Looking For Court Records?

Each day, our search box processes thousands of requests for court records. It's so easy isn't it? But where do these legal records come from?

Court records inform us of anything and everything that has taken place before, during and after legal proceedings. As you can imagine, these legal records can be quite extensive as they cover documents presented in court and even exhibits made by the parties (or their attorneys) involved in the case. Court records can thus come in the form of court proceeding minutes, detailed transcripts, petitions, motions, answers, judgments... and just about anything in between these documents!

Court records are widely used for a multitude of purposes; but whatever your specific reason, their main objective is to provide information. To put it simply, court records provide data in black and white.

Know the Different US Courts
Often, when we search online for court records, or even Court Records and we don't find what we are looking for because we are not looking at the right place. Not all court records are created equal. In fact, the term 'court records' represents many types of court documents and to understand them better, it is important to realize the different types of courts in the United States and what they cover.

The US judicial system is composed of two different court systems - the state and the federal.

Under the FEDERAL COURT SYSTEM, we have the following.

Article III-type Courts (i.e., named after Article III of the US Constitution, these courts can hear almost any type of case)

• the U.S. District Courts;
• the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal;
• the U.S. Supreme Court;

plus two special courts...

• the U.S. Court of Claims; and
• the U.S. Court of International Trade

Following are 'specialty courts' that also produce federal court records.

• magistrate courts;
• bankruptcy courts;
• the U.S. Court of Military Appeals;
• the U.S. Tax Court; and
• the U.S. Court of Veterans' Appeals

Under the STATE COURT SYSTEM, we have the following (though not each and every US state will have the similar breakdown).

Trial Courts (Often established near the county courthouse, these are your sources for county court records.)

Trial Courts of LIMITED Jurisdiction

• probate court (your source for probate records)
• family court (your source for adoption records, divorce records and other family-related court records)
• traffic court (your source for traffic violation records)
• juvenile court (your source for records concerning delinquent children)
• small claims court (your source for cases involving a small dollar amount)
• municipal court (your source for municipal court records)

Trial Courts of GENERAL Jurisdiction
Any case that is not handled by the trial courts of limited jurisdiction is handled at this court. This court is often administered in the presence of a jury and is often known by other names such as circuit courts (source for circuit court records), superior courts (source for superior court records), and courts of common pleas.

Intermediate Appellate Courts
These courts serve as venue for those who wish to appeal the results of judgments in trial courts. (Not all states will have this judicial branch).

Highest State Courts These courts serve as a 'last resort' for those who wish to go further than the intermediate appellate courts. (For states without intermediate appellate courts, appeals go directly to this court.)

There you have it; the different courts of the United States. So the next time you think of a legal proceeding and want to search court records, or Court Records, simply preview this list and be guided of the different types of courts. They are the initial sources of the legal records that our site is determined to present to you!

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