What are Court Records?

Learn More About Court Records

Meeting new people can be difficult. Telling whether or not someone you’ve just met has a bad history is even harder. PeopleFinders looks to make the process simpler.

Are you wondering whether or not someone you know has a history with the court system? PeopleFinders can help you uncover any public records that your preferred subject has associated with their name. Courtesy of a simple search, you’ll be able to parse your subject’s history with the law and determine all sorts of things about any time they may have spent speaking with a judge.

These records are documents filed by state or federal courts addressing the goings-on of a particular case. There are two types of court records: civil and criminal. Here, civil court records take priority. These court records will detail the charges, arguments and verdicts of cases involving:

• Inheritance
• Owed dues
• Bankruptcy
• Eviction
• Foreclosure
• Poor living conditions
• Property
• Car accidents
• Malpractice
• Divorce
• Child custody and support
• Guardianship
• Adoptions

Effectively, a civil court handles ongoing issues between two parties that are not criminal in nature. A person is more likely to see civil court than they are criminal court because of the civil court’s connection to the goings-on in the average person’s life. (For more information about what constitutes criminal records, go here.)

What Information Appears in a Civil Court Record?

Most civil court records are available for public perusal. These records will include information about the defendant, prosecution, and the legal representatives both parties bring to the floor. Unlike interviews, blogs, or other forms of media, civil courts are solely factual. They serve as verbatim reports of the conversations and debates exchanged within a courtroom, with personal opinion kept out of the equation for the sake of greater clarity.

Available civil court records can and will likely include:

• A courtroom docket – This document serves as a summary of the case, listing, in chronological order, what happened inside the courtroom.
• Complaints or indictments – These documents will detail why the prosecution brought the civil case in question to court. You may also find opening statements among these documents, as they will detail the initial positions of both parties brought before the court.
• Affidavits – This document will detail existing information about the case, including the positions of those subjects included and the reasons for the case’s submission to court.
• Depositions – These documents will include testimonies submitted by both parties brought into the court.
• Transcripts – These documents will directly relay the conversations had by applicable parties in the courtroom.
• Final dispositions – This information will detail how a civil case was brought to a close. Here, you’ll be able to determine how the accused party pled and with what, if anything, they were charged. Note again that civil court is not the same thing as criminal court, and that civil courts will not award prison time to anyone participating in a civil suit.

Note that PeopleFinders may also direct you to records of a civil case that are kept on the applicable courthouse’s website. If you know what courthouse your subject’s civil case took place in, you can use that name to better find the data you’re looking for in PeopleFinders’ archives.

The Quirks of Civil Court Records

Unlike criminal court records, civil court records are unlikely to include identifying information regarding the person involved in the suit. These records will include the name of the individuals and their dates of birth, but social security numbers and addresses will not be included. This makes it a little more difficult for PeopleFinders to bring forward the appropriate documents. However, with millions of records accessible, you will be able to find the appropriate records with just a bit more additional time spent researching.

Make sure, while looking for your desired court records, that you describe the civil case that was brought before the court. By including this information, you’ll be able to more readily find the records that PeopleFinders have available.

Using PeopleFinders to Assess Court Records

PeopleFinders makes it easier for you to search for an individual’s civil cases. When you find the applicable civil case, you’ll be able to read through the available data thanks to the public nature of the documents.

To learn more about your subject of choice, simply use the following steps to easily identify your subject’s identity and use that identification to read more about any civil suits they may have faced.

Gathering Your Information

To start this process, you’re going to need to gather information about your preferred subject. This will ideally include:

• Their first and last name
• A location or address
• A cell phone number
• An email address

PeopleFinders’ archives require this information to help you narrow down your search.

Some of this information you’ll likely already have on hand. If you’ve read about your subject in the newspaper or emailed with them, you’ll have their name and email address at the ready. If you’ve chatted with them over the phone, you should be able to reverse-search their phone number with ease. You’ll also be able to search for your subject through social media if you haven’t spoken with them in person before.

Finding the Right Person

To begin, all you need to do is share your available subject information with PeopleFinders. Once you’ve inputted this information into PeopleFinders’ search, you’ll be able to start sorting through your SERP (search engine results page) results.

The accuracy of these results will partially depend on the information you have at hand. A phone number, for example, is more likely to lead you straight back to your exact subject than just a name. If you’re searching for someone with an especially common name, you may have to do some additional SERP digging to find who you’re looking for.

Try to narrow down your search to make your research a little easier. It may feel like your subject isn’t present in the PeopleFinders’ archives if your information is too vague. Don’t give up, though! Fiddle with your search to see what may have gone wrong. Have you spelled your subject’s name correctly? Is the address you added correct?

By troubleshooting your available data, you’ll be able to rework your searches until the right person finally appears. There are billions of records available through PeopleFinders, after all. If your subject has had a public civil case, you should be able to find them.

Assessing the Checks Provided

Once your digging is done, you’ll have access to the records of your chosen subject. While, again, a civil court record won’t detail any personal information about those involved, you’ll develop a thorough understanding of what went on in the courtroom and how that outcome impacted your subject. Make sure you read all the information with care, or else you’ll risk misunderstanding something. Note that terms tend to change in a courtroom setting, becoming more complicated due to the nature of the law.

Don’t worry about experimenting with your searches after you’ve found the data you’re looking for. When you search with PeopleFinders, you’ll be provided with every record available that has your subject’s name, number, or address. Searching for a person’s history with PeopleFinders will leave you feeling more confident in your knowledge of them as an individual. Use this search on friends, relatives, or acquaintances today, and you’ll find that what you think you know is only the beginning.