Court Records Online

Almost any type of information that one could require can be found online using any number of public or locale search engines. When searching court records online, the most reliable source you should check first is the court in which the action is taking place.

Most appellate courts or courts of higher jurisdiction than a local municipality will have an online forum where court information can be found. Within this website, you would find information about the court, hours and locations, judges that have been appointed to that court, contact information for the Clerk of Court and other court personnel, and the Rules of Court that are applicable therein.

U. S. District Courts

The United States district courts are considered the trial courts of the federal court system. These district courts are empowered by Congress and the Constitution to hear practically all categories of federal cases, including criminal and civil matters. There is at least one district in each state, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. There are a total of 94 federal judicial districts in all.  Separate from the district courts are bankruptcy courts. The federal courts have jurisdiction over the bankruptcy courts. No state court has jurisdiction to hear a bankruptcy case. 

District Court Websites

If a case is pending in a United States district court, a search would be performed for “U. S. District Courts” and the results would yield all United States District Courts’ websites. Most courts have websites where general court records’ information can be found online; however, most of the detailed information about a particular case is generally not available to the public without a paid registration. Once a court website has been located, on the left will be an index of information that is available, including case records and docket information. This docket information is generally referred to as "ecf" or "electronic court filings." 

PACER

One website where detailed case docket information can be found and one of the more reliable sources of court records online is called PACER. After registration, access can be gained to most state and federal court jurisdictions. The information found on this site is detailed and accurate, and is updated almost instantaneously with the filing of any court pleadings. This is not an interactive website in that no notations or entries can be made to the information itself and only those registered through PACER and a party to a particular action can file pleadings in the case.

Once access is obtained, the court records online information includes the parties’ names and addresses, the parties’ attorneys and addresses, the history of the case, the docket entries and any orders that have been entered in the case. These court records online can be viewed via pdf programs, downloaded and saved to the user’s computer, or printed.

Unless a pleading has been sealed, most court records online are able to be accessed and again can be downloaded and saved to a user’s computer, viewed on the screen through a pdf application or printed. For all of these applications, there is a nominal fee that is charged.

Public Search Engines

Another application to view court records online is through public search engines.  As with PACER, a paid registration may be required, or this may be a free service with general information available to the public. These sites usually utilize a general search mode where the case name or party litigants can be entered to produce a desired result and find any information about cases an individual may have been party to.