Laclede County Circuit Court Overview
Missouri uses circuit courts as its primary trial courts. Laclede County is part of Missouri's 26th Judicial Circuit, and local Circuit Court work includes felony and misdemeanor criminal matters, civil cases, domestic relations, probate, juvenile matters, traffic cases filed in state court, small claims, protection orders, and other trial-level proceedings. Missouri circuit courts are divided by function, so a case may be assigned to circuit, associate circuit, probate, family, juvenile, criminal, civil, traffic, small-claims, or municipal divisions depending on case type and local administration.
The Circuit Clerk is the Laclede County court-record custodian for Circuit Court case files. That office is separate from the County Clerk, Recorder of Deeds, Sheriff, Prosecuting Attorney, and Lebanon Municipal Court. The local courthouse hub is the Laclede County Government Center, while the Sheriff's Office is nearby at 240 North Adams Avenue and Lebanon Municipal Court is at City Hall.
Laclede County Circuit Court / Circuit Clerk
Laclede County Government Center
200 North Adams Avenue
Lebanon, MO 65536
417-532-2471
Fax: 417-532-3683
Use for Circuit Court files, dockets, certified copies, and clerk verification.
Laclede County Court Offices
The research did not identify separate numbered courthouse locations for each Laclede County division. The official court and court-related access points instead cluster around the Circuit Court, Circuit Clerk, associate/probate divisions, municipal court, prosecutor, and sheriff. The table keeps those roles distinct because each office answers a different kind of record question.
| Court / Office | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laclede County Circuit Court / Circuit Clerk | Circuit-court case records, civil, criminal, probate, traffic, domestic, small claims, protection orders | 200 North Adams Avenue, Lebanon, MO 65536 | 417-532-2471 |
| Circuit Court Judges, 26th Judicial Circuit | Trial judges for circuit matters | 200 North Adams Avenue, Lebanon, MO 65536 | 417-532-2471 |
| Associate Circuit / Probate Divisions | Associate-level civil, criminal, traffic, and probate work assigned locally | 200 North Adams Avenue, Lebanon, MO 65536 | 417-532-2471 |
| Lebanon Municipal Court | City ordinance cases, traffic violations, minor offenses, and code infractions | 401 South Jefferson Avenue, Lebanon, MO 65536 | 417-533-5400 |
| Laclede County Prosecuting Attorney | State criminal charging authority and victim-advocate contact | 200 North Adams Avenue, Lebanon, MO 65536 | 417-532-3149 |
| Laclede County Sheriff | Jail, arrests, warrants, and law-enforcement records | 240 North Adams Avenue, Lebanon, MO 65536 | 417-532-2311 |
The Western District jurisdiction source is one manifest source used on this court-structure page.
That federal source is useful because Laclede County state court cases and Western District federal cases are separate systems.
Laclede County Circuit Judges
The official elected-officials page lists Circuit Court Judges Kenny Hayden, Andrew Hardwick, Aaron Koeppen, Judge Steve Jackson in Division 3, and Judge Larry Winfrey in Division 4. The same official source lists Heather Officer as Circuit Clerk, Amy Folsom as Prosecuting Attorney, Matt Frederick as Sheriff, Linda Cansler as County Clerk, and Jennifer Raef as Recorder. Lebanon Municipal Court separately lists Judge Mark Rector, City Prosecutor Douglas Kinde, and Court Clerk Shawna Light.
Judge assignment matters for record reading, but it is not the same as venue. Venue identifies the court where the case is filed. Assignment identifies the judge or division handling the case. Case.net and the Circuit Clerk are the practical places to confirm the current judge, hearing date, docket entry, and division for a specific Laclede County Circuit Court case.
