St. Mary's County Felony Records Search
St. Mary's County felony records are maintained by the Circuit Court in Leonardtown and cover all felony charges, trials, and sentencing outcomes for this Southern Maryland county of roughly 113,000 residents. The court handles a range of criminal cases, from drug offenses and assault to more serious violent felonies, and the Maryland Electronic Courts (MDEC) system is active in this jurisdiction, meaning newer cases have electronic filings. You can search records online through the Maryland Judiciary Case Search portal at no cost, and you can request specific court documents through the clerk's office in Leonardtown. This page explains the full process from start to finish.
St. Mary's County Overview
St. Mary's County Circuit Court Felony Records
The St. Mary's County Circuit Court is located at 41605 Court House Drive, Room 105, Leonardtown, MD 20650. The clerk's office number is (301) 475-4495, and hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. All felony cases in the county are filed here. The court handles violent offenses, sexual assault, drug trafficking, weapons charges, robbery, burglary, and other crimes that exceed the misdemeanor jurisdiction of the District Court.
St. Mary's County is an MDEC county. This means felony cases filed in recent years are part of the Maryland Electronic Courts system, where documents are submitted and stored digitally. That makes online document access easier for newer cases. For older cases, paper records are held in the clerk's office and must be accessed in person or by mail request. Either way, the clerk at Room 105 can tell you what format a specific case is in and how to get copies.
To request records, visit the clerk's office with the case number or defendant's name and date of birth. You can also mail a written request to 41605 Court House Drive, Room 105, Leonardtown, MD 20650, with a check for copy fees. Copies are $0.50 per page. Certified copies of documents, such as a sentencing order needed for a legal matter, cost $5.00 per document. Include as much detail about the case as possible in any written request to avoid delays.
Note: St. Mary's County Circuit Court uses MDEC for e-filed cases. If you access a case through the MDEC portal and see documents marked as restricted, those documents require a formal clerk request and may not be viewable online even for public records.
Online Case Search for St. Mary's County
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search at casesearch.courts.state.md.us is the primary free tool for searching St. Mary's County felony records from anywhere. The portal was updated on February 5, 2024, with a redesigned interface that provides cleaner search results and better filtering. Search by defendant name, case number, or attorney name. The system returns up to 500 matches per query.
Circuit Court criminal cases from St. Mary's County appear with the standard Maryland "CT" prefix. District Court cases at 22250 Civic Center Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650, phone (301) 475-4567, appear with a "5D" prefix. Both court levels are searchable on the same portal. When reviewing a result, click the case number to open the full docket, which shows every event, document title, and hearing date from case opening through disposition.
For MDEC cases, the MDEC portal at mdecportal.courts.state.md.us allows registered users broader document-level access. Public users can view docket information for free. Some documents in MDEC cases may be downloaded directly, while others are restricted to parties and their counsel. If you need a specific document and it's not available online, the clerk's office is your next step.
The Maryland Judiciary Case Search portal provides free public access to felony case records from St. Mary's County Circuit Court, including charge information, hearing dates, and final case dispositions.
What St. Mary's County Felony Records Contain
A complete felony case file from St. Mary's County typically includes the charging document (indictment or criminal information), docket entries for each court event, pretrial motions and rulings, any plea agreement entered into between the State's Attorney and the defense, and the final sentencing order. Jury or bench trial results appear in the verdict form or written findings. Sentencing orders detail the penalties: incarceration time, probation terms, fines, restitution, and any special conditions like sex offender registration.
Case records also show hearing continuances, attorney appearances, bond conditions set at the initial appearance, and any modifications to bail during the pendency of the case. If the defendant was ordered to participate in a treatment program or had license revocation as part of the sentence, that appears in the order as well. Post-sentencing filings like motions to modify or appeals to the Court of Special Appeals are also part of the public record.
Some records are sealed or restricted. Juvenile cases are not public under Maryland law. Expunged records are removed from public view entirely. Records sealed by court order for safety or privacy reasons are withheld. Mental health evaluations prepared for the court may also be restricted. The clerk can confirm whether a specific document in a specific case is available before you travel to the courthouse or send a mail request.
St. Mary's County Sheriff and Law Enforcement Records
The St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office, located at 23150 Leonard Hall Drive, Leonardtown, MD 20650, phone (301) 475-8500, is the primary law enforcement agency for unincorporated areas of the county. The Sheriff handles patrol, arrests, and the county detention center. Arrest records and incident reports from the Sheriff's Office are separate from the court records held by the Circuit Court clerk, and each must be requested from its own agency.
