Search Bolivar County Circuit Court Records

Bolivar County Circuit Court Overview

Circuit Court is the top trial court in the Mississippi system. It hears felony criminal cases, major civil lawsuits, and appeals from County, Justice, Municipal, and certain administrative bodies. Bolivar County sits in the Eleventh Circuit Court District, which also reaches nearby Delta counties. What makes Bolivar County different is its two judicial districts. The First Judicial District is seated in Rosedale. The Second Judicial District is seated in Cleveland. A case does not just belong to one courthouse, so the first sorting question is always which district holds the file.

The two-district split has deep roots. The county was created in 1836, and the eastern side later won its own seat of court. The present Cleveland courthouse was built in 1923 and 1924 in the Italian Renaissance style, designed by Jackson architect N. W. Overstreet. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History lists it as a three-story building, and it was named a Mississippi Landmark on August 7, 1985. The Rosedale courthouse was rebuilt around the same period after flood seep water damaged its foundation.

The Mississippi Judiciary Circuit Court overview spells out the felony, civil, and appeal jurisdiction that this court carries statewide.

Note: Before you travel or call, confirm whether a Bolivar County case sits in the First District at Rosedale or the Second District at Cleveland, because the court level alone does not point to one place.

Bolivar County Circuit Court Locations

The table below lists the Circuit Court and County Court seats for both judicial districts, along with the County Court judge's office. The Circuit and County Courts share courthouse space in each district, so the same address and phone often serve both. Mississippi Electronic Courts went live for these courts on August 31, 2020, and counter hours run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Rosedale serves the western half of the county, and Cleveland serves the east. If the district is not clear, the county main lines can route a call. Rosedale answers at 662-759-3762, and Cleveland answers at 662-846-5877. The County Court judge keeps a separate mailing box in Cleveland for motion-day filings.

The Eleventh Circuit Court District

Three Circuit judges preside over the Eleventh Circuit, and they rotate across the district's counties. The county Circuit Court page names the judges who hear Bolivar County felony and civil cases, along with the staff who keep each case moving. Court administrators set the calendar, court reporters keep the record, and a law clerk supports research and orders.

• Judge Linda F. Coleman, with court administrator Theresa J. Thigpen.
• Judge W. Hunter Nowell, with court administrator Courtney Flore at cflore@co.bolivar.ms.us.
• Judge Charles E. Webster, who sits across the Eleventh Circuit counties.
• Law clerk J. Landon Phillips, who supports the circuit's case research.

The circuit also runs a drug and intervention court program. Angie Kent serves as the Drug Court coordinator and can be reached at 662-846-2944 or interventioncourt11@gmail.com. Official sources do not publish the program's eligibility rules or phase lengths, so a defendant or attorney should contact the coordinator directly rather than rely on secondhand figures.

The official county Circuit Court page lists the current judges, administrators, reporters, and the drug court contact in one place.

Circuit Court vs County Court vs Justice Court

Mississippi spreads trial work across several courts, and each one has a defined reach. Circuit Court takes the most serious matters. County Court shares some work with the courts above and below it. Justice Court handles the high-volume, lower-dollar cases. The table below compares the three as they operate in Bolivar County.

County Court also holds a few exclusive jobs. It hears eminent domain cases, partition of personal property, and unlawful entry and detainer. The County Court judge serves as the Youth Court judge as well, so juvenile matters route through that office. Those youth files are confidential in most cases and are not part of a routine public search.

Note: A traffic ticket may land in Justice Court or in a city Municipal Court depending on which agency wrote it, so check the citation before assuming the case is in Circuit Court.

How a Case Moves Through the Bolivar County System

Cases travel a set path, and the path differs for criminal and civil matters. A felony usually opens with an arrest and a first appearance, then moves to a grand jury for an indictment before it reaches Circuit Court. A civil suit starts with a filed complaint. Both tracks can end in a judgment that one side then appeals. Appeals from Bolivar County run to the state appellate courts.

Criminal flow: Arrest › First Appearance › Grand Jury Indictment › Arraignment › Pretrial Motions › Plea or Trial › Sentencing › Appeal

Civil flow: Complaint Filed › Answer › Discovery › Motions › Trial › Judgment › Appeal

Appeal flow: Justice / Municipal / County Court › Circuit Court › Mississippi Court of Appeals › Mississippi Supreme Court

Appeals run in two directions around Circuit Court. Cases from Justice, Municipal, and County Courts move up into Circuit Court for review. From there, a party who loses can ask the higher courts to look again. The Mississippi Supreme Court is the court of last resort, and it assigns many cases to the Mississippi Court of Appeals. That two-way role is why Circuit Court sits at the center of the local system.

