Crime, Courts, and Corrections:Courts

This guide is part of a larger guide on Crime, Courts, and Corrections in the City of Pittsburgh.

The Allegheny County Department of Court Records’ Criminal Division is the custodian of criminal records in Allegheny County. The Department records data on both cases filed and outcomes of criminal cases in the County. While the county manages this information, the data, available for appellate courts, common pleas courts, and magisterial district courts is owned by the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania.

What's Included in the Data

Publicly Available

• Charges filed
• Case status
• Pleas and case disposition
• Sentencing
• Appeals to superior court
• Bonds
• Fines and costs
• Restitution
• DUI offenses
• Summary appeals

Not Publicly Available

• Details of the criminal investigation
• Information about crime victims

Where to Find the Data

• In-Person Access is available by visiting the Department of Court Records’ Records Room in Room 222 of the Allegheny County Courthouse.
• Online Access is available through the Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania’s online portal . Data is not available in bulk as open data, but is available by searching on docket number, organization, participant name, police incident complaint number, and several other fields.

Things to Know

• While some court information is public, some information is not available to public audiences due to court order, state law, or administrative policy. The Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System sets public access policies for their data.
• The Allegheny County District Attorney has written a guide for looking up court case information on the Judicial System’s Portal.
• The District Attorney’s Office also has documented and described the 18-step process of how a prosecution proceeds through the court system in Pennsylvania. Additional information about criminal procedures and the role of the District Attorney is also available in the District Attorney’s website.