Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Re: Lawsuit Filing - Public Record

There is a public policy that all court records be available to the public for inspection. Of course, there are rare exceptions to this, and in those cases all or parts of the court records can be sealed by order of the court.

For you particular matter, simply go to the courthouse where the matter is pending, and ask the court clerk in charge of the records department to be able to inspect the court file. There is no charge to look at the documents, but you will not be permitted to remove any part of them from the file, or from the viewing room. Doing so is a serious violation of the law.

However, you will also be permitted to have documents photocopied, and there is a per page charge for this. (it varies depending on which court you are dealing with).

There is also generally a computer terminal in most records departments which will allow you to obtain the case number if you do not have it already. (You will need the case number to retrieve the right file). Depending on the county in which the matter is pending, much of this information is available online at the court's website. For example, Los Angeles County has their documents imaged, and available to download on the internet, but it can be quite costly if there are many pages to download. San Diego County does not, but will allow you to easily find the case number of the matter.

Also, be aware that a particular case may have more than one volume (file folders) for each matter, especially if it is a big case, there were a lot of motions that were filed, or the case has been around for a long time.

Finally, the case file may not be in the records room for a couple of reasons. The matter may be on appeal, but more likely the judge assigned to the case has the file in the department (the department is just how we refer to a particular court room). If this is the case, simply go the courtroom where the matter is pending (the records clerk can usually tell you that information), and ask the court room clerk if you can review the file.

Good luck!

Any other questions, email me privately.