This guide will explain how to perform a civil court case search by accessing the proper online tools, or by visiting the courthouse to access civil cases in person.
There are millions of noncriminal cases a year that are searchable online. There are a few main differences between a criminal and civil court case we will explain these differences in greater detail as well.
What is a civil court case?
A civil court case is a court that deals with noncriminal cases. It is almost entirely made up of one person suing another agency, business, or person. The following would be what kind of court cases you would find in a civil court case:
- Foreclosure
- Eviction
- Custody battle
- Divorce
- Bankruptcy
- Property damage
- Personal harm
Judges in civil court order will order someone to pay fines or money. They also will make hard decisions about family or home.
Difference between civil court and criminal court
The main difference between the civil court case and a criminal court case is that with a criminal court case hearing the judge can sentence the person to prison.
In criminal law when a person commits a crime such as rape, murder, or robbery that person, when arrested, will go to criminal court.
If convicted the judge will impose a penalty of prison time. If that person also has a civil suit against them they would head to a civil court trial where the judge could impose monetary fines, but not jail or prison time.
How to find civil court case records
Clerk Of The Courts
Finding civil court case records can be found at the clerk of the courts within the county the person you’re looking for resides in. Search online by using the following search term. “Your County + State + Clerk of courts”.
Example: “Broward County Clerk of courts” This should give you the county website and more specifically the clerk of courts section you would need.
In some instances, if you get to the county website you could find a section called the search for records. Click that section to find the record search page you would need.
Most search parameters will allow for either a case number or a first and last name to start the search.
Search Services
The use of a search service to find and locate civil cases is also a good bet when performing a civil court case search. These search services allow anyone to search with a first and last name.
The data is then searched against federal, state, and county records from thousands of databases across the united states.
Users who use these types of services will pay a small fee, however, they will get unlimited searching in most cases, and have the ability to find all types of public record data like warrants, arrest records, court cases, and more.
Your rights to public data
Finding and performing a civil court case search is important on many levels for many people. Because of public record laws that are in place making the data searchable and viewable to the public.
Most people will not have difficulties finding these types of records when searched in the right place.
Remember, search the county clerks office for civil cases or use a search service that specializes in finding public records data directly online. Between these two methods, anyone should be able to find the civil data they require.
