Adams County Court Docket Searches
Adams County keeps no one-stop docket database. Each court runs its own search. Odyssey Portal covers Superior Court, while District Court Othello, District Court Ritzville, and Othello Municipal Court all point to re:Search WA for limited-jurisdiction cases. The statewide Washington Name and Case Search works as a reference index only, never as the official file.
- Read the citation, notice, or caption and identify the court.
- Search Odyssey for Superior Court or re:Search WA for a current limited-court matter.
- Use the party name or exact case number, then narrow by court, date, type, or status.
- Open Events or the Register of Actions for activity and Hearings for settings.
- Confirm urgent information with the proper clerk and request a certified copy when needed.
Unsure which court holds the case? Start with the Washington Name and Case Search. Its data refresh about once daily and carry no filed document images, so confirm anything you find with the court itself.
Adams County Dockets Split Three Ways
Jurisdiction and geography both shape the Adams County court docket. Superior Court and its Clerk sit at the Ritzville courthouse. Adams District Court runs divisions in Ritzville and Othello. Othello also staffs its own Municipal Court for city-code, misdemeanor, and traffic matters.
A city name alone will not pick the docket. Under the current directory, Ritzville municipal matters route through Ritzville District Court. Lind, Washtucna, and Hatton offer no separate municipal portal. Trust the court printed on your paperwork. Do not guess from where an incident took place.
Felony, major civil, domestic, probate, adoption, juvenile, and mental-health cases travel through the County Clerk and Odyssey. Limited courts take the rest. That means misdemeanors, infractions, small claims, name changes, and lower-dollar civil matters. Protection petitions and related warrants land there too.
The official Adams County court directory brings the named courts and contacts together.
The directory turns the split into something concrete. It names Superior Court, both District Court locations, the County Clerk, Juvenile Court, and the municipal routing used for current searches. Check that list before opening a portal. The step matters most when a city name and a court name disagree. Older records carrying a prior label deserve the same pause.
Court Dockets: What They Show
An Adams County court docket is a timeline. Odyssey calls it Events or the Register of Actions. A filing can appear there even when the document image stays out of public view, so read the later events before judging an early charge, claim, or setting.
| Case Number | The court's identifier; Adams sources do not publish one universal format. |
|---|---|
| Parties | Names and roles where public-access rules permit display. |
| Events or Filings | Dated entries recording pleadings, orders, notices, and other activity. |
| Hearings | Dates, setting types, judicial officer, and courtroom when supplied. |
| Status | The system's current open, closed, or disposed label, read with events. |
| Disposition | Outcome-related events that may occur after the original allegation or claim. |
Not everything shows in the docket. Document images, balances, private identifiers, and restricted attachments may all be absent, which is why the clerk's case file governs whenever an index entry is not enough.
Adams County Docket Search Fields
Odyssey Smart Search offers free, anonymous case information for Adams County Superior Court. Type names as Last, First Middle. An ending wildcard is allowed. “Sounds Like” cannot be combined with one. Broad names need filters, because only the first 200 results appear.
| Field | Use | Adams Note |
|---|---|---|
| Party or business | Find a participant | Filter a common name |
| Case number | Open a known case | Four wildcard characters minimum |
| Court location | Narrow by county | Select Adams County |
| File dates | Limit the filing period | Useful for similar names |
| Case type or status | Reduce broad results | Values depend on the portal |
Anonymous access has limits. The interface supports a case-information search, yet it excludes restricted cases and document images.
Adams County Superior Court has its own county page. There the court describes its filing, virtual appearance, interpreter, and local-rule services.
Those services live beside the docket, not inside each result. E-filing sends a paper into the system. Virtual appearance details concern attendance. Interpreter access supports participation. None of that changes which clerk keeps the official case file, so match any service request to the case and the current court order instead of treating the portal as a full service counter.
Adams County Courts and Their Dockets
Pick the right office before searching. One party can have matters in more than one court, and a District appeal can later create a Superior record.
| Court | Docket Covers | Where to Search |
|---|---|---|
| Adams County Superior Court | Felony, major civil, family, probate, adoption, juvenile, mental health | Odyssey and Superior Court Clerk |
| District Court Ritzville | Misdemeanors, infractions, small claims, name changes, limited civil, protection matters | re:Search WA and Ritzville clerk |
| District Court Othello | Limited-jurisdiction matters assigned to that division | re:Search WA and Othello clerk |
| Othello Municipal Court | Othello city-code, misdemeanor, and traffic cases | re:Search WA and city court clerk |
Appeals from Adams Superior Court ordinarily go to Division III of the Washington Court of Appeals. The appellate docket stays separate.
