Armstrong County Criminal and Felony Case Records

Armstrong County is part of Pennsylvania's 33rd Judicial District, with its seat in Kittanning. The county handles felony records through a combined Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts office. Criminal dockets, case histories, and court filings are available to the public in several ways. State online tools let you search from home, while in-person visits to the courthouse give you direct access to physical records. This guide covers where to look, who to contact, and what the law says about public access to felony records in Armstrong County.

Armstrong County Felony Records Overview

Felony charges filed in Armstrong County pass through the Court of Common Pleas, which sits in the 33rd Judicial District. Every case gets a docket number that ties together all filings, hearings, and orders. Under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9101, known as CHRIA, most criminal record information is classified as public unless a court orders it sealed or the record qualifies under another legal exception. This means that anyone can request a copy of a felony docket or view case details online without needing to show a reason.

Armstrong County uses a dual office structure, meaning one elected official serves as both Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts. Annette Bowser currently holds that position. The Clerk of Courts side of the office maintains all criminal case records, including felony charges, guilty pleas, verdicts, and sentencing orders. If you need certified copies of any of these documents, the office on East Market Street in Kittanning is the right place to start.

Records go back many decades in the paper files. Older case files may require an in-person visit since not all historical records have been entered into the digital system. For cases filed in recent years, the statewide UJS portal is the fastest way to view docket sheets without traveling to the courthouse.

Note: The Clerk of Courts office is closed from noon to 1:00 PM on weekdays, so plan your visit for morning or early afternoon hours.

Clerk of Courts Contact and Location

The Armstrong County Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts office is located at 500 E. Market Street, Suite 103, Kittanning, PA 16201. The main phone number is 724-548-3252, and the fax is 724-548-3299. Office hours run Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, with a lunch break from noon to 1:00 PM. The county solicitor is James A. Favero, Esq.

The office website, hosted at the Armstrong County Prothonotary page, lists filing fees, forms, and guidance for people who need to access or file court records. The main county site at www.co.armstrong.pa.us also has links to related departments. For questions about a specific criminal case, calling the office directly is the most reliable first step.

The image below is sourced from the Armstrong County Prothonotary and Clerk of Courts page.

The Prothonotary side of the office handles civil matters, while the Clerk of Courts side handles criminal cases, including felony dockets.

Armstrong County Courts and Online Docket Search

The Armstrong County Court of Common Pleas operates its own website at www.accourts.com. That site provides information about the court's schedule, judges, and filing procedures. It also links out to state resources for case lookups. Judges in the 33rd Judicial District preside over all felony trials, hearings, and post-conviction matters that arise within Armstrong County.

The image below is sourced from the Armstrong County Courts website.

That site is a useful starting point for understanding local court procedures and finding judge assignments for active cases.

For online docket searches, the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System portal is the primary tool. The UJS Case Search lets you search by name, docket number, or date range. Results include the full docket sheet with charges, dispositions, and scheduled hearings. No account is needed to run a basic search. The system covers all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, so you can find Armstrong County felony records the same way you would find records in any other county.

Note: Search results on the UJS portal show public docket information only. Sealed or expunged records will not appear in these results.

PA Courts Armstrong County Felony Records

The Pennsylvania Courts system maintains a dedicated page for Armstrong County at pacourts.us. That page lists current judges, court administration contacts, and links to local rules. It is a reliable source for understanding how the 33rd Judicial District processes felony cases from arraignment through sentencing.

The image below is sourced from the PA Courts Armstrong County page.

State court administration oversees the filing standards and public access rules that apply to all county courts, including Armstrong.

Pennsylvania's court case information page at pacourts.us/public-records explains what types of records are available to the public and what the process looks like for requesting copies. That page is helpful if you are unfamiliar with how court records are organized or stored.

Magisterial District Courts in Armstrong County

Before felony cases reach the Court of Common Pleas, they often begin at the magisterial district court level. Armstrong County has four MDJ offices that handle preliminary hearings and arraignments for criminal matters.

MDJ 33-3-01 is at 206 Fifth Avenue, Ford City, PA 16226, phone 724-763-7866. MDJ 33-3-02 is at 128 South Grant Avenue, Kittanning, PA 16201, phone 724-543-2313. MDJ 33-3-03 is at 241 Market Street, Leechburg, PA 15656, phone 724-842-3571. MDJ 33-3-04 is at 720 Main Street, Rural Valley, PA 16249, phone 724-783-6886. Each MDJ office covers a specific geographic area of the county. A felony charge filed in Leechburg, for example, would start at MDJ 33-3-03 before being sent up to the Court of Common Pleas.

