Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California

Public records are in the public domain and you can use the information in them. You don't need permission from the other people as long as you stick with the FACTS exactly as stated in the public documents. You could get into trouble with possible defamation, however, if you embellish or fictionalize portions of the story. Likewise, if you use private facts (not in the public domain), you run the risk of being accused of invasion of privacy.

If you plan to expand upon the story as stated in the court records, you should get written permission of the people involved or change the names and add a disclaimer that, even though it is based on actual events, portions of the story are fiction.