Jasper Circuit Court Overview
Jasper County is the Twenty-Ninth Judicial Circuit, a single-county circuit in Missouri. The official divisions page states that the circuit has six elected judges, one family court commissioner, and one treatment court commissioner. Divisions I, II, and III are circuit-judge divisions. Divisions IV, V, and VI are associate circuit-judge divisions. Commissioners are appointed under Missouri law and handle assigned family or treatment court duties.
Circuit Court is the primary trial court name for Jasper County state cases. It includes general trial jurisdiction, associate functions, family matters, probate, municipal-related work in the associate division, treatment courts, and lower-dollar civil work. Missouri state trial records in Jasper County use Circuit Court terminology, not District Court terminology.
Jasper Circuit Division Table
The division list below follows the research table from the Jasper County court and county contacts materials. Facilities can be Joplin or Carthage, so a summons controls where a person must appear. Phone numbers are included where the research provided them.
| Division or Court | Judicial Officer | Assignment | Address or Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Division I | Judge Joseph L. Hensley | Civil, Criminal, Juvenile | 417-625-4318 |
| Division II | Judge Dean G. Dankelson, Presiding Judge | Civil, Criminal | 417-625-4320 |
| Division III | Judge David B. Mouton | Civil, Criminal | 417-625-4325 |
| Division IV | Judge John A. Nicholas | Civil, Criminal, Municipal, Probate | 417-625-4316; Carthage warrant questions 417-358-0450 |
| Division V | Judge Nicole M. Carlton | Civil, Criminal, Juvenile | Associate Circuit Division, 417-625-4316 unless summons says otherwise |
| Division VI | Judge Luke Boyer | Domestic, Criminal, Juvenile | Associate Circuit Division, 417-625-4316 unless summons says otherwise |
| Family Court Commissioner | Commissioner Angela A. Vorhees | Domestic, Juvenile | Family Court through Jasper County Circuit Court |
| Treatment Court Commissioner | Commissioner Kimberly Fisher | Treatment Court | Administrator Jared Prater, 417-438-4245 |
| Probate Division | Probate Division of 29th Circuit | Estates, guardianships, conservatorships, trusts, mental health/substance commitments | 302 S. Main, Room 206, Carthage, MO 64836; 417-358-0403 |
| Small Claims Court | Associate/Circuit function | Small claims | 417-625-4322 |
| Child Support Division | Circuit function | Child support matters | 417-625-4328 |
| Joplin Municipal Court | Full-time municipal judge | Traffic infractions and misdemeanors inside Joplin city limits, no jury trials | 303 E. 3rd Street, Joplin, MO 64801; 417-627-2930 |
| Carthage Municipal Division | Municipal division | City ordinance and municipal matters | City Hall, 326 Grant Street, Carthage, MO 64836; 417-237-7000 |
Jasper Circuit Court Jurisdiction
The Circuit Division has general jurisdiction over civil cases with a cause of action over $25,000, felony cases transferred from Associate Circuit Division, and other assigned cases. Associate Circuit Division handles civil cases under $25,000, small claims, traffic offenses, domestic cases, juvenile matters, probate, municipal ordinances, misdemeanors, and felony matters at the early or assigned level. Family Court handles divorces, paternity, child support, custody, juvenile matters, and orders of protection.
Municipal courts are limited-jurisdiction courts for city ordinance matters. Joplin Municipal Court states that it adjudicates traffic infractions and misdemeanor offenses alleged within city limits and conducts no jury trials. Carthage Municipal Division is housed at City Hall. A person searching a city traffic ticket or municipal warrant may need a city court channel instead of a county Circuit Court search.
| Feature | Circuit Court | Associate Circuit Division | Municipal Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil role | General civil cases over $25,000 and assigned cases | Civil cases under $25,000 and small claims | City ordinance-related matters, not general civil lawsuits |
| Criminal role | Felony cases after transfer and assigned criminal cases | Misdemeanors and early felony matters | City misdemeanors and ordinance violations |
| Family and probate | Family Court and Probate Division are within the circuit system | Domestic, juvenile, probate, and related assigned work | No general family or probate jurisdiction |
| Search route | Case.net and Circuit Clerk | Case.net and division contacts | Joplin Tyler portal, city clerk, or municipal division contact |
Jasper Court Facilities
Jasper County has two official court facilities. The Joplin court facility is the Jasper County Courts Building at 633 South Pearl Avenue, Joplin, MO 64801. The Carthage court facility is the Jasper County Courthouse at 302 South Main Street, Carthage, MO 64836. The Circuit Clerk homepage lists 417-625-4310 for Joplin and 417-358-0450 for Carthage, with phone inquiries and windows from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a noon to 1:00 p.m. lunch closure.
