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Determine the appropriate jurisdiction. Check your county clerk’s website. Visit your state's court website. Search the US Courts website.
There are many different types of court records, and knowing which kind of record you need will help you in your search. Civil and criminal cases may be decided at the county, state or federal level, depending on the circumstances of each case.  Civil cases are usually private disputes between individuals or organizations, while criminal cases involve someone who has broken the law or is otherwise considered harmful to society. A person or organization with more than one conviction may have records in multiple jurisdictions. You can usually Access Criminal Court Records for civil, criminal, and small claims cases at the district or county level. Type your county’s name and “criminal records” or “civil court records” into a search engine to find these records.  Search for records using the appellate’s name, defendant’s name or the case number. Some county court websites require you to know the court case number, and may not let you search by name or date without that information. Each state’s courts maintain their own public records of proceedings in court. Type in your state’s name and “court records” into a search engine to locate this website for your state. In New York, for example, the New York State Unified Court System allows you to search by case number, summons number, the defendant's name, or the name of a corporation involved in litigation. Most state court websites, you can search for cases by first and last name, business name, or case number. In the United States, you can Access Court Records Electronically through the US Courts website as part of the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) project.  This website also informs you of whether or not a case is actively involved in litigation. PACER allows you to search for cases through all US courts.  To use PACER, you will need to set up an account. While there is no registration fee, there is a charge for every document viewed, downloaded, or printed. However, fees can and will be waived if you spend less than $15.00 in any given quarter. Therefore, it is possible to search for public records for free on PACER so long as you do not use the resource too much. To search for documents on PACER, log in and use the search function. If you know what you are looking for, go to the "court links" page and search for your case that way. If you do not know what you are looking for, you can use the "case locator" function.