Research Tip: Indiana's Superior Courts

When researching court records, it's important to know the structure of the courts, so you can check every available resource for the time period you're interested in. In Indiana, the Circuit Court is the main court in most counties, but there were the Courts of Common Pleas, which existed briefly, as well as the Criminal Circuit Courts.

Superior Courts are a "newer" addition to the court structure in Indiana, established as a way to take some of the case loads from the circuit courts. Despite the connotation of the word "superior," these courts were actually given the same jurisdiction as the circuit courts. That means for almost any kind of case - from a criminal case to a divorce case - you would need to check the records of both the circuit court and the superior court for that time period.

In the 1800s, a few of the most populous counties established a superior court, including Marion County (Indianapolis) in 1871, Tippecanoe County (Lafayette) in 1875, Allen County (Fort Wayne), Vanderburgh County (Evansville) in 1877 and Vigo County (Terre Haute) in 1881. Through the 1900s, smaller counties began to add them as well. As of 2015, there are only 16 of Indiana's 92 counties that DON'T have a Superior Court - Benton, Brown, Crawford, Fountain, Franklin, Martin, Owen, Parke, Perry, Pike, Spencer, Starke, Tipton, Union, Vermillion and Warren counties.

Here are all 76 of the counties that have a superior court and when each was created:

• Adams County - January 1985
• Allen County - August 1877
• Bartholomew County - March 1955
• Blackford County - July 2000
• Boone County - January 1967
• Carroll County - July 1988
• Cass County - existed from March 1877 until April 1881; re-established in July 1977
• Clark County - July 1981
• Clay County - January 1982
• Clinton County - July 1990
• Daviess County - January 1988
• Dearborn County - July 2000
• Decatur County - July 1992
• DeKalb County - July 1977
• Delaware County - March 1909 (from 1909-1929, it existed only as a merged court with Grant County)
• Dubois County - July 1980
• Elkhart County - January 1907
• Fayette County - January 1987
• Floyd County - January 1978
• Fulton County - July 1993
• Gibson County - January 1985
• Grant County - February 1897 (from 1909-1929, it existed only as a merged court with Delaware County)
• Greene County - January 1989
• Hamilton County - January 1965
• Hancock County - September 1965
• Harrison County - July 1992
• Hendricks County - August 1963
• Henry County - September 1965
• Howard County - existed from February 1897 until March 1909; re-established in April 1953
• Huntington County - July 1988
• Jackson County - January 1988
• Jasper County - July 1981
• Jay County - January 1988
• Jefferson County - July 1992
• Jennings County - January 1997
• Johnson County - January 1961
• Knox County - February 1925
• Kosciusko County - March 1969
• LaGrange County - January 1988
• Lake County - March 1895 (from March 1895 through March 1907, it existed only as a merged court with LaPorte and Porter counties)
• LaPorte County - March 1895 (from March 1895 through March 1907, it existed only as a merged court with Lake and Porter counties; from March 1907 through February 1931, it existed only as a merged court with Porter County)
• Lawrence County - January 1974
• Madison County - February 1895
• Marion County - February 1871
• Marshall County - April 1973
• Miami County - July 1977
• Monroe County - March 1965
• Montgomery County - January 1991
• Morgan County - April 1961
• Newton County - July 1980
• Noble County - January 1982
• Ohio County - July 1981 (it exists only as a merged court with Switzerland County)
• Orange County - July 2000
• Porter County - March 1895 (from March 1895 through March 1907, it existed only as a merged court with Lake and LaPorte counties; from March 1907 through February 1931, it existed only as a merged court with LaPorte County)
• Posey County - July 1995
• Pulaski County - July 1993
• Putnam County - July 1996
• Randolph County - January 1988
• Ripley County - July 1995
• Rush County - July 2000
• Scott County - July 1992
• Shelby County - existed from March 1911 until January 1913; re-established in July 1961
• Steuben County - July 1986
• St. Joseph County - January 1907
• Sullivan County - January 1989
• Switzerland County - July 1981 (it exists as a merged court with Ohio County)
• Tippecanoe County - August 1875
• Vanderburgh County - March 1877
• Vigo County - April 1881
• Wabash County - July 1995
• Warrick County - January 1977
• Washington County - July 1986
• Wayne County - existed from March 1877 until February 1879; re-established in January 1952
• Wells County - July 1986
• White County - July 1984
• Whitley County - January 1985

[This article originally appeared in Indiana News, IGS's FREE monthly email newsletter. Click here to subscribe and have articles like this delivered straight to your inbox!]