Access to Electronic Court Case Records

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What is an electronic court case record?

When someone files a case in court, the court will keep an official record about the case. The official court record consists of f papers and materials filed in the case. Information about you may be contained in a court case record. For example, if you file a lawsuit claiming another person owes you money, your name and how much money you are asking for will become part of the court case record.

A court may keep a case record in paper or electronic format. A case record kept in electronic format is known as an electronic record. An electronic case record can only be viewed on an electronic device such as a computer, tablet, or cell phone. Not all court case records are available electronically and access to electronic court case records is controlled by law.

Who can look at electronic court case records?

The public is allowed to look at most court case records. However, there are some court case records the public may not see. Some laws, rules of court, and court orders make some case records confidential.

Examples of confidential case records include records filed in “juvenile dependency” cases (when a child is removed from their parents) and “juvenile delinquency” cases (when a child is accused of committing a crime). Court case records for these cases are not available to the public.

In other court cases, there are certain records in the case file that are not available to the public. An example of these is a fee waiver application. The public may be able to see part of the court case file but would not be able to see this record.

Even when the public is not allowed to look at a court case record, there will still be certain people who are allowed to do so. For example, if you are a party in a case, you can look at the court case record even if the public cannot.

How can I look at an electronic court case record?

There are two ways to look at electronic court case records:

• On a computer at the courthouse.
• On a computer, tablet, or smart phone anywhere with an internet connection, such as your home, or the public library. This is known as “remote access.”

How you can access an electronic court case record depends on your relationship to the case. If you are a party to a case, you have full remote access to those case records. If you are a member of the public, there may be limits on what you can see through remote access.

Remote Access by the Public

A court that keeps electronic case records must allow the public to see them at the courthouse. If it is feasible for a court to do so, the court also must allow the public remote access to some electronic case records.

Not all court case records are available to the public from locations outside the courthouse (remote access). For example, in sensitive cases such as divorce, child custody, civil harassment, and criminal, courts may only make available on the internet the registers of action, calendars, and case indexes. The public may only view other records filed in those cases at the courthouse. This strikes a balance between the public’s right to know about court business and individual privacy rights of the people involved in these cases.

For example, if you saw a news story about a criminal trial and wanted to look at the court’s electronic record about the case to find out more, you would need to visit the courthouse and see the electronic case record there. In some special situations, where there is an unusually high level of public interest in a criminal case, a judge may allow remote access to a criminal case electronic record. But this is not typical. Normally, you would need to visit the courthouse.

As another example in a divorce proceeding, information about you and your marriage could be included in an electronic case record. But the public could not look at the electronic case record using remote access. Members of the public who wanted to see the electronic case record would have to visit the courthouse to do so.

For a complete list of case types in which the public may only view electronic records at the courthouse, see rule 2.503 of the California Rules of Court.

Keep in mind too that all or part of a court case record may be confidential by law or sealed by court order. If so, no member of the public may view the electronic case record, either at the courthouse or through remote access.

Remote Access to Case Records by Parties and Other People Related to the Case

Certain people, such as a party or a party’s attorney can always use remote access, if available, to look at the full electronic court case record.

The sections below will give you more information about the people who can have full remote access to electronic case records. The sections below only apply if the court is able to provide remote access. Not every court may be able to provide remote access. Even courts that are able to provide it may not yet be able to provide it to everyone listed below.

• Party— If you are a party, you can use remote access to look at electronic records of your case. The other party in your case can also look at the electronic case records.
   
• Person Authorized by a Party — If you are a party and you need another person’s help, you may want that person to use remote access to look at electronic records of your case. If so, you can authorize that person to do so. This does not apply to electronic records of criminal, juvenile justice, or child welfare cases. It also does not apply to confidential electronic case records. Even if you are a party in those kinds of cases, you cannot authorize just anyone to look at the electronic case record. If you have an attorney, however, your attorney will be able to see and access the electronic case record.
   
• Party’s Attorney — If you are a party and you have an attorney, your attorney may use remote access to look at the electronic records in your case. If your attorney works in an organization such as a law firm or public defender’s office, other people working in the organization may also use remote access to view the electronic case records. This is only if they are assisting your attorney with your case. Paralegals, legal secretaries, interns, and other attorneys are all example of people who may be assisting your attorney with your case.
   
• Court-appointed People — Sometimes the court will appoint people to participate in a case who are not a party’s attorney. For example, a child’s interests can be affected by a case even if the child is not a party. If so, the court may appoint someone to look out for the child’s interests. As another example, the court may appoint an investigator to find information. In situations where the court has appointed a person to participate in a case, that person is allowed to use remote access to view electronic case records to fulfill the responsibilities the court assigned.
   
• Legal Aid Staff — Sometimes legal aid organizations have lawyers represent parties before a court. When that happens, the legal aid lawyer, just like any lawyer representing a party, is allowed to use remote access to look at the electronic records in the party’s case. Often though, legal aid organizations may provide more limited scope services, like a brief consultation, help understanding the procedures in a case, and help with forms and documents. If you go to legal aid for help with your case, the legal aid staff may be authorized to use remote access to look at the electronic records in your case with your consent.
   
• Government Staff — State and local government agencies often need staff to view court case records in the performance of government functions. Staff from these agencies may be authorized to view case records using remote access. For example, a city police department or county probation department may need to look at electronic case records in criminal matters. For a list of state and local government agencies and the types of electronic case records their staff may view using remote access, see rule 2.540 of the California Rules of Court.