies of court records cost $0.50 per page. Certified copies -- which carry the clerk's seal and are often needed for legal and official purposes -- cost $5.00 plus $0.50 per page. Exemplified copies, which have a triple seal and are sometimes required for use in other states, cost $10.00 plus $0.50 per page. Pay in cash, check, or money order in person. Credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover) are also accepted at the Denton courthouse.
Mail requests are accepted. Send a written request to Circuit Court Clerk, P.O. Box 458, Denton, MD 21629-0458. Include the case number or party name, what documents you need, your return address, and a check or money order for the estimated copy fees. Call (410) 479-1811 first if you are unsure of the cost, or the clerk's office will contact you for additional payment before sending.
For electronic document access through MDEC (Maryland Electronic Courts), you'll need a public access account approved through the Maryland courts e-filing system. Details and forms are at mdcourts.gov/mdec/efilingpublic. A public access kiosk is also available at the Caroline County courthouse for viewing documents on-site without a remote account.
Legal Resources in Caroline County
Self-represented litigants in Caroline County can use the People's Law Library at peoples-law.org for free guides on Maryland court procedures, forms, and legal topics ranging from landlord-tenant to family law. It's not a substitute for legal advice, but it does explain how the process works and what to expect at different stages of a case.
Maryland Legal Aid serves Caroline County. They provide free civil legal help to qualifying residents -- primarily in housing, family law, and consumer matters. Reach their intake line through mdlab.org. Blank court forms for all Maryland courts, including Caroline County Circuit and District, are available free at mdcourts.gov/courtforms. The Maryland Courts website also has a clerk page specifically for Caroline County at mdcourts.gov/clerks/caroline with current contact details and service information.
Cities in Caroline County
All court filings for Caroline County communities are handled at the Circuit and District Courts in Denton. No cities in Caroline County meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site.
Communities in Caroline County include Denton, Federalsburg, Greensboro, Goldsboro, Hillsboro, Henderson, Marydel, and several smaller towns and unincorporated areas. All residents file cases at the same Caroline County courthouse on Market Street in Denton.
Nearby Counties
Caroline County sits in the middle of Maryland's Eastern Shore, bordered by four other Eastern Shore counties that are also part of the 2nd Judicial Circuit. If a case was filed in a neighboring county, use the links below to find the right court docket page.