Felony, Civil, and Appeal Cases in Bolivar County

Circuit Court work falls into three broad buckets. Felony criminal cases include the charges that carry the longest possible sentences. A felony file can hold the indictment, bond orders, pleas, motions, trial settings, jury verdicts, and sentencing orders. Major civil cases cover lawsuits over money, contracts, injuries, and property that exceed the lower courts' reach. A civil file holds the complaint, answers, motions, judgments, and execution records.

The third bucket is appellate. When a party loses in Justice, Municipal, or County Court, the next step is often a Circuit Court appeal. The Circuit Clerk receives and files all of these papers and issues the summonses and subpoenas that move a case forward. The clerk also draws jurors and qualifies juries for trials. A reader who wants the full felony case file, including charges and disposition, can compare it against the broader set of Bolivar County court records held across the other courts.

Most case status shows up as flags in Mississippi Electronic Courts. Common ones include Trial Pending, Plea Pending, Bench Warrant Issued, Probation, Nolle Pros Pending, Closed, Sealed, and Expunged. A sealed or expunged case should not appear as an ordinary public conviction.

How to Search Bolivar County Circuit Court Records

There is no single free portal that pulls every Circuit Court case at once. The practical path runs through Mississippi Electronic Courts, the statewide filing and case-management system for Chancery, Circuit, and County Courts. Public access to that system, called PAMEC, sits behind a login and needs registration. The open Eleventh Circuit page shows court locations and case flags, but it does not offer a free, unauthenticated case-search form.

The Mississippi Judiciary Mississippi Electronic Courts page explains how the system works and how the public registers for access.

When online access falls short, the Circuit Clerk counter is the fallback. The Circuit Clerk holds Circuit, County, and Youth Court files and acts as custodian for court and marriage records in both districts. The same office is profiled on the Bolivar County Circuit Clerk page. Ask whether the case is in MEC, whether documents can be inspected at the counter, and what copy or certification fees apply. Court fines can be paid online through the clerk's payment page by picking District 1 or District 2.

To get a Bolivar County Circuit Court record, work through these steps in order.

1. Confirm the case is a felony, a major civil suit, or an appeal, which places it in Circuit Court.
2. Identify the district, either First at Rosedale or Second at Cleveland.
3. Register for PAMEC if you need to search and view documents online.
4. Call or visit the Circuit Clerk for that district if the file is older or not digitized.
5. Use the clerk's online payment page to settle fines by district.

Note: Public access to Mississippi Electronic Courts requires a registered account, so the open court-information page alone will not return a full Bolivar County case file.

County, Justice, and Municipal Courts in Bolivar County

Circuit Court does not act alone. County Court shares much of the civil and criminal load and handles youth matters through the same judge. Judge Hunter Nowell presides over County Court, with motion days held each Monday in Cleveland at 2 p.m. County Court runs in both judicial districts, mirroring the Circuit Court setup.

Justice Court takes the high-volume lower cases. Its clerk and judges work from 404 N Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Cleveland and can be reached at 662-843-4008. Justice Court is a common venue for traffic, misdemeanors, small civil claims, and eviction matters. Cleveland Municipal Court hears city offenses from 315 S. Sharpe Street, reachable at 662-843-7346. Whether a charge starts in Justice Court or Municipal Court depends on the agency that wrote the citation and whether the offense is state, county, or city.

All of these lower courts feed Circuit Court on appeal. A loss in Justice, Municipal, or County Court can be carried up for review, which keeps Circuit Court busy with both first-instance trials and second looks at lower rulings.

Federal Courts Serving Bolivar County

Federal court is not the same as the Bolivar County Circuit Court. The two systems are fully separate, with their own judges, clerks, and search tools. Bolivar County falls inside the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, which keeps courthouses in Aberdeen, Greenville, and Oxford. The nearest access point for many county residents is the Greenville office at 305 Main Street, Suite 329, Greenville, MS 38701, reachable at 662-234-1971 and open by appointment only.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi runs its own official site with case rules, forms, and contacts.

That site is the starting point for any federal matter tied to a Bolivar County resident or business.

Federal district records cover federal crimes, civil-rights suits, federal-question cases, diversity disputes, prisoner petitions, and federal tax and collection matters. A county arrest or a state felony does not move into federal court unless a federal charge is filed. The court publishes a divisional map that shows which counties each office serves.

The Northern District's divisional map page places Bolivar County within its coverage and points to the right office.

The map confirms which division handles a Bolivar County filing before a trip to the courthouse.

Federal cases are searched through PACER and its CM/ECF system, not through the county clerks. PACER is the public electronic search for federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate dockets across the country. Registration is required, and some document views carry a per-page fee.

The PACER court lookup for the Northern District links straight to the district's electronic case search.

That lookup is the correct tool for a federal case, while county cases stay with the Circuit and Chancery Clerks.

The federal prosecutor for the area is the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi. That office prosecutes federal crimes and represents the United States in civil suits and in collecting judgments and restitution.

The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi describes the office's criminal and civil work in the district.

That office handles the federal side of a case, which never overlaps with the county Circuit Court docket.