Snyder County Court of Common Pleas
Snyder County is part of Pennsylvania's 17th Judicial District with Union County. The Snyder County Courts page states that the Court of Common Pleas is the trial court of general jurisdiction and handles civil and criminal matters, child and spousal support, custody, juvenile delinquency, juvenile dependency, and Orphans' Court matters. A civil trial term is conducted during each calendar quarter.
The local court structure is compact but layered. President Judge Lori R. Hackenberg has Snyder County chambers at the courthouse in Middleburg. Judge Michael Piecuch sits in Union County chambers as the other judge in the two-county judicial district. Magisterial District Judges handle the lower-court entry point for traffic, non-traffic, civil, landlord-tenant, preliminary criminal, private criminal complaint, and search warrant matters.
Snyder County Courthouse
9 West Market Street
P.O. Box 217
Middleburg, PA 17842
570-837-4207
General fax: 570-837-4282
Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Court Administration
Administrator: Kelly Heeter
9 West Market Street
Middleburg, PA 17842
570-837-4344
kheeter@snydercounty.org
ADA coordinator for Snyder County Courthouse
Snyder County Court Table
The required court table for Snyder County needs to show the Court of Common Pleas chambers, both Magisterial District Court offices, court administration, and the court clerk function. The Magisterial District Court offices are not the Court of Common Pleas, but they are the lower courts where many records begin before a matter moves to the county trial court.
| Court / office | Judge / officer | Address | Phone | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court of Common Pleas, Snyder County Chambers | President Judge Lori R. Hackenberg | 9 West Market Street, Middleburg, PA 17842 | 570-837-4238 | General jurisdiction court; Snyder chambers |
| Court of Common Pleas, Union County Chambers | Judge Michael Piecuch | 103 South Second Street, Lewisburg, PA 17837 | 570-524-8641 | Second judge in the 17th Judicial District |
| Magisterial District 17-3-03 | Scott Zeigler | 1025 US Rt. 522, Selinsgrove, PA 17870 | 570-374-0111 | Traffic, non-traffic, MDJ criminal, civil and landlord-tenant up to $12,000 |
| Magisterial District 17-3-04 | Bo Trawitz | 32 East Market Street, Middleburg, PA 17842 | 570-837-4213 | Traffic, non-traffic, MDJ criminal, civil and landlord-tenant up to $12,000 |
| Court Administration | Kelly Heeter | 9 West Market Street, P.O. Box 217, Middleburg, PA 17842 | 570-837-4344 | Administration, ADA coordination, scheduling contacts |
| Prothonotary / Clerk of Courts / Clerk of Orphans' Court | Stephanie Wolf | 9 West Market Street, Middleburg, PA 17842 | 570-837-4202 | Civil, criminal, Orphans' Court filings and records |
The manifest image from the Snyder County Courts page supports the local court hierarchy and office list.
That county source is the local baseline for which court handles a matter before a record request is sent to a clerk or court office.
Common Pleas vs Magisterial Courts
Pennsylvania does not use a county court label for Snyder County trial records the way some other states do. The Court of Common Pleas is the county-level trial court. Magisterial District Courts sit below it and handle high-volume local matters, including the first public court steps for many traffic, non-traffic, landlord-tenant, minor civil, and criminal cases.
| Point | Court of Common Pleas | Magisterial District Court |
|---|---|---|
| Civil limit | General civil jurisdiction for Court of Common Pleas matters. | Civil and landlord-tenant complaints up to $12,000. |
| Criminal jurisdiction | Misdemeanor and felony Common Pleas cases after charges are held, waived, or otherwise filed in the trial court. | Preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, summary offenses, private criminal complaints, and search warrants. |
| Family and juvenile | Support, custody, juvenile delinquency, juvenile dependency, and related trial court matters. | No general family division role in the captured local research. |
| Records office | Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Clerk of Orphans' Court, and court administration depending on record type. | Each MDJ office for its own lower-court docket and filings. |
| Appeal or next step | Appeals generally route to Pennsylvania Superior Court or Commonwealth Court depending on case type. | Some matters may be appealed or held for court in the Court of Common Pleas. |
Snyder County Case Flow
How a case moves depends on the record type. A civil case may start with a complaint, petition, or writ in the Prothonotary office. A custody or support matter may involve family division processes and specialized court staff. A criminal case may begin with an arrest or complaint before a Magisterial District Judge, then move to the Court of Common Pleas if charges are held for court or waived.
