Court Records - Find Out Who Owns What

When people think of 'court records' they immediately associate it with criminal cases or something of a dire nature. However, when looking up the history behind a piece land, court records are actually very valuable resources to have.

Property records detail many things about real estate such as a list of its owners, their contact info, when the property was last sold and its current value. These documents can be very useful whether you are simply doing research on a valuable or historic piece of land or whether you are actually disputing someone's ownership of it.

Porperty records are also often used by people who want to look up the property's history before buying it. So the next time some real estate presents itself on you, look it up first and see if it's worth your while.

Court Records May Provide a Clue Regarding Your Adoption

In many states, adoption records are only public if they are 'old' or past a certain number of years. If they have not met this criterion, then it is very likely that the adoption records are sealed. To have them opened, one would have to file in court to unseal these records. And of course, the outcome of these cases is not always to allow the opening of such records.

If you just recently found out that you were adopted and now want to search for your birth parents, consider looking at court records that your birth parents may have filed in an effort to reach you. Of course, this is harder said than done and you need to ask your adopted parents a lot of questions but if you really want to find your birth parents, you should not leave any stone unturned.

Looking Up Criminal Records

Court records available today include court case files for civil court and for criminal court. The latter features court records of convicted criminals and will often inform you about the nature of the crime, the warrant for arrest, court proceedings and the result of the case.

Now why would you want to look up someone's court records? Well, unless you stay indoors and never go out and thus not have contact with any other human being, then it is probably a normal occurence that you come into contact with different types of people all the time. Ordinary contact such as people you normally see on your commute to work may not be cause for you to look up if they have any criminal record, but anybody you place in a position of trust should be subject to one.

For example, are you hiring new employees, getting a new nanny for your kid(s), or getting a driver? If your child is off to college, how sure are you his/her roommates are 'ok'?

It is never bad to err on the side of caution. And with times today the way they are, there is much more to pay if you are not careful.

Court Records Become More Accessible...

Reading through some news items today, I am brought back to the fact that searching for court records is very much a 'necessity' in many lawfirms. An article posted on Business Post today (click here for the full article) expresses the Ohio State Bar Association's plans to increase its legal search database to include case law and statues from all the other 50 US states. The records will be made available via the association's Casemaker digital library... for a fee of course.

Actually, despite this 'fee', many welcome the idea with open arms as Casemaker is an inexpensive alternative to such popular research tools as LexisNexis and Westlaw.

And the best part of all? Lawfirms are stating that the savings they will incur can be passed on to consumers. Dare we believe the statements of these lawyers?!? ;)

Beware of Sexual Offenders in Your Area

Perhaps one of the most sickening topics plaguing America today is the increasing occurrence of child molestation. As a parent, it is our duty to provide for our children and to ensure that they live in an environment of safety.

One of the best ways you can protect your child is to conduct a court and criminal record search in your state for sexual offenders. Please do not think that a 'good neighborhood' is good enough. We all know that evil does not choose a specific place, , race, or income bracket.

It does not take much effort to conduct a criminal records search. Do it now. You owe it to your child and to your peace of mind.

Court Records - Murder She Wrote

In my spare time, which are too few and far between!, I actually like going over the Crime Library. Of particular interest to me are the unsolved crimes of the past. So much is attributed now to DNA analysis and the art of forensics that I cannot help but wonder how these crimes may be solved NOW or how easy it would have been to solve them had the tools we have now were available then.

Sometimes I come across 'popular' crimes and sometimes I read about crimes I have never heard of. And sometimes, I come across items that are simply of interest in my line of work and for those I go the extra mile and try and search their court records to see what really happened. I also especially do this when the crime is about to be made into a documentary or a movie as I have this penchant for checking how true the rendition is.

Anyway, before you get the wrong idea, I am not promoting crime at all! But if, like me, you're into thrillers and Murder She Wrote-type of content, then the Crime Library is perhaps for you too.

Court Records - Information in Black and White

Growing up, I have always heard about my grandmother's brave pursuit of justice. She owned an apartment building and one bright day, a truck carrying gasoline hit it and the building was razed to the ground. The company responsible for the fleet was very powerful and so what was expected was that a tidy sum would be given to my grandmother as compensation and that was the end of it... my grandmother thought otherwise.

My grandmother who took pictures of her burning building, the truck that hit it and the DRIVER noted that the driver was actually drunk. To cut the long story short, my grandmother said no to the sum, sued the company for all it's worth, years passed, and she won. David has beaten Goliath...

This story would repeat itself over and over and since she died before I was born, it sort of made me view her as a Super Woman. So one day, I just decided to see if the story was true. I searched for the court records pertaining to her case. The document arrived and I spent all afternoon reading it; after that, I concluded... she really was Super Woman!

Choosing a Court Records Search Provider

Conducting a court records search is not an invasion of privacy. After all, these records will not be ‘open to the public’ if it was. Whatever your reasons are for making a court records search, know that the information is only as complete and updated as the source.

There are a lot of people who look up court records so it’s not surprising that many companies online are now providing the service. However, not all providers are created equal.

When looking for quality providers, choose one that…

- allows anonymous or confidential searches;
- offers correct, complete and updated results; and
- offer a money back guarantee!

So who are the best court records providers out there? Check out this list.