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Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas

The Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas is the county-level general trial court for Armstrong County. Pennsylvania's court structure places the Court of Common Pleas above the Magisterial District Courts and below the appellate courts. Armstrong County is the 33rd Judicial District. The Common Pleas court handles felony criminal cases, civil actions, family matters, juvenile matters, Orphans' Court issues, and appeals from Magisterial District Judges.

The central courthouse location for Common Pleas work is 500 E. Market Street, Kittanning, PA 16201. The Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas website provides judges, staff, local rules, calendars, forms, ADA information, language-access materials, Magisterial District Judge information, and court notices. The UJS Armstrong County court page also lists the courthouse address and statewide quick links for Pennsylvania court resources.

Armstrong County Common Pleas Judges

The official judge list names Honorable Chase G. McClister as President Judge and Honorable Kenneth G. Valasek as Senior Judge. The judges' offices are listed at the Armstrong County Courthouse, 500 E. Market Street, Suite 210, Kittanning, PA 16201. The court staff page also identifies Julie A. Gerano as court reporter to the President Judge in Suite 208, phone (724) 548-3728, and Tess Crawford as Jury Clerk and Law Librarian, phone (724) 548-3286.

Judicial assignments and hearing calendars may change by case type, motions schedule, weather notice, or administrative order. For that reason, docket users should separate the public case search from the current court schedule. The public docket sheet may show events already entered in the case. The local court calendar and homepage notices show current operating information, continuances, and closure notices.

Armstrong County Court Hierarchy

Pennsylvania's hierarchy starts with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as the highest court of the Commonwealth. The Superior Court handles most criminal and civil appeals from Courts of Common Pleas. The Commonwealth Court handles many government-agency and public-sector matters. The Court of Common Pleas is the county general trial court. Magisterial District Courts are local minor courts for preliminary criminal proceedings, traffic, summary offenses, landlord-tenant cases, and smaller civil matters.

Armstrong County Magisterial Courts

Armstrong County has four Magisterial District Court offices. These lower courts are important because many criminal, traffic, landlord-tenant, and small civil matters begin there before any Common Pleas record exists. All Magisterial District Court docket numbers begin with "MJ" in the statewide docket system. Use the official MDJ list for district coverage and contact details.

Common Pleas vs Magisterial Courts

Armstrong County does not use a separate county court layer for ordinary trial-court work. The key local split is between the Court of Common Pleas and the Magisterial District Courts. Common Pleas is the general trial court for larger and more formal case types. Magisterial District Courts are the neighborhood-level courts where many first criminal events, summary citations, traffic matters, landlord-tenant filings, and small civil claims start.

Armstrong County Case Flow

Criminal and civil cases move through different paths. A criminal case may start with a complaint, arrest, preliminary arraignment, and preliminary hearing before a Magisterial District Judge, then move to the Court of Common Pleas for information filing, arraignment, plea, trial, disposition, and sentencing. A civil matter may begin at the Prothonotary with a complaint or petition, then proceed through service, answers, motions, orders, trial, judgment, and appeal.

Criminal flow: MDJ complaint or arrest › preliminary arraignment › preliminary hearing › Court of Common Pleas information › arraignment › motions or plea › trial or disposition › sentencing › Superior Court appeal where applicable.

Civil flow: Prothonotary filing › service under the applicable rules › answer or response › motions › hearing or trial › order or judgment › Superior Court or Commonwealth Court appeal where applicable.

Orphans' Court flow: Register of Wills estate opening › letters or short certificate authority › filings, accounts, claims, or petitions › Orphans' Court review where needed.

Armstrong County Court Programs

The Armstrong County courts and county navigation identify several specialty and criminal-justice pathway resources. The Probation navigation includes Adult Probation, Community Service, IST - Intensive Supervision and Treatment Program, an Intensive Supervision and Treatment Program Application, Juvenile Probation, Veteran Courts, and a Veterans Treatment Court Application. The courts site also links an ARD Application, Electronic Monitoring Application, Work Release Application, Guilty Plea Questionnaire, and Defendant's Post-Sentence Rights.

These programs can affect what appears in court records. ARD, or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, is a Pennsylvania diversion program that may appear on eligible criminal dockets. Veterans Treatment Court and IST materials point to supervised treatment tracks or probation-related alternatives. Electronic monitoring and work release may appear near sentencing, custody, or post-sentence entries. The research did not locate program length, eligibility grids, judge assignments, graduation rates, or active participant counts, so those details should not be assumed.

Armstrong County Court Calendars

The UJS case information page explains public docket sheets, secure docket sheets, calendars, and PAeDocket. For local operating details, the Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas homepage posts notices. The assigned research captured 2026 examples including a plea-court continuance and no-motions-court dates. It also recorded a January 26, 2026 courthouse closure notice tied to a winter storm forecast with sub-zero wind chills and heavy snow. President Judge Chase McClister and county commissioners made that closure decision.

Calendar notices are time-sensitive, so case parties should verify current hearing dates through the docket, the issuing court office, or counsel. Weather and courthouse closure notices can affect filing deadlines, hearing attendance, and front-counter access. ADA resources and language-access request forms are linked from the Armstrong County courts site for users who need accommodations or interpreter access.

The local court site also helps separate operational information from record access. Judges, staff contacts, local rules, transcript requests, jury information, and language-access materials are not the same as a UJS docket sheet. A person checking the status of a criminal or MDJ matter should use UJS, while a person preparing for a court visit should also check local notices and the office contact list.

Common Pleas records can involve more than one clerk function. Civil filings and divorce records route to the Prothonotary. Criminal filings, pleas, sentencing orders, and costs route to the Clerk of Courts. Estate and Orphans' Court matters route through the Register of Wills and Clerk of Orphans' Court. Matching the case type to the office is part of searching the Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas.