In the US, court cases are public knowledge and can be checked in person or online. Exceptions include juvenile and family cases. County clerks and sheriff’s offices can provide information on defendants, and newspapers may publish local criminal case updates.
A search for the defendant can be done in several ways. Court cases in the United States are public knowledge, and you can check court records in person and, often, online. Local sheriff’s offices have information on the defendants in their custody. There are also additional online and offline research resources if for some reason you cannot obtain court documents on your own.
Generally, court cases in the United States are considered public records. This applies to both criminal and civil cases. Some exceptions include juvenile case records and family cases involving the adoption, abuse, or abandonment of a child. These documents can only be accessed by a court official, a litigant or the lawyers involved.
Court records in the United States are kept by the county where the action was filed. You can search for the defendant by doing an inquiry at the District Court Clerk’s Office. It will be useful to know the defendant’s full legal name and all the information you have on the type of case. If it is a criminal case, the plaintiff will always be “the State”. The criminal file will also contain information on whether the defendant has been detained and, if so, the amount required for bail.
If there isn’t a file for a criminal defendant in the clerk’s office, you can check with the county sheriff to see if the defendant is being held in local custody. With a very recent arrest, a defendant search of the hard copy of the court file may not yet be possible in the clerk’s office. The sheriff’s office can check if the defendant is on the current jail list. You should also be able to find out the date of the defendant’s court appearance.
Most jurisdictions now have online access to basic court documents, which will assist you in your search for the defendant. While you may not be able to access certain court documents, most systems will allow you to view the ‘registration sheet’. This contains the names of the parties and the nature of the case. It will also list a history of all documents filed by the parties and all court orders issued thus far. The latest record will usually have the next court date and the type of hearing scheduled.
Many newspapers publish their own sections on local criminal cases, with information on charges, guilty pleas, verdicts and convictions received by various defendants. Sometimes they will indicate the name of the judge handling the case. Using “find a defendant” or similar terms in an online search can also help locate resources. This could be very useful if you are looking for a defendant but are not sure which jurisdiction you need to search in. There may be a fee for using this type of resource for your research.
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