Laclede Circuit Court vs Municipal Court
Laclede County does not have a separate county court or justice-of-the-peace court in the way some states do. The main local comparison is between the Missouri Circuit Court structure, associate/probate divisions within that structure, and municipal court for city ordinance matters.
| Circuit Court | Associate / Probate Divisions | Lebanon Municipal Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core role | Primary Missouri trial court for state cases | Division-level handling for assigned civil, criminal, traffic, probate, small claims, or related matters | City ordinance, municipal traffic, minor offenses, and code infractions |
| Records custodian | Circuit Clerk | Circuit Clerk | Municipal Court clerk, with Case.net used for status lookup |
| Location | Government Center, 200 North Adams Avenue | Government Center, 200 North Adams Avenue | City Hall, 401 South Jefferson Avenue |
| Search path | Case.net and Circuit Clerk | Case.net and Circuit Clerk | Case.net, Municipal Court, and Missouri Courts Payment Center for fines |
Lebanon Municipal Court holds sessions on Wednesdays and handles city ordinance cases, traffic violations, minor offenses, and code infractions. A city ticket may show in Case.net, but payment or court-date questions may still need the municipal court at 417-533-5400.
Laclede County Case Flow
Case movement depends on the case type. A felony, divorce, estate, protection order, or civil lawsuit belongs in a different track than a city traffic ticket. The process diagrams below show common paths, not legal advice for a specific case.
Criminal flow: Arrest or summons › Prosecutor review › Complaint, information, or indictment › First appearance or arraignment › Pretrial events › Plea or trial › Disposition › Sentencing › Appeal.
Civil flow: Petition filed › Service › Answer › Motions or discovery › Mediation or settlement talks › Trial or judgment › Post-judgment collection or appeal.
Probate flow: Application or petition › Will or estate opening › Letters issued › Notice and claims › Inventory or accounting › Settlement › Final order or continued supervision.
Laclede County Court Divisions
Circuit Court records can look different by division. Criminal records may show charges, warrants, bond entries, pleas, disposition, and sentence. Civil records may show petitions, answers, motions, summons returns, judgments, garnishments, and satisfactions. Domestic records may show divorce, custody, support, paternity, and protection-order entries, with child and safety details often redacted or restricted.
Probate records may show estates, wills, guardianships, conservatorships, minor settlements, trust filings, inventories, claims, and final settlements. Juvenile and adoption matters are strongly restricted under Missouri law. Traffic cases can be municipal or state/circuit cases depending on the issuing agency and violation. For a broad case lookup, use Case.net, then ask the Circuit Clerk for the official record or certified copy.
The Western District division boundary FAQ supplied the next manifest image.
It reinforces the line between state trial-court divisions and the separate federal district-court division structure.
Laclede County Appeals Path
Appeals from Missouri circuit courts generally move to the Missouri Court of Appeals unless the Supreme Court of Missouri has exclusive jurisdiction or accepts transfer. Laclede County is in south-central Missouri and the 26th Judicial Circuit is generally associated with the Southern District appellate geography. The trial court record remains important because the appellate court reviews what was filed, ordered, objected to, and preserved in the lower court.
Federal cases are separate. Laclede County is in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. The district jurisdiction page lists Laclede County in that federal district, and the federal district FAQ describes Kansas City, Jefferson City, Springfield, St. Joseph, and Joplin divisions. The nearest practical W.D. Missouri courthouse listed for Laclede County is the Springfield Southern Division courthouse at 222 North John Q. Hammons Parkway, Springfield, Missouri 65806, phone 417-865-3869.
The Western District attorney and CM/ECF resource source is the final manifest image for this page.
For federal records, use PACER or federal court resources, not the Laclede County Circuit Clerk.
Federal Court Is Separate
Federal district court handles federal crimes, federal civil-rights cases, federal-question civil litigation, diversity civil litigation that meets federal requirements, prisoner civil-rights filings, federal habeas matters, bankruptcy-related federal proceedings, and other cases under federal jurisdiction. Bankruptcy is handled through the federal bankruptcy court system. It is not a Laclede County Circuit Court file.
Federal records access runs through PACER, federal court CM/ECF resources, and sometimes CourtListener when opinions or RECAP-shared docket materials are available. Federal appeals from the Western District of Missouri go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. For state criminal, civil, probate, domestic, traffic, and small-claims records, stay with Case.net and the Laclede County Circuit Clerk.
Note: A case can involve the same person in state and federal systems, but the records are kept by different courts.