Criminal Cases in the Cabell County Courts
Cabell County uses three court levels for the local criminal case record. Magistrate Court tries misdemeanors and handles complaints, warrants, initial appearances, bail, and preliminary examinations in felonies. Circuit Court is the felony trial court for the Sixth Judicial Circuit. Huntington, Barboursville, and Milton keep municipal ordinance and qualifying traffic matters apart from the county courts.
A felony can appear first in the West Virginia Magistrate Case Record Search and later display “Transferred to Circuit Court.” That phrase does not turn the first file into a misdemeanor. It marks the handoff from early magistrate work to the Circuit Court prosecution. Keep the MCR case ID because the first docket can retain the complaint, bond, and preliminary-stage history.
The West Virginia Judiciary's Cabell County directory identifies the clerks, judges, magistrates, and court contacts.
The directory grounds a case search in the court that actually has the Cabell County file.
Cabell County Criminal Court Levels
A city citation, magistrate misdemeanor, and circuit felony may all involve conduct in Cabell County, but each has a separate custodian. Huntington Municipal Court handles city ordinance and municipal traffic matters. Barboursville Municipal Court does the same for village matters and offers a citation-search interface. Milton routes citation questions through its police clerk. None of those municipal channels is a countywide criminal history search.
| Court | Cabell County record | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Felony cases, appeals, expungement petitions | 750 Fifth Avenue; 304-526-8622 |
| Magistrate Court | Misdemeanors, complaints, felony preliminaries, bonds | Room B-113; 304-526-8642 or 8644 |
| Huntington Municipal | City ordinance and traffic | 800 Fifth Avenue; 304-696-4470 |
| Barboursville Municipal | Village ordinance and traffic | P.O. Box 266; 304-736-9820 |
| Milton clerk | City citation matters | 1139 Smith Street; 304-743-9211 |
The official Barboursville Municipal Court search illustrates the narrow city-citation layer.
Its five search modes help find Barboursville citations, not unrelated Cabell County cases.
How to Search Case Records
Start with the West Virginia Magistrate Case Record Search when a Cabell County misdemeanor or early felony matter is likely. Search by the known case ID or party information and select Cabell when the interface offers county or court filters. An observed format is YY-M06M-NNNNN, where M06 identifies Cabell Magistrate Court and the later M marked the inspected misdemeanor file.
- Open MCR Search and choose the party or case-ID path that matches the information in hand.
- Enter the name carefully, test known spelling variants, and apply Cabell County filters where offered.
- Compare the case ID, filing date, agency, charge, and date of birth before treating a result as a match.
- Read the docket, bond, plea, disposition, and sentence sections, then note whether the matter transferred.
- Contact the Magistrate Clerk for that file or the Circuit Clerk for a continuing felony and request the needed copy.
| Search field | Type | Required | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Case ID | Text | Path dependent | Most exact route when known |
| Party information | Text | Path dependent | Use legal name and test variants |
| County or court | Filter | Interface dependent | Select Cabell when offered |
The official interface image below comes from the same MCR source.
MCR is free, but it does not replace the Circuit Clerk when the case moved to felony court.
Cabell County Felony Record Counter
Michael J. Woelfel's Circuit Clerk office is the Cabell County felony-file counter. It is at 750 Fifth Avenue, Huntington, WV 25701, with phone 304-526-8622 and county-listed hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays. No unrestricted statewide Circuit Court party-name portal was verified, which makes the clerk the necessary fallback after transfer or indictment.
Trial Court Rule 15A.26 requires public access through the clerk to the e-file docket, pleadings, and unsealed, nonconfidential documents. Ask for a case by number when possible. If only a magistrate result is known, give the MCR ID, party name, filing date, and transfer notation. The clerk can distinguish a docket inquiry from a request for a paper or certified copy. Standard paper-copy charges may apply, but the research did not locate a Cabell County fee schedule, so confirm the price directly.
The Cabell County Circuit Clerk page is the source for this counter.
The clerk's page supports the direct route for felony pleadings, orders, judgment, and sentence.
