Court Records Blog

Public access to electronic information seems like a good thing, especially in the area of courts and court records. With more and more courts allowing public users online access to court records, court opinions, forms, legal research and other such information, the push for more electronic access seems the logical and correct way to go.

It seems however, that there is such a thing as too much electronic access in the court arena. Recent news articles highlight the issue of jurors using twitter to send instant reports during jury proceedings as well as jurors using facebook to not only communicate during trial but to “friend” each other and other parties to the court proceedings.

Unfortunate instances such as these could well bring a ban on electronic devices during court sessions, especially when jurors are involved.  It seems like such a ban is inevitable given the flagrant nature of some jurors’ involvement with outside sources during trial deliberations, including doing outside research despite specific prohibitions on such behavior.

One can only hope that this doesn’t lead to  further tightening of other public access to court information.

Virginia provides good access for the public to search circuit court cases online.  Case information that is normally available includes the case number, party names, and filing date. Civil cases show the type of case and criminal cases show the offense date, charge, disposition and defendant’s date of birth. The date of birth is standardly abbreviated for privacy concerns.

Buckingham County had removed itself from the online court case information system as the court clerk had been concerned that potential jurors might use the system to research cases. However, at the request of the public, Buckingham County is now participating again in the online information system.

Seven circuit courts still don’t make their court case information available online: Alexandria, City of Charlottesville, Chesterfield, Fairfax, Greene, Henrico and King and Queen counties.

There is a great deal more information about Virginia courts, including the District Courts, Juvenile and Domestic Relations Courts, court opinions and orders, self-help and legal research, court forms and online fine payments available at Court Reference’s Guide to Virginia Courts. Information about trial courts nationwide is also available on the Court Reference site.

Hate crimes are criminal acts perpetrated against people, organizations or property because of the group to which the victim is perceived to belong.  This group is usually defined by race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation but can also include  disability, ethnicity, age or polititical affiliation.

On October 28, 2009, President Obama expanded the federal hate crimes law by signing a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of sexual orientation or gender identity.  More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported between 1998-2007, according to the FBI.  While hate crimes are prosecuted at the federal level, many experts believe that other crimes prosecuted at the state level may involve hate crime components. Cases of rape, assault or harassment may not meet the federal standards of hate crimes but may have overtones of hatred.

Indeed, many instances of bullying have their roots in the victim being perceived as “different” – perhaps the victim is gay or has gay parents or is a minority. A great deal of bullying occurs in the school setting – to some of our most defenseless society members – children.  As the news has shown us, the trend of bullying has increased to include harassment via the internet as well.

Again, while these cases may not meet federal hate crime standards, their impact on individuals and society as a whole is dramatic. Most everyone knows someone who has been the victim of an agressor – even if just from what seems like old childhood harmless “pranks”.

Searching court records can highlight the pervasiveness of such crimes. Federal court cases may be searched at PACER, the federal judiciary’s centralized court system. This site does require registration and is a pay for use site. State and county  court cases must be searched at the state and county level.  Many states and counties have their court cases onlines and vary in their fee policies.  Try using  CourtReference to locate state and county courts and court cases.

As a society, we need to endeavor to come together as a whole and stop the divisiveness that causes so much pain.