Find St. Mary's County Criminal Records
St. Mary's County criminal records are accessible through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search system, with online coverage beginning March 6, 2000. The county, located in southern Maryland on a peninsula between the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay, has a population of roughly 110,000. The Circuit Court in Leonardtown is the main source for felony case records, while District Court handles misdemeanor and traffic matters. This guide covers how to search St. Mary's County criminal records, where to go for older materials, how fees work, and how to request a state background check through the proper channels.
St. Mary's County Overview
Circuit Court Clerk - St. Mary's County
The Circuit Court for St. Mary's County sits in Leonardtown and maintains all records for serious criminal cases filed in the county. The Clerk of Court is the right contact for requesting copies of case documents, looking at in-person files, or sending a mail-in records request. The office is open to the public during regular business hours.
| Address | 41605 Courthouse Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 301-475-7844 |
| Hours | Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM |
| Clerk Website | mdcourts.gov/clerks/stmarys |
Walk-in visits are the most direct way to review case files. Staff can point you to the right location in the file room, but they cannot conduct searches on your behalf. If you are coming in person, bring the name of the subject and any case numbers you already have, as this makes the search faster.
For mail-in requests, send your request to the address above. Include the subject's full name, approximate date range, and the type of records needed. Enclose a check or money order for the required fees. The office advises allowing 10 to 15 business days for mail requests to be processed and returned. Expedited processing may be available in some cases and may carry an additional fee.
Case Search for St. Mary's County
The free Maryland Judiciary Case Search tool covers St. Mary's County criminal cases beginning March 6, 2000. Both Circuit and District Court cases are included. You can search by name, case number, or date range. Since December 2021, the system requires an exact name match by default. If you don't find a result right away, try a wildcard search, such as "Morr%" for names beginning with Morr.
The system returns case summaries that include the charges, hearing dates, and disposition information. You can view docket entries, which show a timeline of court activity, at no cost. Cases where charges were dismissed or the defendant was found not guilty were removed from public access in 2024. Stet dispositions are hidden from public view after three years have passed. If you believe a case should appear but does not, it may have been removed under one of these rules or may be older than the system's start date.
The St. Mary's records portal offers a supplemental search option for the county and may help in cases where the statewide tool does not return a result.
Note: St. Mary's County Case Search coverage begins March 6, 2000. Cases filed before that date are not available through this online tool.
What Criminal Records Show
Criminal case records from St. Mary's County include the name of the person charged, case number, charge descriptions, court dates, the disposition of the case, and sentencing details if a conviction occurred. Bond information and attorney appearances may also appear in the docket. These are public records available to anyone who searches.
Certain records are not available to the public. Juvenile cases are sealed. Records that a judge has ordered sealed require a written petition to the court before they can be viewed. The clerk's office can confirm whether a file is sealed but cannot explain the reasons for sealing without authorization. Adult criminal cases are typically open in full.
The information in a court file and the information in a state background check are not the same. A court file reflects what the court recorded. A state criminal history report from CJIS reflects what law enforcement reported to the statewide database. Both have value, but they serve different purposes.
District Court in Leonardtown
St. Mary's County has one District Court location. It handles misdemeanor offenses, traffic matters, and civil cases under $30,000. Records from this court are included in Maryland Judiciary Case Search alongside Circuit Court cases.
| Address | 23110 Leonard Hall Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650 |
|---|---|
| Phone | 301-880-2700 |
If the case you are looking for involved a minor charge or traffic-related offense, District Court is likely where it was heard. Many drug possession cases, second-degree assault charges, and related matters are handled at this level. The District Court does not have a separate jury trial process; those cases are heard by a judge alone or transferred to Circuit Court.
Law Enforcement Records
The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office maintains an online inmate lookup system that allows anyone to check the current custody status of individuals held at the county detention facility. This tool is free and does not require registration.
Arrest records and incident reports held by the Sheriff's Office are separate from court records. To request a copy of a police report or arrest document, contact the Sheriff's Office records unit directly. Law enforcement records and court records are maintained by different agencies and do not always contain the same information. Having a court record does not mean a corresponding police report is available to the public, and the reverse is also true.
Fees for St. Mary's County Records
St. Mary's County charges $7.50 per name for a court records search, which is slightly above the standard $7.00 rate used by most Maryland counties. Copies of documents cost $0.50 per page. Certified copies are $5.00 per document. These fees are due when requesting physical copies at the clerk's office or by mail. Expedited processing fees may apply in some cases.
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search tool is free to use and gives you access to case summaries and docket entries without any charge. Fees only come into play when you need paper copies or certified documents from the clerk. For a formal background check, the CJIS division at DPSCS charges $18.00 for a state check and approximately $38 to $45 for a combined state and FBI check. Contact DPSCS at 410-764-4501 or 1-888-795-0011 for details on submitting a background check request.
Expungement and Shielding
Maryland's expungement law allows eligible individuals to petition the Circuit Court to have qualifying records removed from public access. The filing fee is $30.00 at the St. Mary's County Circuit Court. If the case ended in an acquittal or the charges were not prosecuted, the filing fee is waived.
Shielding is available for some qualifying convictions under Maryland's Second Chance Act. A shielded record is not visible to the public through court record searches but remains accessible to law enforcement and courts. Both expungement and shielding require a formal petition, and not all offenses qualify. The Maryland Courts legal help page on court records has forms and instructions for both processes. Waiting periods apply for some charges before a petition can be filed.
Note: Even after expungement or shielding is granted, CJIS background check records may not be updated immediately. Contact CJIS at cjis.customerservice@maryland.gov to confirm how expungements affect background check results.
Historical Criminal Records
For St. Mary's County cases before March 2000, the online system has no data. The Maryland State Archives holds several significant collections of older records from this county. These include the Stet Docket from 1918 to 1966 and Criminal Papers from 1974 through 1991. These collections cover cases that are far outside the reach of the digital court system.
The State Archives criminal records guide shows what is available by county and how to request a search. The Archives charges $25.00 per search. For records from the period between the Archives' holdings and the Case Search start date, contact the Circuit Court Clerk's office directly to ask what materials are on file. Some courts retain paper records or microfilm for periods not covered by either the online system or the Archives.
Researchers should note that older records may be incomplete, damaged, or indexed under different naming conventions than modern records. Staff at both the clerk's office and the Archives can help navigate these gaps.
Nearby Counties
St. Mary's County sits at the southern end of Maryland's western shore, bordered by two other counties. Below are links to their criminal records pages.