Criminal Court Cases in Garfield County
Garfield County criminal court cases do not all land on one docket. The Sixth District Court in Panguitch hears every felony and class A misdemeanor filed in the county. Garfield County Justice Court handles most class B and class C misdemeanors, infractions, and citations from the Sheriff, Utah Highway Patrol, and Division of Wildlife Resources. Panguitch City Justice Court also keeps its own city docket, though it shares the local counter and contact line with the county justice court.
The clerk is custodian of the case file. Court staff record the complaint or information, hearings, filed papers, orders, judgment, and disposition. An arrest report remains with the agency that created it. That division matters. Someone seeking an officer narrative should contact the arresting agency, while someone seeking a plea, certified judgment, or sentence should contact the court clerk. The Garfield County courts page identifies the local justice court scope.
The official county courts source shows the local court structure.
That structure helps a searcher choose the right Garfield County criminal docket before calling or visiting.
Garfield County Court Jurisdiction Split
Offense level is the quickest routing clue. Felonies and class A misdemeanors belong in District Court. Most class B and C misdemeanors and infractions belong in a justice court. Yet location alone does not settle which justice docket to search. A Panguitch citation may be in the city justice court, while a Sheriff, UHP, or DWR case may be in Garfield County Justice Court.
| Case level or source | Likely Garfield court | Clerk contact |
|---|---|---|
| Felony or class A misdemeanor | Sixth District Court | 435-676-1104 |
| Sheriff, UHP, or DWR class B/C case | Garfield County Justice Court | 435-676-1115 |
| Panguitch city citation | Panguitch City Justice Court | 435-676-1115 |
All three routes lead back to Panguitch, but they remain distinct case locations in Xchange. Searching both justice jurisdictions can prevent a false no-result when the issuing agency is not clear.
The official Sixth District listing gives the Panguitch court address and contact channel.
It confirms where Garfield County felony and class A case records are held.
Garfield County Case Record Searches
Utah Courts Xchange is the public online repository for district and justice court summary records. Online use is paid. A public terminal at a district courthouse offers a no-fee way to inspect CORIS court information, and the clerk remains the fallback for copies, older material, and case-specific questions. MyCase is different: it is free, authenticated access for a party to their own supported case, not a public name search.
| Xchange field | Use | Format note |
|---|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | Choose District Court, Justice Court, or both | Match the offense level |
| Case number | Find a known filing | Not unique statewide |
| Last and first name | Find cases by party | First name supports an asterisk |
| Search scope | Limit to county or court | Choose Garfield or a Panguitch location |
| Birth date | Narrow criminal-defendant results | Optional and not always displayed |
| Case type and date range | Reduce broad results | Useful near the 500-result cap |
- Open Xchange and select District Court, Justice Court, or both based on the charge level and issuing agency.
- Enter the case number or party name. Use the first-name wildcard when middle initials, suffixes, or name variations may interfere.
- Set Garfield County or the correct Panguitch court as the scope. Add date, case type, or birth date when available.
- Open the case number and read the full event history. Check each charge's plea, disposition, and judgment rather than relying on the caption.
- Ask the clerk for a certified copy, older file, audio record, or courthouse-terminal access when the online entry is incomplete.
For a broad result set, narrow before trying again. Xchange caps output at 500 results, and both case numbers and citation numbers can repeat across Utah. The county and court fields are therefore more than optional conveniences.
Garfield County Xchange Case Limits
Xchange reflects entries after court staff place them in CORIS. “Immediate” access means after staff entry, not after an arrest. A no-result search might mean no charge was filed, the wrong spelling or court was chosen, the case predates full electronic coverage, or the record is sealed, expunged, juvenile, or otherwise nonpublic. Panguitch's complete electronic coverage begins February 24, 2000. Converted older cases may contain less detail.
The official Xchange coverage chart documents the local CORIS start date.
The chart explains why a clerk or archive request may be needed for an older Garfield County case.
Online price pages conflict on the one-time search fee. Both describe an initial $10 amount and $1 for an available electronic document, while one current source states $0.35 per search and a registration screen has shown $0.20. Confirm the checkout amount. A docket entry also does not guarantee that a scanned document can be bought. The $1 charge applies only when Xchange offers an image.
Note: A no-result Xchange search does not prove that no Garfield County arrest occurred.
