Court Records Blog

More and more court records are finding their way online, and many of them are free. We’ve talked about court records in general; see Court Records Basics, What to Know Before Searching Court Records Online,  About Criminal Records and Where to Find Them, Using Court Records for Background Investigations, and Small Claims Case Records.

We’ve talked about some of examples of the many different state court records searches; see Electronic Access to Florida Court Records,  Online Access to Virginia Court Cases, McHenry County Illinois Online Court Access, Online Access to Maryland Probate Records, and Utah Ahead of the Curve in Online Access to Statewide Court Records.

The Virginia and Maryland record searches are free. So is Illinois’ McHenry County Circuit Court, which has been joined by several other Circuit Courts such as DeKalb County. Most of the Illinois Circuit Court searches by county require a fee; Court Reference tells you which. The Florida statewide online search is free, but once you locate a case document, there is a fee to order the  hard copy. However, many individual Florida courts have free searches; as always, CourtReference has the links. Also check CourtReference to see which of those ahead-of-the-curve Utah searches are free.

 We’ve also talked about some state-specific issues with online court records; see Online Access to New Hampshire Court Records and Proposal to Limit Access to Wisconsin Court Records. Fortunately, New Hampshire has at least made a start by making high profile cases available, and Wisconsin still has its Circuit Court records online. Several local Wisconsin jurisdictions have their court records online too, and CourtReference has the links. All the New Hampshire and Wisconsin record searches are free.

In fact, CourtReference is constantly adding links to online court records searches. Here are some examples of just the free case record searches we’ve added in the past year:

In California, we’ve added Kings County Civil Case Records, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case Summaries, and Stanislaus County Superior Court High Profile Cases.

In Kansas, we’ve added Clearwater Municipal Court Docket Report (pleas and convictions) and Haven Municipal Court Convictions. Also check our Kansas court records page for links to recently filed District Court cases in Ellis, Gove, Rooks, and Trego Counties.

In Louisiana, we’ve added Shreveport City Court Case Records and St. Bernard 34th Judicial District Court Records.

In Minnesota, we’ve added Hennepin County High Profile Cases and Hennepin County District Court Selected Felony Case Information.

New Jersey now has a free statewide Superior Court Case Records search. And in North Carolina, check out the Guilford County Superior Court Verdicts.

Keep checking CourtReference for the latest additions to the growing list of online court records.

We’ve all heard various tips and tricks for “getting out of” a traffic ticket. For instance, many people believe that if the police officer makes a single mistake in writing up the ticket, no matter how trivial, that the judge will be forced to dismiss the citation. Another oft-repeated story is that if a person goes to court to fight the traffic ticket and the police officer who issued the citation does not show up, the ticket will automatically be thrown out. How true are these stories? Is it really so simple to get out of a ticket, even if you are guilty? Unfortunately, many of these surefire ways to get out of tickets are actually myths. We will explore five of the most common beliefs about getting out of traffic tickets below.

The Police Officer Makes a Mistake on the Ticket

Many people believe that if the officer makes any mistake when writing up a traffic ticket, they can get the ticket thrown out. The reality is a bit different. If the officer makes a small, insignificant mistake, like writing down that you have hazel eyes and you actually have brown eyes, you will probably not have much luck arguing with the judge that the ticket should be dismissed on that basis alone. However, there are circumstances where a mistake in writing up the ticket will help you. For instance, if you have a parking ticket that says your car was parked at 5th and Main and you were actually parked at 22nd and Pine, you might have a case. Small clerical errors will almost always be overlooked, but errors having to do with the offense itself are more significant and might give you a chance of winning your traffic ticket case. If there is a mistake on your ticket, you will have to weigh whether it is worth going to court and arguing that the ticket should be dismissed on that basis.

The Police Officer Does Not Show Up to Court

Another common belief is that if the police officer does not show up to court, you will win by default. This is actually true, for the most part. Defendants have a constitutional right to question their accusers. Therefore, if the officer (your accuser) does not show up to court, it would be unconstitutional for the judge to find you guilty. However, the officer failing to show up is no guarantee that the judge will throw out the case. He does have the option to re-schedule it for a time when the officer can be present. Furthermore, most judges will attempt to schedule the case at a time that is convenient for the officer to attend. For these reasons, it is not prudent to assume that the officer usually will not show up to court, or that you have an automatic win if he doesn’t. It all depends on the judge.

