DeKalb County Courts Overview
Indiana does not use a county-level district court as the general trial court for DeKalb County. The county's trial-court page lists DeKalb Circuit Court, DeKalb Superior Court, DeKalb Superior Court #2, and Butler City Court. The local rules are styled Local Rules of Practice for the DeKalb Circuit and Superior Courts, effective March 3, 2025, and those rules control how many civil, criminal, juvenile, probate, family, traffic, and miscellaneous cases are assigned.
The trial-court system sits within Indiana's broader hierarchy. Trial matters start in county courts, appeals can go to the Indiana Court of Appeals, and review by the Indiana Supreme Court depends on the appellate process. DeKalb County also has a separate Butler City Court channel. That city court appears in MyCase as "DeKalb County - Butler City Court," so a user searching all DeKalb court records should know whether the case belongs to the county trial courts or the lower city court.
DeKalb County Court Table
The official DeKalb County Courts page gives the local court names, judges, courthouse address, and contact numbers. The three county trial courts use the courthouse address in Auburn, while Butler City Court uses its Butler address and separate phone line. The Clerk of Courts is included because it is the record-copy and court-information office for the county courts.
| Court | Type | Address | Phone | Judge / Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeKalb Circuit Court | County trial court | 100 S Main Street, Auburn, IN 46706 | 260-925-2764 | Hon. Kurt Grimm |
| DeKalb Superior Court | County trial court | 100 S Main Street, Auburn, IN 46706 | 260-925-4723 | Hon. Adam C. Squiller |
| DeKalb Superior Court #2 | County trial court | 100 S Main Street, Auburn, IN 46706 | 260-925-5277 | Hon. Patrick Jessup |
| Butler City Court | Lower city court | 120 West Main Street, Butler, IN 46721 | 260-868-2441 | Hon. Richard L. Obendorf |
| Clerk of Courts | Records office | 100 S Main Street, Auburn, IN 46706 | 260-925-0912 | Clerk Dana Hedrick |
The court source image for this page comes from the county's Veterans' Treatment Court page: DeKalb Veterans' Treatment Court.
That source matters because Veterans' Treatment Court is a docket within DeKalb Circuit Court, showing that local court work includes specialty dockets as well as standard case files.
DeKalb Trial Courts Compared
The local comparison is not "district court versus county court" because DeKalb County's Indiana structure uses Circuit and Superior Courts as the primary trial courts. Butler City Court is the lower-court channel named in the manifest and research. The table below separates the county trial-court layer from the clerk records office and the lower city court so readers can pick the right channel before searching or requesting copies.
| Point | Circuit and Superior Courts | Butler City Court | Clerk of Courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Role | County trial courts for civil, criminal, family, juvenile, probate, traffic, and miscellaneous case categories. | Separate local city court channel listed by the county and available in MyCase. | Record keeper, court information manager, and revenue office for court records. |
| Search label | Use DeKalb County in MyCase for county trial matters. | Use DeKalb County - Butler City Court when that court filed the matter. | Use the clerk for official or certified copies. |
| Location | 100 S Main Street, Auburn. | 120 West Main Street, Butler. | 100 S Main Street, Auburn, with P.O. Box 230 for mail. |
| Best use | Hearings, case assignment, judicial orders, and court events. | City-court cases and local matters filed there. | Plain copies, certified copies, copy fees, and division contact. |
DeKalb County Case Allocation
DeKalb local rules provide unusually detailed case allocation. Circuit Court exclusively receives juvenile categories listed as JC, JD, JS, JP, JM, JT, JQ, plus RS and nonsupport of a child cases under IC 35-46-1-5. If a JC conflict exists, the case is filed in Superior Court II. Superior Court I exclusively receives FD, F6 except nonsupport child cases, CM, MC, OV based on moving traffic violations, and specialized driving privileges filed as MI cases. Superior Court II exclusively receives SC, EM, ES, TR, IF, PL, MF, CT, EV, and CC.