MDJ records are also searchable through the UJS portal. Preliminary hearing results, bail decisions, and charge listings from the district courts feed into the same statewide database that covers Common Pleas cases.

Armstrong County Felony Records and State Background Checks

Pennsylvania offers two statewide tools for checking criminal history. The first is PATCH, the Pennsylvania Access to Criminal History system run by the PA State Police. The PATCH portal at epatch.state.pa.us provides name-based searches that return conviction records from across the state. PATCH results come from the criminal history repository maintained by the Pennsylvania State Police.

PATCH covers felony convictions statewide, including those from Armstrong County. Results show charge descriptions, disposition dates, and sentencing information. Searches can be run by anyone who pays the required fee and agrees to the terms of use. Organizations that conduct high volumes of background checks can set up accounts for bulk access.

The second statewide tool is the UJS portal mentioned above. While PATCH gives you a consolidated criminal history report, UJS gives you the actual docket sheet for individual cases, which includes more procedural detail. Both tools serve different needs, and researchers often use both when building a complete picture of someone's record.

Note: PATCH results reflect final dispositions and may not show pending charges or cases that were dismissed before conviction.

Expungement and Sealing of Armstrong Felony Records

Not all criminal records in Armstrong County remain public forever. Pennsylvania law provides two main paths for clearing or limiting access to a record: expungement under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9121 and limited access (sealing) under 18 Pa.C.S. § 9122. Expungement removes the record from public view entirely. Sealing restricts access to the record so that most employers and members of the public cannot see it, though law enforcement agencies retain access.

The Clean Slate program, which was expanded under Clean Slate 3.0 effective February 12, 2024, automates the sealing of certain records without requiring the person to file a petition. Under current law, low-level felony convictions can be sealed automatically after 10 years with no new offenses. Misdemeanor convictions qualify after 7 years, and summary convictions are auto-sealed after 5. More serious felonies do not qualify for automatic sealing and require a petition or pardon.

Petitions for expungement in Armstrong County are filed with the Court of Common Pleas. The Pennsylvania Board of Pardons handles pardon applications for people who want to clear a felony conviction that does not qualify for expungement or sealing. The pardon process takes time and involves a formal review, but it is a real option for those who meet the criteria.

Open Records Requests for Armstrong County Records

Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know Law, codified at 65 P.S. § 67.101, gives the public the right to request government records from county agencies. Armstrong County handles these requests through its open records office. For records that are not available through the court portal or Clerk of Courts, an RTKL request can be an effective way to obtain them.

The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records at openrecords.pa.gov provides guidance on how to file a request, what records are covered, and what to do if your request is denied. Court records are typically governed by judicial branch rules rather than RTKL, but many county administrative records fall under the RTKL framework. If you are unsure which process applies, the Office of Open Records website has resources to help you decide.

If a person named in a record believes it has been incorrectly sealed or improperly released, they can raise a challenge through the court system. The Office of Open Records handles appeals involving agency records but does not handle disputes about court dockets specifically.

DOC Inmate Records for Armstrong County Cases

People convicted of felonies in Armstrong County who receive state sentences are housed in Pennsylvania Department of Corrections facilities. The DOC Inmate Locator at cor.pa.gov lets you search for current inmates by name or inmate number. Results show the facility where the person is housed, their sentence length, and their projected release date.

The locator is useful when a court record shows a conviction and state sentence but you want to know the current status of that person's incarceration. Not every person convicted of a felony in Armstrong County receives a state sentence. Shorter sentences are often served in the Armstrong County Jail, which is a local facility rather than a state DOC institution.

Armstrong County Court Record Information Table

Cities in Armstrong County

Armstrong County contains several boroughs and townships where criminal cases originate before reaching the Court of Common Pleas in Kittanning. Ford City, Kittanning, Leechburg, Rural Valley, Freeport, Parker, and Worthington are among the populated areas that fall under the jurisdiction of Armstrong County courts. Cases from any of these communities that involve felony charges will appear in the county docket system under the same court structure described throughout this guide.

Nearby Counties

Armstrong County borders several other Pennsylvania counties, each with its own court system and public records process. If the records you need involve activity in a neighboring jurisdiction, the links below will take you to those county pages.

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