Find Craven County Court Cases

Criminal Cases in Craven County Courts

Craven County is part of District 4 for District Court, Superior Court, and prosecution. District Court handles misdemeanors, infractions, initial appearances, and the first steps in felony matters. Superior Court is the felony trial court. It also hears criminal appeals from District Court for a new trial. A felony can therefore appear first on a Craven County District Court calendar before an indictment moves it to Superior Court.

The Craven County court hub links calendars, forms, eCourts services, and local office details. The Clerk of Superior Court at 302 Broad Street in New Bern keeps the files for both divisions. North Carolina does not maintain a separate local criminal clerk or municipal court database here. State citations and local ordinance charges also flow into the General Court of Justice. The District Attorney at 310 Broad Street selects charges to prosecute, but the clerk remains the public custodian of the court case record and its final disposition.

Craven County Felony Court Path

A common point of doubt is why a felony arrest may show a District Court setting. That does not mean District Court will conduct the felony trial. A magistrate first handles prompt process and release issues. District Court then has preliminary jurisdiction. The District 4 prosecutor may seek an indictment from a grand jury, and an indicted charge proceeds in Craven County Superior Court for arraignment, motions, plea, or trial.

The case caption alone can hide that shift. Check the court division, the charge sequence, and each event. An arrest charge can differ from the count later alleged in an indictment. It can also differ from the offense in a plea or judgment. When a Craven County case crosses divisions, the record number and cross-references help tie the stages together. The clerk's contact directory lists the clerk at 252-639-3000, District Court judges at 252-639-3011, Superior Court judges at 252-639-3012, and District 4 prosecutors at 252-639-3010.

How to Search Case Records

The free North Carolina eCourts Portal is the remote starting point for Craven County criminal case records. It is a case research system, not an official criminal background check. A name can produce several people or cases, so use the county, record number, date, and charge details to test a match. Follow this route:

1. Open Portal, accept its terms, and select Smart Search.
2. Enter a party name or the exact case or record number.
3. Expand the filters and select Craven County plus the criminal or infraction category.
4. Open the likely match and review charges, events, hearings, status, documents, and financial entries.
5. Save the case number, then ask the Clerk of Superior Court for the file, a plain copy, or a certified record.

The search controls documented by the Judicial Branch are summarized below. Labels may shift as Tyler Technologies updates the service.

Craven County Court Record Terminals

Portal cannot replace the clerk's counter. The Judicial Branch record-access instructions explain that courthouse terminals can search criminal information by defendant name, case number, or victim and witness name. Staff can then retrieve the public electronic or paper file. This matters for an older Craven County criminal case, a document that is not remotely viewable, or a request for an official copy.

The official access page is shown in the image below.

The image reinforces the split between quick online case research and records obtained from the court office. The Craven County Courthouse is at 302 Broad Street, New Bern, NC 28560. Its published hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays. Mail goes to PO Box 1187, New Bern, NC 28563. Call 252-639-3000 before a trip if the file is old or the needed item is not clear.

Note: Portal results are informational; only the clerk can supply the official Craven County court record or certification.

What the Case File Shows

A Craven County criminal court file organizes a prosecution, not the whole police investigation. It starts with the file number, court division, parties, filing date, and status. It then tracks each charge, scheduled setting, filing, plea, disposition, judgment, sentence, and eligible financial event. Some public electronic documents may be available. Other documents require a clerk request. The useful fields depend on the question being asked.

Confidential identifiers, protected victim data, juvenile matters, sealed or expunged content, and restricted documents do not belong in the public view. A Documents tab also does not promise that every filing can be opened online.

Read Craven County Charge Results

Read every charge row. A single Craven County case can contain several counts with different outcomes. A case marked disposed only means the court entered outcomes. It does not mean every count ended in a conviction. Pending means unresolved. Dismissed means a charge ended without conviction. Not guilty is an acquittal. Guilty must be read with the judgment and sentence to understand what the court ordered.

Other terms add useful context. An arraignment is the stage when the charge is stated and a plea is addressed. A nolle prosequi is the prosecutor's formal choice not to proceed on a charge at that time. An indictment is a grand jury's true bill. A deferred prosecution postpones prosecution under set terms and may end in dismissal after successful completion. None of those labels should be inferred from a booking status. The full Craven County arrest history explains why the agency, jail, and clerk records can show different snapshots.

Disposition

The recorded outcome of a charge or case.

Nolle prosequi

A prosecutor's formal decision not to proceed at that time.

Indictment

A grand jury's true bill that charges a felony or another qualifying offense.

Judgment

The court's formal decision, read with any sentence and conditions.

Stages of a Criminal Case

A Craven County criminal matter may start with an arrest, a citation, or court process. A magistrate handles prompt initial proceedings and release conditions after an arrest. Misdemeanors usually remain in District Court. A felony begins there for preliminary steps, then may move through indictment into Superior Court. Arraignment, motions, a plea or trial, judgment, and appeal create separate docket events.

Case flow: Charges Filed → Arraignment → Pretrial → Plea or Trial → Disposition → Sentencing

The flow is a reading aid, not a promise that every Craven County file has each event in that exact form. A dismissal can end a count before trial. A plea can avoid trial. An appeal from District Court can produce a new Superior Court proceeding. Compare the event date, court division, charge status, disposition, and sentence instead of guessing from one line.

Craven County eCourts Cutover

Craven County joined eCourts on February 3, 2025. North Carolina completed the statewide rollout on October 13, 2025. That timing explains why an older case may have fewer scanned documents or need staff retrieval even when the index entry appears. Migration did not make every old paper page available from home.

The official Craven court contact directory is pictured below.

The directory points a record seeker to the office that holds or explains the file. Start with the clerk, not the jail or District Attorney, for a court record. If Portal misses a Craven County case, search the Broad Street terminal and ask staff about older or non-digitized material. Use the exact defendant name, likely filing year, and any citation or case number that can narrow the search.

Access & Restrictions

G.S. 7A-109 generally opens clerk records to public inspection unless another law provides otherwise. G.S. 132-6 also calls for public records to be available at reasonable times and for copies to be made as promptly as possible, subject to lawful limits and fees. These rules support access, but they do not expose every piece of protected data.

Juvenile files, expunged or sealed matters, confidential identifiers, victim-protected facts, and remotely restricted documents can be missing or redacted. A missing Portal result is not proof that no Craven County case ever existed. Check spelling, use other identifiers, and ask the clerk whether a public paper or electronic file is available. The court record also does not include the entire law-enforcement investigative file. Under G.S. 132-1.4, core event and arrest facts may be public while investigative narratives and evidence remain restricted.

Official Craven County Case Copies

Use the clerk when the purpose calls for a plain copy, certification, or a certified statewide court-record search. North Carolina's official criminal record check instructions list a $25 clerk search. Confirm its scope and current payment method with the Craven County Clerk. Portal should not be represented as that certified service.

The state instructions for official criminal record checks appear below.

The screenshot underscores that the clerk, not the Portal display, issues the court product. Bring or send enough detail to identify the Craven County criminal case. A case number is best. A full name and likely filing period can help when no number is known. Ask whether the desired copy is plain or certified and whether staff must retrieve an older file before arrival.