If You Refuse to Sign the Ticket, It Will Be Dismissed

Another common myth is that signing the ticket at the time it is written is an admission of guilt. Many people believe that if they do not sign the ticket, they can somehow claim that they never received it and have the ticket dismissed. Your signature on the ticket is nothing more than a promise to appear in court on a certain date and defend yourself against the charges. Refusing to sign a not a wise decision, as in many states the officer will then have the right to take you directly to jail. The best course of action once a citation has been issued is to sign it, and if you truly think you are not deserving of the traffic ticket, going to court and presenting your case.

If You Get A Ticket In One State, Another State Will Not Find Out

Some people believe that if they are traveling out of state and receive a parking or traffic citation, they can ignore it and go back to their home state without consequence. This is a foolish idea for more than one reason. Firstly, if you are ever planning to return to the state in which you received the ticket, you could be caught and face large fines or even a warrant for ignoring citations. Secondly, the vast majority of states (45 to be exact) are party to the Interstate Driver’s License Compact. This agreement means that participating states exchange information regarding driver’s license suspensions and certain traffic violations committed by non-residents with the defendant’s home state. The defendant’s home state can then penalize him for the traffic violation committed in another state. For this reason, it is never a good idea to simply ignore a traffic citation, no matter where it is received.

Going With The Flow of Traffic

Police officers and traffic court judges have heard every excuse imaginable for traffic and parking violations. A popular one is that the defendant was only speeding because he was “going with the flow of traffic.” Many people believe that if other cars on the road are speeding, it is legal for them to keep up with the flow. This is not actually true. “Going with the flow” of traffic only means that you should go approximately the same speed as other cars on the road up to the speed limit. Once you are above the speed limit, you are breaking the law, regardless of how fast other cars are traveling.

Now that some of the most common myths surrounding traffic tickets have been cleared up, you may be ready to simply pay your fine and move on with your life! Many jurisdictions provide the opportunity to pay traffic and parking tickets online. To see if your location offers this option, check out Court Reference, online fine payments. If on the other hand you have decided to fight your ticket, there are lawyers whose sole practice is in traffic court. For a list of local attorneys, Court Reference also has the resources you need. Just look under the “Legal Aid, Lawyer Referral” category to find a local attorney.

All state court systems have procedures for handling wills and other estate matters, including estate administration, guardianships, conservatorships, and trusts. When someone dies with a will, the will must be proved to be valid, and the instructions in the will carried out. This process is called probate, so most courts that handle estate matters have come to be called “probate” courts.

Some court systems have separate probate courts; examples can be found in Connecticut,  Georgia, and Texas.  More often, a state’s main trial court will have a probate division; examples can be found in California Superior Court, Illinois Circuit Courts, and Kansas District Courts.

Instead of probate courts or divisions, New York and New Jersey have Surrogate’s Courts, also known as Surrogate’s Offices in some New Jersey counties. According to the dictionary, a surrogate is a substitute, someone who acts in place of another. The most common usage of the term is surrogate mother, who bears a child that will be raised by someone else. But it can also be used to describe anyone who substitutes for someone else, such as a surrogate speaker for a busy politician or a health care surrogate who makes decisions for someone who has become incapacitated.

It can also describe a judicial officer. In the New York and New Jersey court systems, a Surrogate acts not in place of another judge, but in place of an official from the pages of history.

The first Surrogates appeared hundreds of years ago in Great Britain, where the Church of England was responsible for probating wills and bishops would appoint Surrogates to help with their workload. The position of Surrogate still exists in the Church of England. When the British colonies were established in America, colonial governors were responsible for probating wills, so they continued the practice of appointing Surrogates - due more to the difficulty of travel in the early colonies than to workload. Only New York, New Jersey, and Canada maintained the terminology in their court systems.

In both New York and New Jersey, there is an elected Surrogate in every county. As in probate courts or probate divisions in other states, the Surrogate administers wills, estates, guardianships, and trusts. Many Surrogate’s offices also handle adoptions and incompetency hearings.

In New York, the Surrogate’s Court has jurisdiction over probate, estate administration (distribution of the assets of someone who died without a will), trusts that continue or are created after death, guardianship of minors or mental incompetents, and adoptions.

In New Jersey, the Surrogate is both judge and clerk of a county’s Surrogate Court. It’s in that capacity that the Surrogate probates uncontested wills, and appoints administrators of estates with no will where there is no objection or controversy. But in New Jersey, the Surrogate is also a clerk of the Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part. In that capacity the Surrogate reviews and schedules will contests and other issues that require a decision by the court. In addition to contested wills, this can include mental incompetency hearing, appointment of guardians, and adoptions. In any contested matter, the Surrogate acts as the clerk; the case is decided by a judge of Superior Court, Chancery Division, Probate Part.

In New York and New Jersey, a Surrogate is an elected judicial officer with defined responsibilities and authority over a specialized area of the law – not a substitute.