What the Case File Shows
A Cabell County criminal case file explains how allegations changed after filing. Two anonymized MCR records displayed basic information, related cases, charges, non-monetary sentences, civil judgments, bond information, scheduled events, parties, and docket entries. No downloadable document links appeared in the inspected files, so the displayed docket and the clerk's document file should be treated as separate access levels.
| Case number & court | Case ID, location, type, filing date, trial type, and assigned magistrate. |
|---|---|
| Charging information | Agency, count, citation, alleged date, statute, and charge description. |
| Docket entries | Complaints, motions, pleas, orders, commitments, and judgment entries. |
| Bond | Type, set amount, reductions, posted total, status, payor, and receipt. |
| Disposition | Plea, outcome by charge, disposition date, or transfer to Circuit Court. |
| Sentence | Type, length, start, completion, suspension, and non-monetary terms. |
Labels such as “NO BOND INFORMATION” and “NO CASE EVENTS” describe empty sections on that displayed case. They do not prove another Cabell County custodian has no related record.
Reading Cabell County M06 Records
An M06 identifier helps route the file to Cabell Magistrate Court. It is more useful than a loose name match because it can be repeated to the Magistrate Clerk and, if the case transfers, supplied to the Circuit Clerk as the early-stage reference. The inspected MCR records also showed a full date of birth, which can help distinguish people with similar names. Use personal data only for a lawful records purpose.
- Complaint
- A sworn allegation that starts a magistrate criminal case.
- Arraignment
- The formal court appearance when the charge is stated and a plea is taken.
- Disposition
- The outcome of a charge or the whole case.
- Nolle prosequi
- The prosecutor's formal decision not to continue a charge.
- Recognizance
- Release based on a promise and conditions rather than secured money.
When MCR shows transfer, review both files. The magistrate record preserves the complaint and bond path, while the Cabell County Circuit file controls the later felony prosecution.
Stages of a Criminal Case
A Cabell County case usually starts with a complaint or arrest. Rule 5 requires an arrested person to be taken before a magistrate without unnecessary delay. The court then addresses the initial appearance and bail. A misdemeanor can remain in Magistrate Court. A felony preliminary examination generally occurs within ten days for a person in custody and twenty days for a person not in custody, unless an indictment or information intervenes.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Arraignment › Pretrial › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
After the early felony stage, the prosecutor or grand jury supplies the charging path for Circuit Court. The Cabell County docket may then show discovery, motions, a plea or trial, judgment, sentence, and appeal activity. Dates are case specific. The statutory preliminary-stage timing should not be turned into a promise for final resolution.
Cabell County Criminal Treatment Tracks
Cabell Adult Drug Court adds a local specialty track to the standard case flow. It was established in 2009. Judge Gregory Howard presides, and the Judiciary lists Matt Meadows and Faren Block as probation contacts through 304-526-8615. The current Judiciary map also identifies a Veterans Treatment Court track. These programs remain part of the court system and can produce docket or order entries, but internal supervision material may not be public.
The Judiciary's adult drug court contacts document the Cabell County program.
The program has deeper local roots. Judge Howard's official biography credits him with helping establish Cabell Juvenile Drug Court in 1999, described as West Virginia's first drug court.
Missing Cabell County Criminal Documents
An online docket with no document link is not the same as a sealed case. The inspected MCR files displayed event descriptions without downloadable pleadings. Write down the case ID, document name, and event date, then call the Magistrate Clerk at 304-526-8642 or 304-526-8644. For a transferred felony, call the Circuit Clerk instead.
Ask whether the document is public, whether inspection is available, what copy format can be supplied, and what the fee will be. Rule 15A.26 supports access to unsealed, nonconfidential Circuit Court e-file material through the clerk. The full record may still omit juvenile content, victim details, private identifiers, sealed filings, or other protected matter.
Note: A missing link, name-search miss, or empty docket section does not establish that no Cabell County court record exists.
Access & Restrictions
Cabell County court access starts with a presumption that public, unsealed filings can be inspected through the proper clerk. Court rules, not an agency FOIA request, control access to the case file. Juvenile proceedings are closed. Presentence reports and internal probation records require a written petition and court order under Trial Court Rule 44.01. Protected victim data and personal identifiers can also be withheld or redacted.
Expungement changes what the public can inspect. Section 61-11-25 addresses qualifying acquittals, dismissals, diversion, and deferred adjudication. Section 61-11-26 addresses certain eligible convictions after waiting periods and required findings. Neither statute supports assuming that every dismissal becomes invisible on its own. A person seeking relief in Cabell County files through the Circuit Clerk.
When the online result conflicts with a signed order, use the signed court order. When a charge or disposition is wrong in a fingerprint history, begin correction with the originating court or arresting agency. The broader Cabell County criminal history overview explains why a court file, booking entry, police report, and CIB history can legitimately show different slices of one event.