Rock County Court Records

According to Wisconsin State Legislature Section 889.07, court records are any original document in paper or electronic format that details a court proceeding in the state and any document generated by the office of a legal guardian that outlines the characteristics and operations of a Wisconsin court.

Rock County court records may be certified by a court official or uncertified. A certified copy bears a court official's signature and the court's seal. In contrast, uncertified copies are Palin copies with no official notarization. Unlike unofficial copies of court records, the certified record can be used for official purposes.

Records from the Rock County Court are used as evidence in court. They are meant to be an overview of each case and a foundational guide for remembering what happened in each occurrence. They give details on the orders and motions made during a trial, witness identities, jury selection, the officer sworn to preside over the jury, jury verdicts, and court openings and adjournments.

Are Court Records Public in Rock County?

Yes, court records are classified as public records in Rock County per Wisconsin Open Records and Public Records laws. Wisconsin laws on public access to court further discuss Wisconsin circuit court record access for the general public, outlining which papers are accessible online and in person and outlining some restrictions on that access. However, specific categories of court records are exempt from public disclosure, and they include:

• Court affidavits on search warrants until executed;
• records of adoption
• juvenile court proceedings under Chapter 938;
• protective services and placement records
• records regarding child abuse
• presentencing investigative reports
• mental health proceedings

Wisconsin Statute § 801.19 also designates five specific numbers as "protected information" and must be redacted from court records provided to the general public to prevent misuse. These numbers are:

Social Security numbers:

• Employer and tax ID numbers;
• Financial account numbers (such as credit card and bank account numbers);
• Driver's license numbers;
• Passport numbers.

Rock County Court Records Search

Some of the ways to perform Rock County records search include

• In person at the clerk of the county circuit court office
• By sending a mail request or telephone request to the circuit court
• Online using the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access portal
• Using third-party websites

Rock County Court Records Search by Name

Rock County court records can be searched by name, including a person's first name, last name, or business/organization name. In-person searches are the most frequently used mode of searching Rock County court records. Searches can be done by visiting the county clerk's office and requesting a search of their in-house database. Requesters will need to supply an individual's full name on the record to the staff at the clerk's office to initiate a search. To prove their identity, the requester must also provide a valid means of identification.

A court records search by name can also be done online using the Wisconsin Circuit Court search portal. Requesters can input a name into the portal, which might be a first name, surname, middle name, or a combination of all three as they appear on the record. A person can also search using the business name. If a searcher cannot remember the spelling of a name, they can search using the first three letters of a name, an acronym of the business name, or an alias.

Rock County Courts

The Rock County court system is modeled within the Wisconsin judicial system. Rock County has one central court, which is the circuit court. Rock County Circuit Court comprises seven branches, with three divisions: Civil, Criminal, and Juvenile. Three branches handle criminal cases, three branches handle civil cases, and juvenile problems are handled by one branch. Rock County also has three treatment courts: a drug court, a veterans court, and an operating while intoxicated court(OWI). The location of the courts in Rock County is as follows:

CRIMINAL DIVISIONS

Branch 1 - Judge Karl R. Hanson
Rock County Courthouse
Criminal Division - Floor 2, Courtroom A
51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

Branch 6 - Judge John M. Wood
Rock County Courthouse
Criminal Division - Floor 3, Courtroom B
51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

Branch 5 - Judge Michael Haakenson
Rock County Courthouse
Criminal Division - Floor 3, Courtroom c
51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

CIVIL DIVISIONS

Branch 3 - Judge Jeffrey S. Kuglitsch
Rock County Courthouse
Civil Division - Floor 4R, Courtroom
H51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

Branch 4 - Judge Daniel T. Dillon
Rock County Courthouse
Civil Division - Floor 4, Courtroom E
H51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

Branch 7 - Judge Barbara W. McCrory
Civil Division - Floor 4, Courtroom D
H51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

Juvenile division
Branch 2 - Judge Derrick Grubb
Juvenile Division - Floor 3R, Courtroom F
H51 South Main Street
Janesville, WI 53545

Rock County Superior Court Case Search

There is no superior court in Rock County, Wisconsin. However, the most superior court is the circuit court. The circuit court is a single-level, unified trial court that handles all types of cases. Generally speaking, the judges in the circuit county courts handle probate, juvenile, traffic, civil, and criminal jury trials.

