Clark County Superior Court Records

The Clark County Superior Court

Superior Court is the county's court of general jurisdiction under the Washington State Constitution and RCW 2.08.010. It can hear virtually any civil or criminal matter that falls within state-court authority. That breadth sets it apart from District Court and Municipal Court, both of which operate under limits set by statute. When a case is too big, too serious, or too complex for a limited-jurisdiction court, it belongs in Superior Court. Felony crimes, dissolution of marriage, probate estates, guardianships over incapacitated adults, adoptions, juvenile dependency, and civil suits above small-claims thresholds all land here.

Presiding Judge for the 2025-2028 term is the Honorable Derek J. Vanderwood, who sits in Department 3. Court Administrator Pamela Hartman Beyer oversees the court's administrative operations. The court runs twelve departments, each with its own elected judge who is answerable to Clark County voters. Judges serve four-year terms under the state constitution. All twelve departments are located at the Clark County Courthouse, 1200 Franklin Street, Vancouver, WA 98660, and share the main court phone line.

The official court page lives at clark.wa.gov/superior-court. The screenshot below, captured from that page, shows the court's main landing page, which links to the docket, forms, specialty court programs, and the clerk's records access portal.

The page is the best starting point for daily dockets, court news, and links to forms and specialty court schedules.

Superior Court Departments and Judges

Clark County Superior Court has twelve departments as of the 2025-2028 election term. Each department is a full-service division capable of hearing civil, criminal, family, and probate matters, though the court assigns docket types internally for scheduling purposes. All twelve departments share the same courthouse address and main phone number. The table below lists every department, the elected judge, the address, and the court phone.

Judge Snider in Department 7 presides over the Adult Drug Court and Residential DOSA dockets in addition to a regular criminal and civil caseload. The specialty court assignments are covered in more detail below. An up-to-date judge list appears on the official Clark County judicial offices page.

Note: All twelve Superior Court departments share the main court phone at 564-397-2150. Call and ask for the correct department by number if you need to reach a specific courtroom.

Case Types Heard in Superior Court

The range of cases Clark County Superior Court handles is broad. General jurisdiction means the court is not limited to a single subject matter the way District Court is. Civil cases can be large tort claims, contract disputes, property rights, injunctions, or interpleaders. Family law covers dissolution of marriage, legal separation, parenting plans, child support, adoption, paternity, and temporary protection orders in domestic situations. Criminal cases are the felony class, including Class A, B, and C felonies under the Washington Criminal Code.

Beyond those main tracks, Superior Court takes in probate filings when someone dies with or without a will, guardianship and conservatorship petitions for adults who can no longer manage their own affairs, and dependency cases when children are alleged to be in unsafe home conditions. Mental illness civil commitment proceedings under RCW 71.05 come to Superior Court, as do juvenile offender cases under the Juvenile Justice Act. The court also reviews appeals and writs from District Court, the Municipal Court, and state administrative agencies.

Here are the main case categories filed with the Clark County Superior Court:

• Felony criminal - Class A, B, and C felony charges, including homicide, robbery, fraud, and drug trafficking.
• Domestic relations - Dissolution, legal separation, parenting plans, child support, paternity, and adoption.
• Probate and estates - Estate probate, small estate affidavits, wills, letters testamentary, and notices to creditors.
• Guardianship and conservatorship - Court supervision of adults who need help managing personal or financial affairs.
• Civil - Contract disputes, torts, property actions, injunctions, and unlawful detainer.
• Juvenile offender and dependency - Delinquency matters and child welfare cases under state juvenile codes.
• Appeals from lower courts - Review of District Court and Municipal Court decisions and agency orders.

Divorce and probate records are two of the most common Superior Court file types the public requests. Both go through the County Clerk's office at the courthouse.

Superior Court vs District Court vs Municipal Court

Washington's trial court system has layers. Superior Court sits at the top among state trial courts. Below it are District Courts and Municipal Courts, each with a narrower range of cases they can hear. The differences matter when you are trying to figure out which court holds a record or which judge handled a case.

District Court in Clark County moved to 210 E. 13th Street, Vancouver, WA 98660 on February 2, 2026. The Camas-Washougal Municipal Court handles city code violations for that area. Neither lower court has general jurisdiction. Felonies, divorce, probate, and major civil actions belong exclusively in Superior Court. The comparison below lays out the key differences.

If a misdemeanor charge gets upgraded to a felony, the case transfers from District Court to Superior Court. That transfer also moves the record. So a single incident might generate files at two courts, and a complete picture may require checking both.

How a Case Moves Through the System

Most criminal matters in Clark County start at the lower level. A misdemeanor charge begins in District Court or Municipal Court. A felony charge begins at first appearance in District Court before the case transfers to Superior Court for arraignment and trial. Civil cases start wherever the amount or subject matter places them. Family cases and probate cases file directly in Superior Court from the start.

Once a Superior Court case is decided, a party who wants to challenge the outcome goes to the intermediate appellate court, then to the state's high court if the case qualifies. The path is fixed by state law and court rules, and skipping a level is not allowed.

