Court Security
All persons visiting the Courthouse are required to pass through a metal detector immediately upon entry. This is for the safety of everyone in the building: judges, employees, lawyers, litigants, and observers. Weapons are prohibited and may not be brought into the Courthouse. Alcohol is not permitted in the building. Prescription drugs in their pharmacy packaging (with a name printed on the package) are permitted if carried by the patient or by an adult on behalf of the patient who is a child or the adult’s ward. Controlled substances and drug paraphernalia are also prohibited in the Courthouse.
Jury Services
If you have been summoned for jury service, you will find the Jury Services room on the same floor as the metal detector straight down the hallway. When you arrive, check in at the counter, and you will receive a badge which will include your juror number. Then you will be asked to wait in an adjacent room or in the hallway until escorted to the courtroom by a bailiff. During breaks, you may be asked to return to Jury Services to await the Court’s directives. If you are selected as a juror and you return the building for another day or days, you will report to Jury Services every day upon your arrival.
Clerks’ Office
Most business that brings visitors to the Courthouse takes place on the main floor of the building, down the hall from the metal detector. Fines are paid at a window in the lobby, as are filing fees. Family and civil cases are filed in Room 217. Liens, garnishments, and bond returns are also transacted there. Beyond Room 217, visitors will find a window for child support matters, a window for small claims, and a window for orders of protection. Bonds on criminal and traffic cases being litigated in the St Charles County Courthouse (not municipal courts) may be posted on the fourth floor in Room 417. The Probate office is located on the fifth floor. You will find the St Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s office on the sixth floor.
Immediately after passing the metal detector, visitors will observe a large monitor above the fine / fee window indicating the location of every judge in the building for that calendar day.