Cass County Criminal Court Records
A criminal court record is the court-maintained file for a prosecution. In Cass County, the record is maintained through the Cass County Circuit Court and Cass County Superior Courts I and II, with the Clerk of the Circuit Court as the official record custodian. The record begins once the prosecutor files formal charges and the case is opened in the court system. It can include charge fields, parties, hearing events, bonds, warrants, pleas, dispositions, sentencing entries, and public documents.
Indiana uses circuit and superior courts as trial courts. Cass County is not a district-court county. The Cass County Prosecuting Attorney represents the State of Indiana in adult and juvenile criminal cases in the 29th Judicial Circuit. The prosecutor's role is separate from the Clerk's role. Prosecutor Noah Schafer's office reviews and files charges, while the Clerk keeps the court record and certified copies after the case is filed.
The county department page for the Cass County Prosecutor's Office identifies the local office, room, phone, and weekday hours used for prosecutor-side questions.
The prosecutor page is useful for understanding who files criminal charges, but the filed criminal court record is still searched through MyCase or requested from the Clerk.
Search Cass County Criminal Court Records
Cass County criminal court records are searched through Indiana MyCase. Criminal cases can be searched by case number, defendant name, attorney, citation number, court, status, and filed-date range. MyCase categories include F1 through F6 felony levels, murder, misdemeanors, miscellaneous criminal, post-conviction, and older Class A through Class D felony codes. A criminal case search can also show bonds, charges, warrant markers, events, public documents, and financial data when available.
- Use the Case tab when a criminal case number, citation number, or cross-reference is known.
- Use the Name tab to search the defendant name, adding first name, middle name, or birth date when known.
- Use the Court filter to focus on Cass County court entries if statewide results are too broad.
- Open the case summary and read the charge list, event history, bond section, documents, and disposition entries.
- Contact the Cass County Clerk for certified copies, missing documents, older files, transcripts, or official criminal court records.
A jail booking record can help identify a recent arrest, but it is not the same as a criminal case file. Court charges after arrest are explained in more detail on the Cass County arrest records and charges page.
Cass County Criminal Case Flow
A Cass County criminal court record changes as the case moves through the court. The same case may start with several filed counts, then show a bond event, an initial hearing, motions, plea discussions, dismissed or amended charges, a trial setting, a plea, a judgment, and sentencing. The docket does not always include every document online, but the public timeline can show the major case steps.
Case flow: Charges Filed › Initial Hearing › Pretrial and Motions › Plea or Trial › Disposition › Sentencing
| Stage | What Happens |
|---|---|
| Charges Filed | The prosecutor files the formal accusation and the Clerk opens the criminal court case. |
| Initial Hearing | The court addresses rights, charges, counsel, bond, and future hearing dates. |
| Pretrial and Motions | The record may show appearances, discovery issues, continuances, motions, bond changes, and status settings. |
| Plea or Trial | The case may resolve by plea, bench trial, jury trial, dismissal, or other disposition. |
| Disposition | The record shows the outcome for the case or individual counts. |
| Sentencing | Sentencing entries may show confinement, probation, fees, restitution, conditions, and concurrent or consecutive terms. |
The Cass County Prosecutor homepage describes the office's adult and juvenile criminal role, grand jury work, plea agreement policy, and law-enforcement training duties.
Those prosecutor functions explain why the criminal court record may include charge amendments, plea entries, victim-related filings, or law-enforcement witness activity.