Rock County District Court Records

Under Wisconsin law, the courts of appeal function as district courts. The Court of Appeals is the state's intermediate appellate court. The Court of Appeals' primary duty is to rectify mistakes that happened at the circuit court. The Wisconsin judicial system places Rock County in District 4. Individuals can use these procedures to request records from the Rock County Court of Appeal:

• Visit the Supreme Court website and the Court of Appeals case search portal.
• Select "court of appeals" under court type and select district 4.
• Search using the appeal number, party name, or business name.
• Searches can also be filtered using the filing date and case status.

Rock County Criminal Records

In Wisconsin, Rock County arrest and criminal records are public records. If someone pays the charge set by the Wisconsin Legislature, they can acquire this information from any criminal record custodian in the county. However, state statute restricts access to juvenile criminal information, which is only available online for background checks on daycares.

Persons can request Rock County criminal records from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Crime Information Bureau (CIB). The bureau oversees Wisconsin's major repository for criminal history based on fingerprints. The centralized criminal history (CCH) database provides comprehensive data on arrests, charges, prosecution, verdicts, prison terms, and admittance and release from the state penal system.

To request records from the bureau, an individual can download the criminal history request form (DJ-LE-250) and submit it in person or by mail to the CIB office. Requests can also be obtained online through the Wisconsin online record check system.

The Rock County sheriff and police departments offer access to a person's criminal history by issuing a police certificate. This fingerprint-based criminal history search can be completed at any Rock County law enforcement office or by mailing the Single Name Record Request Form (DJ-LE-250) along with a set of fingerprints. It is typically required for immigration, adoption, or situations where an individual must have a fingerprint-supported background check.

Rock County Criminal Court Case Lookup

The Rock County Criminal Court maintains criminal traffic, felony, and misdemeanor records at the county clerk's office. As per SCR chapter 72.01 of the Wisconsin court rules, after the final verdict, felonies are retained in the file for 75 years. Misdemeanor files are kept on file for 20 years, and traffic files are retained for five years. A Rock County criminal court case look-up can be done in the following ways.

• Online: The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access website allows anyone to look up Rock County criminal court cases online. Visitors can obtain details on any case, including court dates.
• In-person: The Rock County Court House's second-floor viewing room, which houses the Clerk of Court's office, has public-access computers where criminal court documents can be searched. Users can also manually search indexes for earlier cases not stored on the computer.

Get Rock County Civil Court Records

The Rock County Circuit Court civil court comprises three branches that deal with civil matters such as lawsuits for personal injuries, contracts, municipal disputes, family law, and guardianship disputes. These branches provide the records of all civil cases to the county clerk's office, which is kept and stored in electronic format and as physical files. Individuals interested in requesting Rock County civil court records can do so at the county court clerk's office. Staff at the office will take visitors to the records viewing room and aid them in finding civil court records. Requestors will have to provide a name(person's name or business name), which will be used as a keyword for the search.

Record requests also can be completed over the phone by calling (608) 743-2359 or by mail by sending a request to:

Clerk of Circuit Court,
51 S Main St,
Janesville, WI 53545

People who request records by mail must include the contact address to which the records will be sent. Copies of Rock County civil court records cost $1.25 per page, while Certification costs $5.00 per document.

Rock County Family Court Records

The Rock County Family Court is a division of the county circuit court's Civil Division. It handles cases involving guardianship issues, divorce and paternity, child custody and care, mediation, and family law.

