Blair County Trial Court
Blair County belongs to Pennsylvania's 24th Judicial District. The county trial court is the Blair County Court of Common Pleas, which sits at the Blair County Courthouse in Hollidaysburg. Court Administration is at 423 Allegheny Street, Suite 239, and uses phone 814-693-3050. The courthouse is also the main location for the Prothonotary, Clerk of Courts, Clerk of Orphans' Court, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff, Cost/Fines, and related court offices.
The Court of Common Pleas handles the county's major trial-level work. Felony charges may begin in a Magisterial District Court for preliminary arraignment and preliminary hearing, then move to Common Pleas when held for court. Civil actions, divorce, custody, criminal cases after preliminary stages, and Orphans' Court matters are handled through the trial court and its clerk offices. Appeals from Blair County trial-court decisions generally go to the Superior Court or Commonwealth Court, depending on case type, with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as the court of last resort.
The manifest source shows the county's Court of Common Pleas judges page.
The judges page is the local reference for the current Common Pleas bench and court mission language.
Blair County Common Pleas Judges
The county research lists Hon. Wade A. Kagarise as President Judge. It also lists Hon. Jackie Atherton Bernard, Hon. David B. Consiglio, Hon. Louis C. Schmitt Jr., and Hon. Paula M. Aigner. Senior Judges Jolene Grubb Kopriva and Timothy M. Sullivan are also identified. Public docket searches may show a judge name when the case information is available through the Unified Judicial System.
| Role | Name |
|---|---|
| President Judge | Hon. Wade A. Kagarise |
| Judge | Hon. Jackie Atherton Bernard |
| Judge | Hon. David B. Consiglio |
| Judge | Hon. Louis C. Schmitt Jr. |
| Judge | Hon. Paula M. Aigner |
| Senior Judge | Jolene Grubb Kopriva |
| Senior Judge | Timothy M. Sullivan |
Blair County Court Administration
Court Administration is the routing point for many courthouse questions, but it is not the record clerk for every case type. It directs case inquiries to the attorney of record, Public Defender clients to 814-693-3255, and filing, motion, paperwork, certified document, and marriage license questions to the Prothonotary at 814-693-3080. PFA inquiries are routed to 814-693-0130. Fingerprinting questions go to Central Booking at Blair County Prison, 814-693-3155 ext. 8.
Court Administration also posts ADA and language-access resources, including ADA policies, the language-access plan, interpreter request forms for criminal, civil, and Magisterial District Judge matters, interpreter waiver forms, and language-access complaint forms. That makes Court Administration the right office for access logistics even when the underlying record is held by a clerk division.
Blair County Court Administration
423 Allegheny Street, Suite 239
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648
814-693-3050
The manifest source captures the Court Administration page.
That source is most useful for routing, accommodation, interpreter, and case inquiry direction.
Blair County MDJ Courts
Magisterial District Judges are the first stop for many traffic citations, non-traffic citations, private criminal complaints, landlord-tenant actions, small civil cases, and preliminary criminal proceedings. The county research says cash payments are accepted until 3:00 pm on the MDJ page. Lower-court docket sheets may be searched through the Pennsylvania UJS portal by participant name, docket number, citation number, complaint number, OTN, incident number, date filed, county, judicial district, or MDJ court office.
| District | Judge | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24-3-03 | Vacant | 311 Union Street, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648 | 814-693-3210 |
| 24-1-03 | Daniel C. DeAntonio | 615 4th Street, Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-942-6421 |
| 24-3-02 | Matthew S. Dunio | 5929 California Ave., Altoona, PA 16601 | 814-944-4371 |
| 24-1-02 | Benjamin F. Jones | 2601 5th Avenue, Altoona, PA 16602 | 814-941-4550 |
| 24-3-01 | Kevin P. Stoltz Jr. | 5628 East Pleasant Valley Blvd., Tyrone, PA 16686 | 814-684-4617 |
| 24-3-04 | Andrew L. Blattenberger | 310 Airport Dr., Suite 9, Martinsburg, PA 16662 | 814-793-2495 |
Common Pleas Case Flow
Criminal cases often move from arrest or complaint to an MDJ preliminary stage, then to the Court of Common Pleas if held for court. Civil cases begin with a filing through the proper civil office. Orphans' Court matters proceed through petitions, accountings, guardian filings, adoption filings, or estate filings. Each path has a different clerk, so a docket search should be paired with the right office for copies.
Criminal flow: Complaint or arrest › MDJ preliminary arraignment or hearing › held for court › Court of Common Pleas filing › plea, trial, disposition, or sentence › appeal.
Civil flow: Filing › service or response › motions or conferences › order, judgment, settlement, or trial › post-judgment action or appeal.
Probate flow: Petition or estate filing › Orphans' Court docket › account, inventory, guardian filing, adoption step, or estate order › certified copy request if needed.
The public record trail may show only part of that movement. UJS docket sheets can identify docket numbers, party names, case status, hearing events, bail entries, costs, and cross-court numbers, but a certified document still comes from the office that holds the file. For Blair County, that means the Clerk of Courts for criminal Common Pleas files, the Prothonotary for civil and divorce files, and the Clerk of Orphans' Court for probate and guardianship matters.
Which Blair County Court
The Court of Common Pleas and Magisterial District Courts do not handle the same records. The correct office depends on both the case type and stage.
| Case or record type | Likely court or office | Access note |
|---|---|---|
| Major civil action or judgment | Prothonotary / Court of Common Pleas | Use Prothonotary for document-level requests. |
| Divorce or custody | Prothonotary / Court of Common Pleas | Some family documents may be restricted. |
| Criminal Common Pleas case | Clerk of Courts | UJS may show public docket sheets. |
| Traffic citation | Magisterial District Court | Search UJS by citation number or participant. |
| Estate or guardianship | Clerk of Orphans' Court | Some records require counter request or are sealed. |
| Payment of Common Pleas costs | Cost, Fines & Restitution | Office is in Suite 139. |
Related Court Logistics
The district-court manifest includes a Blair County Prison TextBehind source. TextBehind is not a Court of Common Pleas record system, but it matters when a court case involves a person in county custody. The county prison is separate from the courthouse at 419 Market Square Alley, Hollidaysburg, PA 16648. Personal mail is routed through TextBehind, while privileged mail and publications still go directly to the prison.
The manifest source for this related custody logistics item is the Blair County TextBehind mail information page.
Use the prison mail source only for custody communication logistics, not for trial-court docket access.
For court records, the better path is still UJS first, then the correct Blair County office. Criminal Common Pleas copies go to the Clerk of Courts, civil and divorce documents go to the Prothonotary, and probate or guardianship records go to the Clerk of Orphans' Court. Court Administration can help direct a person to the right office when the record type is unclear, but each clerk division controls its own files and copy process.
Payment and appearance logistics can involve additional offices. Cost, Fines & Restitution is in Suite 139 and handles collection and disbursement of costs, fines, fees, and restitution for Common Pleas cases. Public Defender clients are directed to the Public Defender rather than Court Administration for case inquiries, and the research notes that current Public Defender clients receive hearing notices by mail and must keep address and phone information current. These details do not replace docket search, but they explain why a Court of Common Pleas record may point to a payment office, defense office, MDJ office, or clerk counter depending on the case stage.