Cass County Criminal Record Fields
MyCase criminal case summaries can show a mix of case, party, charge, bond, event, document, financial, and sentencing fields. The public view changes by access rule and case type. Sentencing orders may be available online for many criminal categories, while other documents may require Clerk access or may be excluded. Financial balances are representations of transactions processed by the Clerk's Office and should be verified with the Clerk before payment decisions.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The court file number used to identify the criminal case. |
| Court | The Cass County Circuit or Superior Court handling the case. |
| Defendant and Attorneys | Public party information and counsel details when available. |
| Charges | Offense date, description, statute, degree, citation number, modification, and original offense information. |
| Bonds and Warrants | Bond number, amount, status, status date, and active-warrant indicators when public. |
| Events | Hearings, filings, judgments, dispositions, sentencing events, violations, and appellate events. |
| Documents | Public document names, icons, counts, or download links when Rule 9 allows remote access. |
| Disposition | The outcome of a charge or case, such as guilty, not guilty, dismissed, or other court action. |
| Sentence | Confinement, probation, fees, conditions, awards, comments, and concurrent or consecutive terms when public. |
Cass County Charges vs Convictions
A charge is an accusation filed by the prosecutor. A conviction is an outcome after a guilty plea, guilty verdict, or other qualifying adjudication. A Cass County criminal court record can show charges that were dismissed, amended, reduced, or resolved differently from the original filing. That is why the disposition for each count matters more than the mere presence of a charge in the record.
| Point | Charge | Conviction |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | A formal accusation filed in court. | A final guilty outcome or qualifying judgment. |
| Timing | Appears near the start of the court case. | Appears after plea, verdict, or judgment. |
| Record Reading | Check statute, degree, and status. | Check disposition and sentence fields. |
| Public Impact | May be visible even if later dismissed. | Often tied to sentencing, probation, fines, or restitution. |
Public Access to Cass County Criminal Records
Indiana's Administrative Rule 9 controls court-record access, including remote access through systems such as MyCase. The Indiana Access to Public Records Act covers public-agency records in general, but court records also follow court-specific access rules. Criminal-law and expungement provisions are found in Indiana Code Title 35.
The Cass Prosecutor criminal division page states that the office handles hundreds of felonies and thousands of misdemeanors and infractions each year.
That volume makes online lookup useful, but certified records and missing criminal documents still route to the Cass County Clerk.
Note: MyCase is a search tool, while certified Cass County criminal court records come from the Clerk.
Sealed vs Expunged Records
Sealing and expungement affect public access, but they do not mean every agency loses every internal record. Indiana expungement law provides the route for eligible arrest, charge, and conviction records. The practical Cass County path starts by identifying the case in MyCase or through the Clerk, using Indiana Legal Help and Clerk-linked forms, filing in the court that handled the case, serving the required agencies or prosecutor, and waiting for the court order.
| Point | Sealed | Expunged |
|---|---|---|
| Public View | Removed from ordinary public access by law or court order. | Restricted under Indiana's expungement process when granted. |
| Common Route | Court order, statute, or access rule. | Petition under IC 35-38-9 when eligible. |
| Agency Access | Some agencies may retain limited access. | Law enforcement and certain agencies may retain access in some circumstances. |
| Public Search | May disappear from ordinary MyCase results. | Granted expungement petitions are not publicly online. |
The Indiana Title 35 source is the official criminal-law and expungement source for Cass County criminal court records.
Use the statute and court forms before filing, since eligibility depends on the case result, charge level, waiting period, and prior record.
Cass County Defense and Pretrial Records
Criminal court records may refer to appointed counsel, pretrial supervision, probation, or public defender activity. No standalone Cass County Public Defender Office page with a public intake phone was located in the research. The Cass public defender board exists by county ordinance, and the official 2026 appointment list names Cass Public Defender Board members and justice-system participants. Trial appointment questions are usually handled in the pending case through the court.
The Cass County Court and Pretrial Services office is a separate court-support office. It can affect criminal case records when pretrial supervision, appearance support, or risk-and-needs-based supervision is ordered. Probation records after sentencing are distinct from the case file, although sentencing entries may mention probation terms, conditions, fees, and revocation or violation events.
The Cass Prosecutor staff page identifies Prosecutor Noah Schafer, Chief Deputy Tom Lupke, deputy prosecutors, investigator, paralegal, victim advocate, and staff roles.
Staff listings help route prosecutor-side questions, while the Clerk remains the official source for copies of the filed criminal court record.