Criminal flow: Complaint or arrest › preliminary arraignment before MDJ › preliminary hearing › charges dismissed, waived, or held for court › Clerk of Courts Common Pleas file › arraignment, plea, trial, disposition, sentence, and appeal.
Civil flow: Complaint, petition, or writ filed with the Prothonotary › service and answer › motions, conferences, custody or support steps when applicable › trial term, settlement, order, judgment, or appeal.
Probate and Orphans' Court flow: Register of Wills or Orphans' Court filing › estate, guardianship, or related petition › Clerk of Orphans' Court docket › decree, order, certification, or further court review.
Note: One event can create more than one record, such as an MDJ docket and a Common Pleas criminal docket.
Snyder County Court Divisions
The Snyder County Court of Common Pleas is one trial court with several practical record areas. Civil and family records are usually associated with the Prothonotary. Criminal records are associated with the Clerk of Courts. Orphans' Court records involve the Clerk of Orphans' Court function and often the Register of Wills for estates. Court administration handles scheduling, ADA coordination, calendars, jury questions, and other operational matters that are not the same as the official case record.
Support and custody are specifically named in the local court description. Domestic Relations handles establishment, enforcement, medical support, and paternity services for support matters. Custody filings and many family court papers use Prothonotary channels, and custody records may contain minor names, addresses, abuse history, and confidential information forms. That makes public access narrower than for an ordinary civil money case.
The 17th Judicial District Language Access Plan is a manifest source for this page. It appears as a PDF source without a captured image file, but the research notes identify it as the current language access plan for Snyder and Union County courts. The ADA policy likewise names Kelly Heeter as the Snyder County Courthouse ADA coordinator and recommends requests as soon as possible or at least three business days before a scheduled proceeding when possible.
Snyder County Judicial District
The 17th Judicial District is a two-county judicial district consisting of two judges. Snyder County's courthouse is in Middleburg, the county seat. The local court hub includes the Court of Common Pleas, court administration, Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Clerk of Orphans' Court, Sheriff, District Attorney, Public Defender, Commissioners, and several court administration contacts. This concentration matters because a public record request may start with the courthouse but end with a specific office.
For online access, public docket sheets are usually searched through Pennsylvania UJS Case Search. For certified copies and civil, family, criminal, or Orphans' Court documents not displayed online, the requester should contact the correct Snyder County office. For administrative county records, the Commissioners page names Chief Clerk Tony Phillips as the county Right-to-Know Officer, but court case records are still controlled by judicial access rules.
Snyder County Magisterial Courts
Magisterial District Courts are the lower courts in Snyder County. The county court page states that more than 90% of all litigation occurs in the courtroom of the Magisterial District Judge. These courts handle traffic and non-traffic citations, landlord-tenant and civil claims up to $12,000, preliminary arraignments, preliminary hearings, private criminal complaints, and search warrants. They are often the first court record source after a citation, complaint, or arrest.
When a criminal charge begins before an MDJ, the public docket may show the preliminary hearing result and a cross-court docket number if the matter moves to Common Pleas. That cross-reference is important for a Snyder County Court of Common Pleas case lookup because the MDJ docket and the CP docket may both exist for one incident.
The Snyder/Union Treatment Court source was assigned to this page in the manifest but did not produce a captured image file. The local research supports only the existence of Snyder/Union Treatment Court, Drug Court forms, DUI Court forms, and the ADA medication policy, so no eligibility rates or program statistics are added here.
Snyder County Appeals and Federal Courts
Appeals from Snyder County trial court records generally go to the Pennsylvania Superior Court for most criminal and civil cases, to the Commonwealth Court for many government or administrative matters, and then to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania when further review is allowed or required. Federal cases are separate and do not appeal through the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas system.
The manifest includes the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, which is the federal trial court for Snyder County federal matters.
That image helps separate county trial court records from federal civil and criminal cases filed in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania is another separate federal record source assigned to this page.
Bankruptcy cases, adversary proceedings, and bankruptcy appeals are federal records, not Snyder County Court of Common Pleas records.
The final assigned appellate source is the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
The Third Circuit image marks the federal appellate route, which is separate from Pennsylvania Superior Court, Commonwealth Court, and Supreme Court review.