What Is a Court Docket in Washington County
A docket is the dated record of everything that happens in a case. In Minnesota the docket is called the Register of Actions. It lists the complaint or petition, the summons, motions, orders, hearing notices, continuances, judgments, and the final disposition. Each line carries a date and a short label for the event. The Register of Actions sits inside the case file on Minnesota Court Records Online, often called MCRO.
People search Washington County dockets for different reasons. A party checks the next hearing date. A reporter follows a case. A landlord looks for an eviction event. An employer confirms a disposition. The docket shows the path of the case, but it is not the full file. Sealed entries, protected case types, and private data do not display online.
Washington County District Court handles the docket for civil, criminal, family, probate, traffic, and juvenile cases. The court is part of the Tenth Judicial District and sits at 14949 62nd Street North in Stillwater.
The Register of Actions updates as the court enters each event, though some filings take time to post. A new motion, a continuance, or a fresh hearing notice can appear days after the event itself. That lag is one reason the online docket is not the official, certified record. When timing matters, call Court Administration or check with your attorney rather than trusting a single screen capture.
How to Find Washington County Dockets Online
MCRO has four tabs, and three of them help with dockets. Case Search opens a case and its Register of Actions. Hearing Search lists scheduled court dates. Judgment Search looks up docketed money judgments by debtor name. The Minnesota Judicial Branch Washington County District Court page links to the court calendar and the judicial officers who hear local cases.
That page is the local hub for the courthouse address, hours, and the Court Administrator. The steps below find a hearing date.
- Open MCRO Hearing Search and accept the terms.
- Search by person name, business name, case number, judicial officer, or attorney name and bar number.
- Limit the search to Washington County to keep the results local.
- Open the result to see the hearing type, date, time, location, and judicial officer when public.
- Switch to Case Search and open the case to read the full Register of Actions and any public documents.
Hearing Search is the right tool when you need a court date.
Pending criminal, traffic, and petty misdemeanor cases with no conviction do not return by defendant name; search those by case number instead.
Sample Washington County Docket Entry
A docket entry is short. The detail lives in the linked document. The table below lists the fields a Washington County Register of Actions and hearing list usually show.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Event Date | Date the filing or event was entered. |
| Event Type | Label such as Complaint, Motion, Order, Notice, or Judgment. |
| Filed By | Party or court that entered the event, where shown. |
| Hearing Type | Arraignment, first appearance, review, trial, or sentencing. |
| Hearing Date and Time | Scheduled date, time, and courtroom or location. |
| Judicial Officer | Judge or referee assigned to the event, when public. |
| Document Link | Public PDF for the event, based on case type and filing date. |
| Disposition | Outcome entered for a charge, claim, or motion. |
Document availability is set by court rule. Many documents filed on or after July 1, 2015 are online for criminal and civil case types, while family cases show only orders, opinions, and notices.
Courts That Publish Dockets in Washington County
All Washington County trial dockets run through one court: the District Court. There is no separate county or justice court here. The divisions inside District Court each keep their own calendar, but the dockets all post through MCRO. Civil and conciliation matters, criminal and traffic cases, family cases, and probate cases each have a division and a phone line at the courthouse.
Money judgments get their own search. Judgment Search returns docketed money judgments and any satisfaction of judgment by debtor name. A civil judgment can carry enforcement weight long after the underlying case ends.
Each division runs its own calendar inside the courthouse, and each has a direct line. Civil and conciliation matters use 651-413-8131. Criminal and traffic violations use 651-413-8133. Family and juvenile cases use 651-413-8132. Probate uses 651-413-8131. Court records and copy requests use 651-413-8030, option 6. A criminal docket often opens with an arraignment or a Rule 5 first appearance, while a payable traffic case may route to a hearing officer instead of a courtroom. Washington County is one of the counties where a hearing officer appointment is offered for payable citations.
Some hearings never reach the public docket online. Adoption hearings are confidential under Minn. Stat. § 259.61, so they do not appear in a public docket search.
Domestic abuse and harassment orders also stay off the internet, along with child protection and felony juvenile delinquency for ages 16 and older.
Docket vs. Full Case Record
The docket and the full case record are not the same. The docket is the index of events. The full record holds the documents behind those events. Some of those documents are online, some sit only at a courthouse public access terminal, and some are not public at all.
| Feature | Court Docket | Full Case Record |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Dated list of case events | Complete file of documents and orders |
| Where to find it | MCRO Case Search and Hearing Search | MCRO documents, terminals, or Court Administration |
| Detail level | Short event labels and dates | Full motions, orders, and exhibits |
| Certified? | No | Yes, when ordered from Court Administration |
For a certified docket or a complete file, contact Court Administration at 651-413-8030, option 6. A certified copy of a Washington County court document is $14.
How to Read a Washington County Docket
Docket labels use shorthand. A short glossary helps. An arraignment is the first appearance for a petty misdemeanor or misdemeanor, where rights are given and a plea may be entered. A Rule 5 hearing is the first appearance for a gross misdemeanor or felony, where no plea is taken yet. A continuance is a postponement. A disposition is the outcome of a charge or claim. A judgment is the final, enforceable decision.
Read the docket from the top date down. Watch for the charging document, then hearing notices, then orders, then the disposition. A criminal case may show a complaint, a Rule 5 hearing, an omnibus hearing, a plea, and a sentence. A civil case may show a complaint, an answer, motions, and a judgment. If an entry points to a sealed or confidential matter, the document will not open online.
A few more labels show up often. A motion is a written request for a court order. An order grants or denies that request. A notice tells parties of a date or a duty. A satisfaction of judgment marks a money judgment as paid. A petty misdemeanor, the lowest offense level, carries a fine up to $300 and is not a crime under state law, so its docket may look short. When a label is unclear, the linked document or a call to Court Administration clears it up faster than a guess.
Note: A docket date can change without notice, so confirm any hearing with Court Administration or your attorney before you travel to court.