Conduct a Court Search with a U.S. Court Directory

At times, it’s necessary to contact offices located within a specific court directly. Perhaps you need to request special court records, or need to conduct research for school or personal purposes. If you are trying to find adoption records, criminal, divorce or bankruptcy records, it may be necessary to contact the presiding court through the corresponding clerk via mail and submit a written request.

Rules of the Court

It may also be necessary for you to research the rules of a specific court and request a hard copy of them from the Court Clerk. These rules may pertain to whether you can represent yourself within a specific jurisdiction, the types of charges you may press or find yourself facing, as well as any formal actions that may be required of you.

Finding the Court You Need

Perhaps you already know which court you need to visit, but don’t know where it’s located. A court directory can lead you to the front steps or website of a state court, county court, circuit court or federal court in your area quite easily. This prevents you from needing to navigate confusing information found in your local government pages, too.

Federal Courts

When searching for federal courts, you may need to find your respective district court to learn about a bankruptcy case or capital crime case. You may also be curious as to which U.S. Court of Appeals applies to your federal district, or want to learn more about the U.S. Supreme Court and current groundbreaking cases before it. 

Not every case submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court will be heard by the Justices, and many times the cases it does agree to hear gain national attention. Daily updates and immediate release of decisions are frequently posted on its website. This is especially important information for attorneys and civilians facing their day in court for a similar matter, as these decisions help to set precedent in future cases.

State and Local Courts

Many times, you simply need to find a copy of your divorce decree or arrest record. These are frequently held by your local municipal, county or circuit courts. Misdemeanors, small claims and traffic records are usually held with the limited jurisdiction courts such as municipal and county courts. Superior, circuit and probate courts that exercise general jurisdiction over felony, juvenile, adoption and appeals cases from lower courts are other important state courts you may need to contact directly for the records you’re searching for.

Depending upon the system within your state, you may be directed to one or more courthouses to find the court records you need to access. Generally, a quick search online or through your local courts’ websites will point you in the right direction and inform you as to how you should request or can access the records you need, as well as where to find them.   

Court Directories:

Federal Court Directory

State Court Directory

Circuit Court Directory

County Court Directory

Municipal Court Directory

Superior Court Directory