Most family court records are confidential and can only be accessed by family members or attorneys involved in the case. Family court records that are accessible to the public are older records that have been archived. Eligible persons can obtain Rock County family court records from the clerk of the family court commissioner's office. Requestors must provide a valid ID as proof of identity. Some civil family court records are also available online through the WCCP portal. Individuals can also call the commissioner's office (Phone: (608) 757-5547) to schedule an appointment or for other inquiries.

Rock Dissolution of Marriage Records

Rock County Dissolution of Marriage Records refers to divorce decrees, Rock County divorce certificates, and other categories of divorce-related records.

Rock County Marriage and Divorce Records

Rock County marriage and divorce records can be obtained from the Register of Deeds office in Rock County. All Register of Deeds offices in Wisconsin use a central repository to store, maintain, and index marriage and divorce records. Therefore, no matter where the event happened, any county's Register of deeds office in the state of Wisconsin may issue certificates for ALL counties—but only if it occurred within the specified time frame:

• Marriage Licenses: October 1, 1907, to the Present
• Certificates of Divorce - January 1, 2016 to the Present

The only way to obtain divorce records granted before January 1, 2016, is through the Rock County Register of Deeds.

Requests for Rock County marriage and divorce records can be made in-person, online, or through mail. In-person requests can be made at the office of the register of deeds. Staff will require a valid ID (State-issued driver's license, U.S. government-issued picture identification, military ID card). If the request is in order, staff will provide the records on the same day. Mail-in ordering can be done by completing the marriage or divorce certificate request forms and mailing them to the Register of Deeds office accompanied by a certified bank check or cashier's cheque payable to the "Register of Deeds" or a money order made out to the same. Online requests can be made through a third-party website available on the registry website.

Obtaining a marriage or divorce record costs $20.00 plus $3.00 for additional copies. Online requests made through third parties incur an extra $10 fee.

Rock Birth and Death Records

The county registrar of deeds office, or any register of deeds office in Wisconsin, can provide authorized and informational certified copies of the birth and death records for Rock County. These copies can be obtained in person, online, or through mail. Requesting these records follows the same procedure as obtaining marriage and divorce records. Rock County Birth and death records that can be requested from any county recorder of deeds in Wisconsin fall into the following categories.

• Certificates of Birth: October 1, 1907, to the Present
• Death Certificates: September 1, 2013 to the present (only the county where the death occurred may provide death records before September 1, 2013, according to local regulations).

Rock County Probate Court Records

During the probate estate management procedure, a court supervises the orderly transfer of a decedent's assets to those people or organizations entitled to receive them under intestacy laws or in accordance with a will.

Under the direction of the Circuit Court, the Probate Register manages guardianships, estates, and mental health commitments. Along with making and maintaining records of proceedings, the Register in Probate also keeps track of wills admitted to probate and is kept safe.

Eligible persons can visit the probate court in Rock County and request access to thier records. The Wisconsin Circuit Court Access Portal allows users to search the status of a probate hearing by entering their case number. The cost of searches conducted in person at the probate court office is $4.

Rock County Property Records

In Rock County, Several county departments are responsible for maintaining property records. The land information office keeps track of land records, the property description department keeps track of property descriptions, and the treasury department keeps tax records for every piece of real estate in the county. Anyone can obtain these records in person or online at the county register of deeds office. The department's Tax records search tool allows interested parties to look up past tax information online. The Register of Deeds homepage offers a third-party subscription-based internet tool enabling users to conduct online searches for different estate records going back to 1830. Generally, all records can be requested in person from the county register of deeds office.

Rock County Court Records Online

Third-party online resources are independent sites that provide access to Rock County court records. For instance, individuals can access Rock County court records on third-party sites like wisconsincourtrecords.us. Most third-party sites collect these records from different sources, analyze them, and curate them to produce a more readable format. Some of these sites also work with the government and only serve as distribution networks for government records. Third-party sites have proved helpful for obtaining court records quickly and conveniently. Most third-party sites offer access to records for a premium; this may be a one-time fee or a fee paid at intervals (usually monthly). It is essential to use sites that show their sources and sometimes cross-check records from third-party sites with those from government sources to establish their validity.