West Virginia Legal Overview: Morgantown The Morgantown metropolitan area in West Virginia is defined by the Census Bureau as covering Monongalia and Preston Counties. Monongalia County comes under the 17th Judicial Circuit, while Preston County comes under the 18th Judicial Circuit. The Monongalia County Circuit Court, located in Morgantown, is the main trial court with general jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases filed in Morgantown and the rest of Monongalia County. It handles all the felony prosecutions and has jurisdiction on civil lawsuits over $300.
For help with West Virginia issues, we can help connect you with:
1. The Preston County Circuit Court, located in Kingwood, is the main trial court with general jurisdiction over all criminal and civil cases filed in the county. Each county has a family court and limited jurisdiction magistrates. Both counties come under the Twentieth Family Court Circuit, which has one location each in Morgantown and Kingwood. The family court handles divorces, domestic violence civil cases, paternity, visitation, and other family law issues. The four magistrates in Morgantown and one in Kingwood decide on misdemeanors, civil cases not exceeding $5,000, and city code violations.
Monongalia County Courts
Trending Legal Topics: Appeals against magistrate, municipal and family court verdicts may be filed with the appropriate circuit court. Family court appeals can also be directly filed with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Both parties in the family law case must be in agreement in order to appeal directly to the state supreme court. West Virginia does not have any other appellate court. Federal lawsuits in the Morgantown metro area have to be filed with the Clarksburg Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia. |