society and community | March 26, 2026

Are judicial records public?

Are judicial records public?

The public is allowed to look at court records for most cases. However, there are some court records the public is not allowed to see. This happens when a law or court order makes a record confidential. Court records for these cases are not available to the public.

How do I find federal case records?

Federal case files are maintained electronically and are available through the internet-based Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. PACER allows anyone with an account to search and locate appellate, district, and bankruptcy court case and docket information. Register for a PACER account.

How do I look up a judge’s record?

Talk to the court clerks. Cases decided in open court are considered public record, and you should be able to search by the name of the judge. If the court has the records computerized, you can search through the database for all of the cases the judge decided on, along with the judge’s decision.

How do I find free court records?

Usually, your most reliable, trustworthy bet for locating additional free court filings is to Google the name of any major law firms, government organizations (e.g. the California Attorney General, the Department of Justice), or activist groups (e.g. the ACLU) involved in the case to see if they have posted any filings …

How do I find information about a judge?

Researching Judges

  1. Westlaw Profiler. Allows you to search for individual judge profiles by name, court, and geographic area.
  2. Lexis+ The Litigation Profile Suite (accessible through the “Research” tab in Lexis Advance) allows you to search for individual judges by name or jurisdiction.
  3. Ravel Law.
  4. Lex Machina.

How do I find legal cases?

How To Find Free Case Law Online

  1. Introduction.
  2. Google Scholar.
  3. CourtListener.
  4. Caselaw Access Project.
  5. FindLaw.
  6. Justia.

What is the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary?

Includes judicial profiles of every federal judge and all the key bankruptcy judges and magistrate judges. Profiles are based on interviews with lawyers who have argued cases before the federal judiciary.

Are public records really free?

Are public records free? There are many types of public records that are available for free at the federal, state, county and city level. Some examples of free public records are census data, property information, tax liens and judgments, criminal records, bankruptcies and court records.