Find Sussex County Justice of the Peace Cases

About the Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court

JP Court is the entry-level court in the Delaware judiciary. The system runs as a single statewide court rather than a county court. Each county has multiple JP locations, and Sussex County has several across the county seat in Georgetown plus branches in Lewes and Seaford. Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court records cover civil debt claims, landlord-tenant disputes, replevin, trespass, truancy, and many criminal misdemeanors. Felony charges start here only for the limited committing-magistrate step before moving up to a higher court.

Civil claims at JP Court are capped at $25,000. Criminal jurisdiction reaches most non-felony motor vehicle cases plus a list of named misdemeanors. JP appeals usually move up to the Court of Common Pleas, though some truancy juvenile contempt appeals go to Family Court instead. Cases coming out of JP Court 14 in Georgetown include DUI charges, which Delaware treats as criminal traffic offenses rather than simple civil tickets. The court system overview is on the Delaware Judiciary overview page.

Sussex County has more JP locations than either of the other two Delaware counties, partly because of geography. The county is large and spread out, with population centers in Georgetown, Seaford, and the coastal towns. The court system splits work across locations so that residents are not forced to drive the full length of the county for a minor traffic case or a small claim. The Sussex County court locations index is the master list.

Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court Locations

Each Sussex JP location has a labeled role. JP 2, 3, and 4 are criminal courts. JP 17 is civil. JP 14 is criminal and DUI. JP Truancy covers truancy. Pulling the right address before a court date is critical because criminal and civil functions sit at separate buildings, even in the same town.

The JP Court 3 building in Georgetown shares its address with JP Court 17. JP 3 handles criminal matters and JP 17 handles civil matters. Calling the wrong line for the wrong case type wastes time. The Delaware Courts location pages for each JP also link to the official screening policy and parking notes.

A look at the official JP Court 2 location page shows the Lewes hours, address, and a statewide videophone notice that lets the location handle initial appearances from anywhere in Delaware.

The same template is used for every other Sussex JP. The JP Court 3 page in Georgetown lays out the current operational hours under the reduced-hours pilot.

JP 4 in Seaford serves the western part of the county. Its official location page lists hours and the late-day cash payment cutoff.

JP 14 in Georgetown is the DUI-labeled court. The JP 14 Georgetown page confirms the criminal and DUI workload and the cash cutoff time.

JP 17 in Georgetown is the civil twin to JP 3. The JP 17 page outlines payment cutoffs and the civil workload, which includes landlord-tenant and debt claims.

The truancy court in Seaford rounds out the Sussex JP roster. Its official page provides the address, hours, and phone for the school-attendance docket.

Note: JP courts that close at 4 p.m. often stop taking cash or credit card payments after 3:30 p.m., so plan early for any in-person payment.

2026 Reduced Hours and Operational Changes

JP Court 3 in Georgetown is running on a reduced operational schedule. The current pilot has JP 3 open 6 a.m. to midnight daily and not accepting new cases after 11 p.m. The change is part of a statewide adjustment that also moved JP Court 7 in Dover to the same 6 a.m. to midnight schedule starting January 4, 2026. The shift directly affects after-hours criminal initial appearance routing in Sussex County, especially for arrests that historically would have moved straight into a 24-hour court intake.

For a Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court case search, the practical effect is timing. A defendant brought in late at night may now hit a queue that pushes the first appearance to the next morning, depending on the arrest location and the court's intake capacity. Officers and bail bondsmen who used to plan around 24-hour JP coverage should confirm intake hours before a transport. The Sheriff's office in Sussex County is a county office and does not run the criminal intake desk; that work belongs to Delaware DOC and the JP courts.

The change should not affect routine civil filings, which continue to run on standard JP 17 business hours. Landlord-tenant cases, small debt claims, and replevin matters still file at JP 17 in Georgetown during normal weekday windows.

Civil and Criminal Case Types

The JP case-type codes used inside CourtConnect start with "6" for civil and run across a mix for criminal. The civil codes are the most-searched JP codes because they include landlord-tenant and small claims, which are the bread and butter of JP civil practice.

Criminal JP cases are coded under broader judiciary case categories. Search results may show JP charges under traffic, misdemeanor, or DUI labels rather than a "6" prefix. A user who is uncertain of the code should start a CourtConnect search with the case type set to ALL, then narrow once the matching case shows up.

DUI Handling at JP Court 14

Sussex JP Court 14 in Georgetown is the JP location labeled "Criminal/DUI." A Sussex County DUI charge begins here. JP Court 14 handles arraignment, bail, and the first criminal contact, but the case itself often does not stay at JP for trial. Delaware treats DUI as a criminal traffic offense, and the case may transfer to Court of Common Pleas for trial-level work or to Superior Court for repeat or aggravated DUI.

Bail and release decisions made at JP 14 follow the standard Delaware criminal procedure rules. The defendant is processed, the JP judge sets conditions, and the case opens a CourtConnect record that follows the matter through later courts. The Sussex County Justice of the Peace Court records on a DUI may show committing-magistrate activity rather than a full trial docket, depending on where the case ends up.

Practical tip: a DUI defendant who appears at JP 14 in Georgetown should ask about the next court date and the next court location. The next setting may be at Court of Common Pleas at 1 The Circle in Georgetown, not back at JP 14.

How Appeals Move From JP Court

JP Court is a trial court. Its decisions are subject to appeal. Most JP civil and criminal appeals move up to Court of Common Pleas. Truancy juvenile contempt appeals are an exception and move to Family Court. The appeal path matters because the deadline for filing an appeal is short. Missing the window usually ends the case at the JP level.

Common Pleas codes 4L and 4M cover JP appeals with and without fees. The case-type label points the receiving court at the right docket queue. A user tracking an appeal in CourtConnect should switch from JP search results to the Common Pleas docket once the appeal is filed. The case ID will change, and the docket activity will move to the higher court.

How to Search Sussex County JP Cases

Delaware CourtConnect is the official search tool. JP cases sit alongside Common Pleas, Superior, Family, and Chancery cases in the same database, so a single name search may pull results from multiple courts at once. The search starts at the CourtConnect landing page.

1. Open CourtConnect and accept the disclaimer.
2. Choose person/business/case type search when no case number is in hand.
3. Enter Last Name or Company Name. The field is required.
4. Add first name, middle name, and a date range to narrow the results.
5. Set Case Type to ALL or a JP code (60, 61, 62, 6T, etc.).
6. Use DD-MON-YYYY format for any date entry (for example, 01-JAN-2025).
7. Submit, review matches, and click into a result for the docket summary.
8. For documents or certified copies, contact the JP location that holds the case.

JP courts do not publish a separate court-by-court online docket. CourtConnect is the unified path. The phone number on the location page is the best route when a record needs hands-on staff attention.

Related Sussex County Court Pages

For mid-level civil and criminal cases that move up from JP, see the Court of Common Pleas page. For felonies and high-value civil matters, see Superior Court. For ticket and citation handling, see traffic court records. For arrest and booking information, see criminal records.