Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk Office
The official Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk page names Ashley Schuessler as Circuit Clerk. The office is inside the Cape Girardeau County Courthouse in Jackson and is the practical records counter for circuit civil, criminal, misdemeanor, traffic, family, probate, and other public case files that are not fully retrievable online. Missouri uses a Circuit Clerk for court files, not a Texas-style split between district and county clerks. That matters when a reader needs the correct office for a certified judgment, criminal disposition, divorce decree, probate order, or traffic docket record.
The clerk's public contact information is divided by work area. Criminal Divisions I and II use one line, misdemeanors and traffic use a second line, and civil matters use a third. The county directory also lists an email for the Circuit Clerk and a separate jury email. A person searching Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk records should first identify the case type, because the right phone line can save a transfer and helps staff locate the correct division file.
Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk
Clerk: Ashley Schuessler
203 N High, Suite 129
Jackson, MO 63755
Criminal: 573-243-1755
Misdemeanors/Traffic: 573-243-8446
Civil: 573-335-8253
ashley.schuessler@courts.mo.gov
Cape Girardeau County Court File Duties
The Circuit Clerk receives and maintains pleadings, docket entries, judgments, sentencing records, orders, and public filings for Cape Girardeau County cases in the 32nd Judicial Circuit. Online Case.net records are useful, but the clerk remains the local custodian for certified copies and files that cannot be reached remotely. Older records, restricted files, sealed materials, or documents not enabled for remote public access may require a counter request or a court order.
- Maintains public case files for Circuit Court divisions in Cape Girardeau County
- Routes criminal, misdemeanor, traffic, and civil questions to separate division lines
- Supports certified-copy and courthouse-terminal access when online records are not enough
- Manages local jury contacts, eJuror access, and jury reporting notices
- Works with Case.net for statewide court-record indexing and docket access
The Missouri Bar remote-access resource says Case.net has long provided public case information such as parties, lawyers, docket entries, scheduled hearings, and trials. It also notes that public document access expanded under Missouri's remote-access rules. That does not make every document public from home. A clerk request may still be needed for certified copies, older files, courthouse-only documents, or papers restricted by court rule.
Request Cape Girardeau Certified Copies
Certified copies are court documents authenticated by the clerk for legal use. Cape Girardeau County residents may need a certified judgment, sentence, divorce decree, probate order, civil judgment, or traffic disposition for licensing, employment, name changes, estate work, or another court. The research did not locate an official county copy-fee schedule for Circuit Clerk court files, so requesters should confirm current charges with the right division before mailing payment or making a trip.
- Search Missouri Case.net by party name, case number, hearing date, or 32nd Judicial Circuit filter when possible.
- Write down the case number, party names, case type, filing year, and document name, such as judgment, decree, sentence, or order.
- Call the matching Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk division to confirm whether the file is public, remotely available, courthouse-only, sealed, or older.
- Ask for the current plain-copy, certified-copy, mailing, and payment requirements before sending funds.
- Request pickup, mail, or courthouse service as directed by the clerk's office.
Note: Divorce decrees are court records, while certified marriage-license copies are handled by the Recorder of Deeds.
Cape Girardeau Clerk Request Fields
A good court-record request gives the clerk enough detail to identify one file without guessing. The research file did not locate a single Circuit Clerk download form, but the county directory and Case.net search fields show what a requester should have ready. Missing case numbers are common. In that case, names, case type, court division, and an estimated filing date help staff narrow the search.
| Field | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Case number | Best if known | Exact Case.net number is the fastest path. |
| Party names | Yes | Use full legal names and prior names if relevant. |
| Case type | Yes | Criminal, misdemeanor, traffic, civil, probate, family, or other division. |
| Document requested | Yes | Judgment, sentence, decree, docket sheet, order, or certified copy. |
| Filing date or hearing date | Helpful | Useful when names are common or the case is older. |
| Copy format | Yes | Plain or certified, pickup or mail, number of copies. |
Cape Girardeau Clerk Fee Notes
Official Cape Girardeau County research confirmed marriage-license and municipal court costs, but it did not locate a current Circuit Clerk court-copy fee table. The safest request path is to call the division before mailing payment. For county-government records outside court case files, Missouri Sunshine Law includes fee rules in RSMo 610.026. Court files follow court rules and clerk procedures, so do not assume a county Sunshine request fee equals a certified court-copy fee.
| Item | Amount / Status |
|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk plain court copies | Confirm with Circuit Clerk |
| Circuit Clerk certified copies | Confirm with Circuit Clerk |
| Municipal court costs | $35.50 per case, City of Cape Girardeau Municipal Court |
| Marriage license | $51, handled by Recorder of Deeds |
| Certified marriage-license copy | $9, handled by Recorder of Deeds |
Circuit Clerk vs Other Offices
Cape Girardeau County has several public offices with similar names, but they do not hold the same records. The County Clerk handles county-government records and public-records requests for county offices. The Recorder of Deeds handles marriage licenses, certified marriage-license copies, real estate records, UCC records, and some historical records. The Sheriff's Office controls jail, booking, law-enforcement, and warrant-surrender channels. The Circuit Clerk is the court-file office for Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court case records.
| Office | Use it for | Contact point |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk | Court case files, certified court copies, criminal, civil, traffic, family, probate case records | 203 N High Suite 129, Jackson |
| Recorder of Deeds | Marriage licenses and certified marriage-license copies | #1 Barton Square Suite 203, Jackson |
| County Clerk | County-government public records outside court files | 100 Court Street Suite 301, Jackson |
| Sheriff's Office | Jail roster, booking records, warrant surrender, law-enforcement records | 216 North Missouri, Jackson |
Cape Girardeau Clerk Access Sources
The federal court system is separate from Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk records, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri is relevant when a matter is federal instead of state or county.
State court files use Case.net and the Circuit Clerk, while Eastern District federal files use federal court systems such as PACER.
The Eastern District clerk contact page also lists Cape Girardeau federal clerk office details for the Southeastern Division.
That distinction helps prevent a federal case request from being sent to the Cape Girardeau County Circuit Clerk by mistake.
Cape Girardeau Jury Contacts
Jury service is one of the most specific local clerk functions in the research. The Circuit Clerk page points jurors to eJuror and lists capecojury@courts.mo.gov for jury matters. It also gives a main jury contact through 573-243-1755 extension 7 and a Jury Notification System at 573-243-5111. Jurors should call the notification system before reporting because schedules can change after summonses are mailed.