State court case flow: District Court / Municipal Court › Superior Court › Court of Appeals, Division II › Washington Supreme Court

Clark County falls under Division II of the Washington Court of Appeals, which covers Southwest Washington. Division II is based in Tacoma. A party appealing a Clark County Superior Court judgment files in Division II first. If the case raises a question of state law or constitutional significance, a party can then petition the Washington Supreme Court for discretionary review. The Supreme Court accepts only a fraction of petitions. Most appeals end at Division II.

For court dockets and upcoming hearing schedules, the Washington Courts Odyssey Portal posts hearing data for Superior Court. The "Search Hearings" tile on the portal main page lets anyone look up a courtroom and date without a case number.

How to Search Superior Court Records

The public search tool for Clark County Superior Court cases is the Washington Courts Odyssey Portal. The portal covers Superior Court cases filed in Clark County and allows searches by case number, party name in Last First format, business name, or attorney name. The results show a case summary, the list of docket events, and any scheduled hearings. Documents are not available to anonymous users but can be viewed by registered users who have received document access from the County Clerk.

The steps below cover a basic name search.

1. Go to the Odyssey Portal and click Smart Search.
2. Type the party name in Last, First order, or enter a full case number.
3. Open Advanced Filtering Options and select Clark County as the court location.
4. Set a case type if you know it: Criminal, Civil, Domestic, or Probate.
5. Complete the CAPTCHA if it appears, then click Submit.
6. Click a case number in the list to open the full case record.

For a certified copy of a filing, order, or judgment, contact the County Clerk directly. The Clerk handles copy requests in person at the courthouse, by mail, or by email to copyrequests@clark.wa.gov. Copy fees and the full fee schedule are covered on the Clark County court records page. For docket information and detailed case history, the court dockets page explains what each docket entry type means.

Specialty and Therapeutic Courts

The official Superior Court therapeutic specialty courts page at clark.wa.gov/superior-court/therapeutic-specialty-courts lists nine programs shared between Superior and District Court. These courts mix court supervision with treatment. The goal is to reduce the cycle of addiction and crime, improve skills and self-sufficiency, and help restore families. Programs follow the ten key components of drug courts set by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals and use evidence-based treatment.

The screenshot below, captured from the specialty courts page, shows the program listing and contact information available to participants and referral sources.

The programs include the following specialty court dockets and services.

• Adult Drug Court - Judge Snider presides. Dockets run Thursday mornings and afternoons, and the court also holds a Friday morning in-custody docket.
• Residential DOSA Drug Court - Also Judge Snider, meeting Friday mornings. DOSA stands for Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative.
• Veterans Court - Monday mornings, for eligible veterans facing criminal charges.
• Mental Health Docket - Wednesday afternoons, including a separate in-custody docket the same day.
• Family Treatment Court - Monday afternoons before Commissioner Ellis. Focuses on parental recovery and child welfare.
• Safe Babies Court - Serves infants and toddlers under age three who are involved in the child welfare system.

To ask about program eligibility or referrals, call 564-397-2304 or email Shauna.Mccloskey@clark.wa.gov. These courts do not replace regular criminal proceedings; they offer an alternative track for eligible participants.

Courthouse Location and Contact

Superior Court operates from the Clark County Courthouse, a five-story Art Deco and Art Moderne building completed in 1941 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. The building was designed by local architect Day Walter Hilborn and is the county's fourth courthouse. Two original fourth-floor courtrooms retain their wood-paneled walls, judge's bench, and jury chairs. The County Clerk, the Family Court Facilitator, and the Law Library are all on the first floor of the same building. District Court moved out in February 2026, so all Superior Court business stays at the Franklin Street address.

The screenshot below, pulled from the court's forms page at clark.wa.gov, shows the forms library where the public can find petitions, orders, and filing packets for Superior Court matters.

Forms for dissolution, guardianship, protection orders, name changes, and other case types are available there at no cost. Filing fees are separate and are set by statute and the Clerk's published fee schedule.

For traffic court records, contact District Court at the 13th Street location, not the courthouse. Traffic infractions and citations are District Court matters. Probate filings and certified copies of estate documents go through the County Clerk at the courthouse.

Related Clark County Records Resources

Superior Court records connect to several other record types and offices across Clark County. Knowing which office keeps which file saves time. The County Clerk holds Superior Court case files, including felony criminal, divorce, probate, guardianship, juvenile, and civil records. The County Auditor holds recorded documents such as deeds, liens, and marriage licenses, which are separate from court files. The Sheriff holds booking and jail records, also separate.

The pages below cover the most related topics for people who start their research at Superior Court.

• Court Records - Case file types, copy fees, certified copy requests, and the Odyssey search portal in detail.
• Court Dockets - Daily docket schedules, how to read a docket entry, and how to find a hearing date.
• County Clerk - Office hours, copy request methods, fee schedule, and the clerk's full list of responsibilities.
• Probate Records - Estate probate, guardianship filings, letters testamentary, and small estate affidavits.
• Traffic Court Records - Infractions, citations, and traffic case searches handled by District Court.