Adams County Docket Code Clues
Official JIS codes offer clues. They can hint at the court behind an Adams County docket, but they are routing clues rather than complete case numbers.
- S01
- The code associated with Adams County Superior Court.
- OTD
- Adams District Court at Othello.
- RID
- Adams District Court at Ritzville.
- OTM
- Othello Municipal Court, effective in JIS from January 1, 2023.
- Events
- Odyssey's chronological case-activity area, also described as the Register of Actions.
Othello formed its separate Municipal Court in 2023, so older municipal records may still sit under District Court. Ask the clerk about a legacy label. Never alter the number yourself.
Court Dates and Settings in Adams County
For one case's date, check its hearing history first. Odyssey Search Hearings filters by Superior location, hearing type, party, and case number. Judicial officer, courtroom, and date can narrow it too. Find My Court Date offers statewide reference info.
The county calendar offers its own filters. Start date, end date, search terms, past events, and court calendar all narrow the list. It lists public docket blocks and event details, but not a complete case register. The Superior calendar itself warns that Odyssey is official.
A reset or continuance moves a setting. A vanished calendar event proves neither dismissal nor an excuse to skip attendance. Confirm the newest Adams County court docket event with the clerk. The Adams County Court Schedule lays out the full date-search sequence.
The county publishes that distinction on its Superior calendar warning.
That warning guards against a common mistake. A calendar can update often and still lag a signed order or a case-level event. If two sources disagree, note the case number. Read the latest Odyssey event, then contact Superior Court. Never trust a saved image, an old event link, or a calendar subscription for a last-minute change.
Adams County Calendar Docket Limits
A calendar entry tells you the basics. It carries a title, date, start time, court, address, courtroom, and sometimes a description or a report-by time. A Superior jury entry, for example, can show a trial time. It can also show an earlier instruction on when jurors should report. District entries carry their own shorthand. The usual labels are Mitigation, contested, and show cause. NC/SC covers name change and small claims.
Those labels mark a block on the docket, nothing more. They are not every filing, and they are not a result. Once you spot the event, search the case itself. For Othello Superior sessions, confirm the first-Thursday schedule, since the civil time shifts in summer. Calendar pages sometimes list a different Othello suite than the District Court directory does. Call before you drive.
Docket Access Under Washington Law
Washington presumption runs toward openness. Court records stay public unless a statute, court rule, or order says otherwise. Under GR 31, walking into the courthouse and inspecting a docket costs nothing. Copies and certification can carry a charge. The Washington Public Records Act covers agency records. A court case file stays with its court custodian.
Key access rules.
GR 31 governs public court-record access, free inspection, identifier redaction, and juvenile online limits.
GR 15 supplies the procedure and findings for sealing, redaction, or destruction.
GR 22 restricts sensitive family, protection, guardianship, and identifier information.
RCW 13.50.010 protects juvenile justice and care records.
The county's general NextRequest portal handles administrative records only.
Adams County Docket Search Follow-Up
A blank Adams County docket search does not mean the case is gone. Often the wrong court was selected. Other times it is a brand-new filing, an archived file, or the 2026 system transition. A sealed case, or a juvenile or confidential category, can also hide it. Never call a missing record deleted.
Check spelling and the case number first. Then switch to the right court-level portal. Call the custodian to ask about counter inspection, an archived copy, or a request form. Redactions are routine: full Social Security, financial-account, and driver-license numbers are hidden from public views.
One more wrinkle. A docket entry can point to a police report, witness statement, presentence report, driving record, or similar attachment. It stays closed unless filed in an open form. The event may be public while the document behind it is not.
Work the channels in order. Search online first. Then call or email the named clerk. If that stalls, visit the counter, where inspection is free. District copies go by mail, email, or in person using the direct court form, while Superior copies belong with the County Clerk. Ask about a public-access workstation too, since Adams County publishes no exact kiosk location.
Adams County Docket System Change
Three courts moved at once. District Court Othello, District Court Ritzville, and Othello Municipal Court went live on Tyler Enterprise Justice on May 4, 2026, and the county's record page now points the public to re:Search WA starting June 1, 2026. The switch retires aging systems and ties public access to newer case-management tools.
What the public side will show is still settling. Exact fields, result limits, login behavior, and document prices are not published yet, and nothing should be guessed from Odyssey. If re:Search WA is down, use the statewide reference tool, call the court, visit the counter, or send the District record form. Legacy instructions may still circulate during the transition.
The official Clerk page shows the current office and service boundary.