The summons controls the correct building. This is a major local detail because some people may assume Carthage is always the court location, while many court operations and payments use South Pearl in Joplin. County contact pages describe the broader South Pearl court building, but court filing and payment text should use the Circuit Clerk's South Pearl address.
Jasper Case Flow
A Jasper County case may start in a different place depending on the event. A civil case starts with a petition or claim. A criminal case may start with an arrest, complaint, information, or transfer. A traffic case may start with a ticket from an officer. A probate case starts with a filing in the Probate Division. The case number, division, and summons help identify the next step.
County criminal flow: arrest or summons › prosecutor filing or complaint › associate appearance or bond issue › transfer or assignment › arraignment › pretrial settings › plea or trial › disposition and sentence › appeal when allowed.
Civil and family flow: petition filed › service › answer or default › motions and hearings › settlement, trial, or decree › judgment entry › post-judgment filings or appeal.
Traffic and municipal flow: citation › filing in Case.net or city portal › payment, contest, or appearance › disposition › compliance letter, warrant action, or appeal when applicable.
Search Jasper Court Cases
Jasper County directs public case searches to Case.net. The search process generally uses litigant name, the 29th Judicial Circuit, and filing year when a case number is not known. Public results can show docket entries, parties, judgments, charges, and court dates. Some filings, older records, confidential files, or full documents may require the Circuit Clerk, Probate Division, municipal court, or a courthouse access channel.
The Circuit Court page naturally connects to the broader Jasper County court records search process because Case.net is the main public index for most state court cases. For court-date questions, docket details, and division contacts, the summons and court schedule should be checked with the clerk rather than relying only on a search result.
Jasper Treatment Courts
Jasper County maintains treatment courts, not one generic drug court. The official division page identifies DWI Court, Co-occurring Disorders Court, Recovery Court, and Veterans Court as court-supervised treatment programs for non-violent felony offenders with substance-abuse or mental-health treatment needs. Kimberly Fisher is Treatment Court Commissioner, and Jared Prater is Treatment Court Administrator at 417-438-4245.
Treatment courts may include court staff, prosecutors, treatment providers, court services officers, probation officers, community providers, and law enforcement. Participants must meet treatment, supervision, abstinence, program, fee, and restitution requirements. These are court-supervised dockets, so a public case may still appear in Case.net while program details or clinical records remain limited by law or court order.
Federal Records Are Separate
Federal cases involving Jasper County residents do not become Jasper County Circuit Court records. Jasper County is in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, and the Western District FAQ places Jasper County in the Joplin/Southwestern Division. The federal Joplin/Southwestern location is unstaffed and used for bankruptcy hearings only, while district court hearings for the Southwestern Division are typically held in Springfield.
The Western District of Missouri site is the federal court source, not a Jasper County Circuit Court docket.
The Southwestern Division county list confirms where Jasper County fits in the federal district structure.
For federal filings, use PACER. For federal appeals, use the Eighth Circuit. For federal inmate status after sentence, use the Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, not the Jasper County jail roster.
The PACER access page is the official federal docket route.
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals hears federal appeals from the Western District of Missouri.
The Bureau of Prisons inmate locator is separate from Jasper County Circuit Court and local jail custody records.
These federal sources are included to prevent a common search error: a federal prosecution, bankruptcy matter, or federal sentence will not be found as a Jasper County Circuit Court case merely because the person lives in the county.
Jasper Court History
Jasper County court history helps explain why older records may need archival or office-of-origin research. County history places county government in the 1840s, with Carthage adopted as the permanent county seat on March 28, 1842. The first courthouse was completed in 1842. A later courthouse used the first floor for the Circuit Court room and offices, while the second floor housed the jail and offices.
That later building served as a hospital during the Civil War and was destroyed by fire in October 1863. County government resumed in 1865 and used several temporary quarters before the present courthouse was constructed in 1894-95. For older Jasper County Circuit Court, probate, marriage, or historical records, the Archives & Records Center and the office that created the record may both matter.
Note: Historical court record searches should not rely only on Case.net, especially for probate records predating modern automation.