To get an arrest report from the Sheriff's Office, submit a written Maryland Public Information Act (MPIA) request to the office at the Leonard Hall Drive address. Include the date of the incident, the name of the person arrested, and the incident or arrest number if you have it. The office has 30 days to respond. Routine requests are often fulfilled faster. Some portions of reports, such as witness information or ongoing investigative details, may be redacted before release.
The State's Attorney's Office for St. Mary's County is at 41605 Court House Drive, Room 208, Leonardtown, MD 20650, phone (301) 475-4885. The SAO handles all felony prosecutions. While case files held by the State's Attorney are not generally available to the public, documents they file with the court, including charging documents and plea agreements, become part of the public court record accessible through the clerk's office.
Note: Law enforcement arrest records and court records are distinct documents. An arrest record from the Sheriff shows initial booking information. The court record tracks the entire criminal case from first appearance through sentencing or dismissal.
MPIA and Public Record Access
Maryland's Public Information Act, detailed at marylandattorneygeneral.gov, covers criminal history records held by law enforcement agencies and government offices across St. Mary's County. Under MPIA (Criminal Procedure §§ 4-101 through 4-601), you have the right to inspect and copy most government records. You do not need to give a reason for your request or provide personal ID in most cases.
Written MPIA requests must be acknowledged within 10 days and fulfilled, denied, or extended within 30 days. The first two hours of staff time to find records are free. After that, agencies charge a reasonable rate for staff time. Copies cost $0.50 per page. If a request is denied, the agency must write a response citing the specific statutory exemption. You can appeal to the Public Access Counselor at the Maryland Attorney General's Office if you believe the denial is improper.
The St. Mary's County government website has contact information for county agencies and information about submitting records requests. For court records specifically, the most direct route is contacting the Circuit Court clerk's office rather than going through the formal MPIA process, since courts operate under Maryland Rules 16-901 through 16-912 for record access rather than MPIA alone.
The St. Mary's County government website provides access to county office directories and public records request guidance for agencies outside the court system, including the Sheriff's Office and other county departments.
Maryland Felony Record Laws
Maryland Criminal Procedure § 10-101 defines what a criminal record includes: identifiable descriptions, arrest data, charge information, and case outcomes. All criminal justice agencies in St. Mary's County, including the Sheriff's Office and the State's Attorney, are required under § 10-109 to report criminal history data to CJIS at 6776 Reisterstown Road, Baltimore, MD 21215, phone (410) 764-4501.
CJIS maintains the most complete version of a person's Maryland felony history because it compiles data from all courts and agencies statewide. Personal criminal history checks through CJIS cost $38. This is more thorough than Case Search because it includes data from agencies and jurisdictions that may not fully appear in the public-facing court portal. A CJIS check is the standard for many background verification needs.
Maryland Rules 16-901 through 16-912 govern public access to court records across all Maryland circuit courts, including St. Mary's. The rules establish a general presumption of public access. Exceptions include sealed records, records with redacted personal identifiers under Rule 16-906, juvenile cases, and records placed under protective order. The rules also set the process for requesting access to restricted records, which involves a formal petition to the court.
Expungement in St. Mary's County
Maryland's expungement law under Criminal Procedure §§ 10-300 through 10-306 allows some felony records to be cleared from public view. If a felony charge was dismissed, acquitted, or entered as a nolle prosequi, expungement is often available within a few years of the case closing. For felony convictions, the wait is 15 years from the completion of the full sentence, including probation and parole. Not all felonies qualify, and crimes such as murder, rape, and some sexual offenses are permanently ineligible.
Senate Bill 432, effective October 1, 2025, expanded the categories of felony convictions that can be expunged in Maryland after the 15-year period. If you checked your eligibility before October 2025 and were told you didn't qualify, that may have changed under the new law. The State's Attorney's Office at (301) 475-4885 can explain the office's general approach to expungement petitions, though they won't give legal advice.
To file for expungement in St. Mary's County, use form CC-DC-CR-072. Get the form from the Circuit Court clerk's office at Room 105 in the courthouse or from the Maryland Judiciary website. File the completed form with the clerk and pay any required filing fee. The State's Attorney is notified and has 30 days to object. If no objection is filed, the court typically grants the petition without scheduling a hearing. Once expunged, records are removed from Case Search and from most law enforcement databases.
Nearby Maryland Counties
St. Mary's County borders Calvert County to the north and Charles County to the west. Both are Southern Maryland counties with active Circuit Courts and felony records accessible through the statewide Case Search system.