Some cases rotate rather than stay with a single court. DN, DC, MH, AD, EU, GU, PO, MI except specialized driving privileges, TP, and TS rotate between Circuit Court and Superior Court II. MR, FA, FB, FC, OE, OV other than moving traffic violations, CB, and felony levels F1 through F5 rotate between Superior I and Superior II. New criminal charges against a defendant with a pending criminal case are filed in the same court as the pending case, and after-hours search warrants can be requested of and authorized by any DeKalb judge.
Local allocation point: Small claims and infractions are assigned to Superior Court II, while moving traffic OV cases go to Superior Court I.
DeKalb County Case Movement
A case moves through DeKalb County courts according to both statewide procedure and local assignment rules. A civil case usually starts with a complaint or petition, receives a case type, is assigned under the local allocation table, then proceeds through appearances, motions, orders, hearings, judgment, and appeal if one is filed. A criminal case may start with arrest, citation, warrant, or prosecutor filing, then move into initial hearing, bond, plea, motions, trial or plea, disposition, sentencing, probation, and possible appeal.
Civil flow: Filing › DeKalb case type assigned › Circuit or Superior Court allocation › service and appearance › motions or hearing › judgment › appeal path.
Criminal flow: Arrest, citation, or charge filing › assignment under local rules › initial hearing and bond › plea and pretrial events › trial or plea › disposition and sentence.
Traffic flow: Citation › MyCase or court lookup › Superior I, Superior II, or Butler City Court path › payment, contest, hearing, or disposition.
Search DeKalb County Court Records
Public DeKalb County case lookup is available through Indiana MyCase. The court dropdown includes DeKalb County and DeKalb County - Butler City Court. The Case tab accepts case number, citation number, and cross reference. The Name tab accepts person last, first, middle, birth date, and business name fields. The Attorney tab accepts attorney names or bar number. Advanced filters can narrow open or closed status and filing date range.
MyCase should be treated as a public case-information system, not the certified record. It can show case number, court, case type, status, file date, case style, parties, attorneys, charges, events, hearing entries, bonds, documents when downloadable, fee summaries, and related cases when public and available. Official copies, especially certified copies, still route through the DeKalb County Clerk of Courts.
The Indiana courts source image used here comes from the state court-officer title reference in the manifest: Indiana Code Title 33.
That legal source supports the broader Indiana court framework, while the DeKalb local rules and county court page supply the local court names and assignment details.
DeKalb Court History Details
Current DeKalb County court operations are centered at the courthouse address in Auburn, but the county code gives useful history for the present court structure. County Code Title 32 contains a courthouse-construction resolution approving plans and specifications for a new courthouse by Mahurin and Mahurin, architects, with plans filed through the County Auditor for inspection by bidders. County Code Title 33 documents county courts, including local approval history for a second Superior Court.
The local rules also show how the modern system works as a managed multi-court plan. Special judge selection, reassignment after recusals, court reporter services, and acting-judge assistance are addressed in the rules. Court reporter transcript fees have local maximums, with a per-page maximum for standard transcript work and a higher maximum for expedited transcript work within five working days. Those transcript fees are separate from ordinary clerk copy charges.
The courthouse-source image for this local-history paragraph comes from the county code item in the manifest: County Code Title 32 courthouse reference.
The image connects the operating court page to county-code history, but current court access should still be checked through the courts page, local rules, MyCase, and the Clerk of Courts.
Butler City Court Channel
Butler City Court is the lower court identified for DeKalb County. It is not the same as DeKalb Circuit Court, DeKalb Superior Court, or DeKalb Superior Court #2. The court listing gives P.O. Box 13, 120 West Main Street, Butler, IN 46721, phone 260-868-2441, fax 260-868-5524, and Judge Hon. Richard L. Obendorf. In MyCase, the city court appears as DeKalb County - Butler City Court, which lets a user narrow results when a local city-court matter is not showing under the broader DeKalb County court option.
Users should avoid assuming every Auburn-area court issue is held by the same court. Traffic and infraction cases may involve Superior Court I, Superior Court II, or Butler City Court depending on the citation and filing path. Court hearings, official copies, warrants, and driver-record effects can come from different offices. The court record tells what happened in court; the Clerk supplies official copies; the sheriff handles jail and warrant channels; and the BMV keeps the separate driver record.