Tippecanoe County Trial Courts
Indiana's trial courts include circuit courts, superior courts, and local city or town courts. The Indiana Judicial Branch explains that circuit and superior court names reflect local history more than a sharp statewide split in power. Tippecanoe County uses Circuit Court and Superior Courts 1 through 7 for most local trial-court work, with magistrate functions, juvenile magistrate work, small claims, and problem-solving court programs also connected to the courthouse system.
The Tippecanoe County Courts landing page is the local hub for courts, judges, courthouse location, court records, local rules, parking, security, jury service, and accommodations.
That hub is useful because Tippecanoe County court records, courthouse visits, and court-specific questions often involve more than one local court page.
Indiana Court Structure
At the state level, Indiana has trial courts and appellate courts. The appellate level includes the Supreme Court of Indiana, the Court of Appeals of Indiana, and the Indiana Tax Court. Tippecanoe County is in Indiana Judicial District 10 with Carroll and White counties. Federal cases are separate and route to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, with federal appeals going to the Seventh Circuit.
| Court Level | Tippecanoe County Role | Record Access Point |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | General jurisdiction since 1826, major cases, domestic matters, major civil, exclusive probate. | MyCase, Circuit Court staff, Clerk copies. |
| Superior Courts | Numbered trial courts with civil, criminal, family, juvenile, traffic, eviction, and small-claim assignments. | MyCase, assigned court, Clerk copies. |
| Magistrate and Juvenile Magistrate | Assist courts with initial hearings, juvenile work, bail, expungement, and heavy caseloads. | Assigned court and MyCase entries. |
| City Court | West Lafayette City Court appears as a separate MyCase option. | MyCase court dropdown and city-court channels. |
| Appellate Courts | Appeals from state trial courts go through Indiana appellate courts. | MyCase and Indiana appellate records. |
Tippecanoe County Court Table
Most Tippecanoe County trial-court offices use the same courthouse address, but they do not all handle the same kind of case. The court table below tracks the researched court names, judicial officers, local roles, and public phone numbers that were captured. If no phone number was captured in official research, the table says so instead of guessing.
| Court | Judicial officer | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circuit Court | Judge Sean Persin | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9343 |
| Superior Court 1 | Judge Kevin M. McDaniel | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9217 |
| Superior Court 2 | Judge Steven Meyer | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9293 |
| Superior Court 3 | Judge Faith Graham | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9295 |
| Superior Court 4 | Judge Mathew Sandy | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9266 |
| Superior Court 5 | Judge Kristen McVey | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9280 |
| Superior Court 6 | Judge Michael Morrissey | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-423-9750 |
| Superior Court 7 | Judge Daniel Moore | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | 765-269-4030 |
| Small Claims Court | Judge Mathew Sandy | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | Not captured in official research |
| Magistrate Court | Magistrate Judge Sarah Wyatt | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | Not captured in official research |
| Juvenile Magistrate | Judge Tricia Thompson | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | Not captured in official research |
| Veterans Treatment Court | Judge Sean Persin; Judge Daniel Moore secondary | 301 Main Street, Lafayette, IN 47901 | Not captured in official research |
| West Lafayette City Court | City court | West Lafayette | Not captured in official research |
Tippecanoe Circuit Court Role
The Circuit Court page identifies Circuit Court as the court established by Indiana's Constitution and the county's general-jurisdiction court since 1826. It handles major criminal cases, domestic relations, major civil cases, and exclusive probate jurisdiction. Circuit Court shares juvenile jurisdiction, but Superior Court 3 handles nearly all juvenile matters in practice.
Circuit Court is therefore the key court for a person trying to understand probate venue, older general-jurisdiction records, or major matters assigned under local rules.
Tippecanoe County Case Assignments
Tippecanoe local rules are unusually useful because they explain how cases move to particular courts. Murder and Level 1 through Level 4 felonies are randomly assigned among Circuit Court, Superior Court 1, and Superior Court 2 in a 1:2:2 ratio. Level 5 domestic battery goes to Superior Court 1. Other Level 5 and Level 6 felonies, misdemeanors, and infractions may route to Superior Courts 4, 5, or 7 by the defendant's date of birth day. Days 1 through 10 go to Superior Court 4, days 11 through 20 go to Superior Court 5, and days 21 through 31 go to Superior Court 7.