Read the office page before you go in person. It lists split weekday counter hours and separates process help from legal advice. Contact the court ahead of any access need. Adams Superior Court provides free spoken-language and sign-language interpreters, and the county ADA plan flags an accessible courtroom plus a high third-floor counter that may require an accommodation.
How the Clerk Keeps Docket Records
Katie Sloan serves as Adams County Superior Court Clerk. Her office logs appearances and filing dates. It maintains scheduled and daily proceedings, keeps the execution docket, and takes in all Superior filings. Staff can share public case updates, walk through process steps, and point to forms. They cannot draft forms, interpret documents, script what to say, or give legal advice.
Adams County Superior Court Clerk
210 W Broadway Avenue, Suite 303
Ritzville, WA 99169; mailing P.O. Box 187
509-659-3257
Weekdays, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m.
District clerks run their own limited-court dockets, and Othello Municipal Court stands apart under clerk administrator Jessica Melo. Send every request to the office that owns the case.
Adams County Docket Copy Fees
Looking at a public Adams County court docket in the courthouse is free under GR 31. Copies, certification, and recording are separate products with their own cost. Confirm current District Court amounts before ordering.
| District Record | Posted Amount |
|---|---|
| Court docket | $5 per docket |
| Citation or complaint | $0.50 per page |
| Judgment or resolution | $0.50 per page |
| CD of proceeding | $10 per CD |
| Certified document | $5 per document |
| Certified additional pages | $1 per page |
The District request form needs a case number and the specific records you want. Skip the payment; an invoice follows, the instructions say. Superior copy questions go straight to the County Clerk.
Adams County counted 20,613 residents in the 2020 Census; the 2025 state estimate puts it at 21,550. Othello is the largest city. Ritzville holds the county seat. That split explains why docket access centers on two physical locations even though Superior Court serves the whole county. The figures describe service scale only. They say nothing about crime, disputes, or whether any named person shows up in court.
Adams County Dockets by the Numbers
The 2025 Superior report breaks down 1,481 total non-trial proceedings: 604 criminal, 102 civil, 178 domestic, 32 probate or guardianship, 29 adoption or parentage, 314 juvenile dependency, and 222 juvenile offender matters. These are court-system categories. They are not unique people.
District work leans heavily on traffic and misdemeanor cases. That volume is why the limited-court portal change touches so many docket searches. But caseload counts reveal nothing about one person, and they cannot predict a case's timing.
Numbers on an Adams County court docket report each measure something different. A filing is one thing. A charge, a hearing, and a proceeding are others. So read every count with its unit attached. The Superior Court reports and the limited-court reports also slice the Adams County system in different ways. When you cite an Adams County figure, keep the year, the court level, the row label, and the measure together. One last distinction matters. An Adams County docket search should help you find a specific case record, while the aggregate Adams County statistics serve as context for workload and access planning, not as a lookup tool for one docket.
City-by-City Court Dockets in Adams County
The official population profile for Adams County lists five incorporated places. Court coverage varies among them. Othello runs its own Municipal Court. Ritzville sends municipal matters to District Court instead. Lind, Washtucna, and Hatton have no separate municipal portal of their own, so their pages point readers to the county option that is documented: the Adams County courts.
Othello Court Records
2025 estimate: 9,210. City matters use Othello Municipal Court; county matters may use District or Superior Court.
Ritzville Court Records
2025 estimate: 1,790. Current municipal routing points to Ritzville District Court.
Lind Court Records
2025 estimate: 535. Follow the court named on the citation or caption.
Washtucna Court Records
2025 estimate: 210. Current directory guidance points toward Ritzville District Court.
Hatton Court Records
2025 estimate: 165. No separate current city portal was verified.
Where a person lives does not decide which court holds the case. Each Adams County city page traces its local name to the court docket that actually keeps the record.
Map and Directions to the Adams County Courthouse
Superior Court's felony, major civil, family, probate, adoption, juvenile, and mental-health records are kept by the County Clerk at Suite 303 of the Adams County Courthouse in downtown Ritzville, the county seat. Adams District Court-Ritzville, which holds the county's limited-jurisdiction misdemeanor, infraction, small-claims, and protection-order docket, occupies Suite 305 of the same building. The courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Adams County Superior Court Clerk
210 W Broadway Avenue, Suite 303
Ritzville, WA 99169; mailing P.O. Box 187
509-659-3257
Weekdays, 8:30 a.m.-noon and 1-4:30 p.m.
Plan around the midday counter closure, since the Clerk's window is shut from noon to 1 p.m. The research located no published parking, security-screening, or accessibility details for the building, so call the Clerk at 509-659-3257 or District Court at 509-659-1002 before a visit that depends on those accommodations.