What a Criminal Case File Contains
A Garfield County court file is arranged by case, not by arrest cycle. The official Xchange sample shows the filing court, caption, case number and type, charge details, parties, attorneys, events, minutes, hearings, financial entries, and outcome. A date of birth may appear for a criminal defendant, but it should not be assumed. Public displays restrict private identifiers and omit records that the governing rules classify as nonpublic.
| Case identity | Court location, case number, case type, caption, and filing date. |
|---|---|
| Charge detail | Offense, level, charge attributes, citation or violation date, and filing agency. |
| People and roles | Parties, attorneys, judge, prosecutor, and law-enforcement officer or agency. |
| Docket history | Hearings, minutes, filed papers, court events, and paid document links when offered. |
| Outcome | Plea, disposition date and type, judgment, financial account, and sentence-related entries. |
Read at the charge level. One case can contain several charges with different results. A conviction on one count does not turn a dismissed count into a conviction, and the original booking label may not match the prosecutor's final filing.
Garfield County Court Terminal Access
The Garfield County Courthouse at 55 South Main Street in Panguitch is the key in-person court-record point. District Court lists hours of 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Justice Court lists 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Utah Courts describes the Sixth District's rural contracting-court structure. Call before a long trip because public terminal access or office hours can change.
Garfield County Court Clerks
55 South Main Street
Panguitch, UT 84759
District: 435-676-1104
Justice: 435-676-1115
justicecourts@garfield.utah.gov
The Utah Courts Xchange overview explains the public summary-record service and courthouse access.
Free terminal viewing can be a better fit than paid online searches for a focused Garfield County court inquiry.
Criminal Case Stages in Garfield County
A filed Garfield County case develops through recorded events. The exact path depends on the offense, motions, plea talks, and court rulings. The docket may be brief when a plea resolves the matter, or much longer when the parties litigate evidence and proceed to trial.
Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing
At arraignment, the court addresses the charges and takes a plea. Pretrial entries may include motions, conferences, and orders. Disposition is the recorded result of a charge. Sentencing follows a conviction, but a dismissal or acquittal ends a charge without a guilty judgment. A failure to appear may lead the judge to issue a bench warrant.
- Information
- A charging document filed by a prosecutor, often used in a Utah felony case.
- Disposition
- The court's recorded outcome for a charge or case.
- Plea in abeyance
- A plea held while conditions are met, with possible dismissal after successful completion.
- Bench warrant
- A judge's command for arrest, often issued after a missed court date.
Garfield County Court Audio and Copies
Online docket text may not answer every question. Garfield court audio requests use 6thgarfielddocs@utcourts.gov. The Utah Courts audio and transcript instructions explain how to identify the hearing. Supply the court, case number, hearing date, and the recording sought. Older files more than 50 years old may be routed to Utah State Archives.
The request path supplements the docket when the spoken record of a Garfield County hearing matters.
For copies effective May 6, 2026, research lists certified copies at $4 per document plus $0.50 per page and exemplified copies at $6 per document plus $0.50 per page. A certified copy bears the clerk's official certification. An exemplified copy carries added authentication. Confirm the current rate and ask which form of copy fits the intended official use.
Access Rules for Case Records
Public access is controlled record by record. Utah Code of Judicial Administration Rule 4-202.02 classifies court records and governs disclosure through Xchange and court staff. Public filings can be viewed, but juvenile delinquency, sealed, expunged, private, protected, and other restricted records do not become public merely because a government office holds them.
Access point: Public case summaries may be available through Xchange or the clerk. The court can redact protected identifiers, victim data, medical facts, and minor information.
GRAMA is the route for a Sheriff incident or arrest report, not a substitute for the court file. Likewise, the Utah Bureau of Criminal Identification provides a fingerprint-based Right of Access process for a person's own Utah criminal history. It does not operate a general public name portal. These sources can differ because each records another stage of the justice process.
Garfield County Court Outcomes Explained
A clear Garfield County case reading starts with the final disposition, then works backward. “Filed” means the prosecutor began a court case. It does not mean guilt. “Dismissed without prejudice” means the charge ended but may be filed again. “Dismissed with prejudice” means it ended without that option. An acquittal is a not-guilty result after adjudication. A conviction follows a guilty plea or finding.
The official Xchange help material shows the search and history fields used to interpret a Garfield County criminal case.
Those fields help separate the filed charge, plea, docket events, and final court result.
Utah Code chapter 77-40a allows expungement to seal or restrict ordinary public access, but relief does not physically destroy every government record. A case missing from a name-and-birth-date search may also be unlinked after a qualifying dismissal. When the outcome affects one's own record, compare the clerk's judgment with a BCI self-review and use the official challenge or expungement route if a reported disposition is wrong.