Several civil and family assignments are also specific. Commercial Court eligible cases go to Superior Court 7. Protection orders initially go to Superior Court 5. Collections over $10,000 go to Superior Court 1, while collections under $10,000 go to Superior Courts 4 or 5. Mortgage foreclosure goes to Superior Court 2, and residential foreclosure goes to Superior Court 5. Juvenile cases go to Superior Court 3. Search warrants and 72-hour holds approved by the Tippecanoe Magistrate are filed in Superior Court 7.
Superior Court 6 Traffic Cases
Superior Court 6 handles traffic infractions, OWI, motor-vehicle criminal cases, first-offense operating while suspended infractions, leaving the scene, never receiving a license, habitual traffic violation, reckless driving, and child-restraint infractions. The court page says misdemeanor operating while suspended cases are within Superior Court 7's jurisdiction. Fine and cost payment questions go to the Clerk, while case-specific traffic questions should use the Superior Court 6 contact path after checking MyCase.
This division is a strong example of why a Tippecanoe County court search should use the assigned court and case type rather than a generic district-court label.
Circuit Courts vs Lower Courts
Tippecanoe County does not have a county district court in the Texas or Kansas sense. The county's main trial courts are Circuit Court and Superior Courts, with lower or specialized routes such as city court, small claims, and magistrate functions. The comparison below uses the State Court Structure Map categories found in the research file.
| Topic | Circuit and Superior Courts | City or Town Court | Small Claims and Magistrate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local examples | Circuit Court; Superior Courts 1 through 7. | West Lafayette City Court appears in MyCase. | Small Claims Court; Magistrate Court; Juvenile Magistrate. |
| Main records | Civil, criminal, family, probate, juvenile, traffic, eviction, and protection-order matters. | Local ordinance or city-court matters where assigned. | Small claims, initial hearings, juvenile support work, and assigned court tasks. |
| Search path | MyCase Tippecanoe County court option and Clerk copies. | MyCase city-court option when relevant. | MyCase, Small Claims materials, or the assigned court. |
| Copy path | Tippecanoe County Clerk for case copies and certified records. | Use the court or Clerk path shown for the case. | Use the assigned court record and Clerk copy channel when applicable. |
Small Claims in Tippecanoe County
The Small Claims Court page links local forms and manuals for claim filing, default judgment, appeals, and related guidance. Local rules state that small-claims non-landlord cases go to Superior Court 4, while small-claims landlord and eviction matters go to Superior Court 7. This split makes the small-claims page and the assigned court both relevant when a person is trying to locate a file, hearing date, or judgment.
For record access, the most practical detail is the case assignment. A landlord-tenant matter may not sit in the same court as a non-landlord small claim.
Tippecanoe County Case Flow
A case does not move through every court in the county. It is assigned by filing type, charge level, local rule, or statutory venue. Once filed, the case creates a court record, docket events, hearing entries, orders, and payment or judgment entries where public. If a party appeals a state trial-court decision, the appeal moves to the Indiana appellate system rather than to another local trial court.
Criminal flow: Arrest or summons › initial hearing or magistrate function › charge filed › assigned Circuit or Superior Court › pretrial events › plea or trial › disposition and sentencing › appeal if filed.
Civil flow: Complaint or petition › case assignment › service and answer › motions or mediation › hearing or trial › judgment or order › collection, compliance, or appeal.
Probate flow: Petition › Circuit Court probate assignment › appointment or order › inventory, notices, claims, or reports › closing or further hearing.
For copies after a case is located, use the Tippecanoe County Clerk records path. For broad case lookup, use the county court-record search process and the assigned court shown in MyCase.
Traffic Records and BMV Links
The Indiana BMV driver safety program page is not a trial court page, but the manifest assigns it here because traffic-court outcomes can affect points, suspensions, and driver safety program credit.
The distinction is important: the court record shows the case, citation, disposition, and payments, while the BMV record shows license status, points, and driver-program consequences.
Note: A court traffic record and an Indiana driver record are separate files, even when the same citation affects both systems.