Where a ticket, criminal charge, divorce, or lawsuit from Weirton, New Cumberland, Chester, or Newell is heard, and how to reach each court. A plain-language guide from Cline & Singh, a Weirton law firm.
Hancock County, at the northern tip of West Virginia, has three levels of court, plus city courts in Weirton, New Cumberland, and Chester. Which one hears a case depends mostly on what kind of case it is and, for tickets and misdemeanors, which agency wrote the charge.
Magistrate court handles misdemeanor charges, traffic tickets written by the State Police and county deputies, the first appearances, bond, and preliminary hearings in felony cases, civil claims of up to $10,000, and personal safety orders. Magistrates can also issue emergency protective orders when the family court is closed.
Circuit court handles felony cases, larger civil cases (including most personal injury lawsuits), abuse and neglect cases, adoptions, name changes, adult guardianships and conservatorships, and appeals from magistrate and municipal court.
Family court handles divorce, child custody, child support, spousal support, paternity, and the final hearings in domestic violence protective order cases. Divorce and custody cases are opened by filing with the county’s circuit clerk.
Hancock County Magistrate Court is on North Chester Street in New Cumberland. It is where most State Police and sheriff’s tickets from anywhere in the county go, where people arrested in the county are first brought before a magistrate, and where misdemeanor cases such as first-offense DUI, simple possession, and domestic battery are usually resolved.
The Hancock County Courthouse at 102 Court Street in New Cumberland houses the circuit court and the circuit clerk. Hancock County is part of the First Judicial Circuit, which also covers Brooke and Ohio counties, so the circuit judges sit in New Cumberland, Wellsburg, and Wheeling.
Felony cases that begin in magistrate court move here once they are bound over or indicted. Injury lawsuits, adoptions, name changes, and abuse and neglect cases are filed here as well, and divorce and custody cases are opened with the circuit clerk before being assigned to family court.
Hancock County is part of the First Family Court Circuit, shared with Brooke and Ohio counties. The West Virginia Judiciary lists that circuit’s family court judges at the Brooke County Judicial Center in Wellsburg and in Wheeling, and does not list a separate Hancock County family court location. The notice of hearing in a Hancock County divorce or custody case states where the hearing will be held.
Divorce forms are available through the West Virginia Judiciary and the circuit clerk’s office. Filing them correctly is only the start; property division, support, and parenting plans are where most of the work in a divorce actually happens.
Tickets written by a city’s own police officers for violations of city ordinances generally go to that city’s municipal court rather than to magistrate court.
Weirton is our home base, and Hancock County’s courts are where much of our work happens. We handle criminal charges and DUIs, traffic tickets, divorce and custody, protective orders, and injury claims here.
It depends on who wrote it. Tickets from the State Police or the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office generally go to Hancock County Magistrate Court at 900 North Chester Street in New Cumberland. Tickets written by Weirton, New Cumberland, or Chester police for city ordinance violations go to that city’s municipal court. The court is printed on the citation.
With the Hancock County Circuit Clerk at the courthouse, 102 Court Street, New Cumberland. The case is then heard by a family court judge of the First Family Court Circuit, which serves Hancock, Brooke, and Ohio counties.
A felony case usually starts in Hancock County Magistrate Court with an initial appearance and bond, and a preliminary hearing if one is held. If the case goes forward, it moves to Hancock County Circuit Court in New Cumberland.
The West Virginia Judiciary offers an online magistrate court record search. For circuit and family court records, the circuit clerk’s office can help.
Both of our attorneys were raised in the Northern Panhandle and appear regularly in its courts. We offer phone and video consultations for clients who would rather not make the drive to Weirton.
This page is general information about local courts, not legal advice, and Cline & Singh is a private law firm, not affiliated with any court. Court locations, phone numbers, and schedules can change; your citation or court paperwork controls, and the clerk can confirm the details.
Talk with us before your first court date. Consultations are free. Call (304) 919-2912 or (304) 919-2119, or send us a message.