Court Records
Court records are used for a wide range of research
purposes. Researchers may use them to obtain information on family history,
business histories, divorces, the treatment of women or minority groups,
criminal trials, and interactions with the government. 
The Area
Research Center has the court records for a number of the counties
in its region. Court records are divided by the level of a particular
court. The court levels, in descending order of authority, are: circuit,
county, and municipal. For each county and for each type of court we have
a variety of records created by the courts. However, there are two main
types of court records: case files and case file indexes. In conducting
research in court records, always begin with an index. Most of the indexes
are arranged alphabetically by name and many of the indexes are also arranged
chronologically within the alphabetical segments. If a case file cannot
be found with the index information, alternative court documents can be
used to obtain information about the file. Below is a list of the major
court records held by the Area Research Center:
| Counties in our repository | Years held at our repository |
|---|---|
| Brown | 1823-1939 |
| Door | 1895-1978 |
| Kewaunee | 1858-1942 Online Index available at: http://www.uwgb.edu/Library/spc/court/index.htm |
| Manitowoc | 1879-1943 Partial Index available at http://www.2manitowoc.com/ |
| Marinette | 1879-1939 |
| Oconto | 1857-1973 |
| Outagamie | 1852-1979 |
| Shawano | 1857-1986 Partial Index available at: http://www.uwgb.edu/Library/spc/court/index.htm |
If you are seeking circuit court case files from a Wisconsin county not listed above, you should contact the Clerk of Courts office at that county's courthouse.