Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

I�d like to post a PDF of public court documents that I received from the LA Superior Criminal Court as well as other publicly available facts from www.lasuperiorcourt.org. Is this legal?

A person has conducted a criminal act against me (fraud) that the County of LA DA�s office has decided not to pursue because they only pursue cases over $500,000 (as told to me by a DA Investigator). This perpetrator has a verifiable criminal record in LA Superior criminal court and I have personally seen the case files and had the clerk make copies of the court transcript for the pre-trial proceeding as well as other proceedings by the court reporter (a computer printout) for each appearance. While the DA will not pursue my case, I�d like to post an Adobe PDF of these documents on a website for others to view.


Asked on 9/10/09, 12:22 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Documents published by a public agency are public record. Remember, though, that accusations are not convictions. Anyone may accuse another person of something. If a judge or jury has not found that person guilty or liable, the accusation is only that. Republication of an accusation as fact could have some serious consequences.

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Answered on 9/10/09, 11:01 am
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Publicly available records could be posted, as long as they don't open you to a charge of slander or invasion of privacy. Such posting is essentially nothing more than vengeful, and would do you no good other than emotionally. If officials won't prosecute, then your remedy is to sue. IF the case has merit, value, and collectability, then feel free to contact me if serious about pursuing it.

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Answered on 9/10/09, 1:50 pm


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