Connecticut Court Records: Overview and Details

Statistically, one in three Americans has had some experience with the legal system in the US. If you have not been to the court yourself, you have definitely heard it from your neighbors or through 5 handshakes. 

Whether you have a suspicious neighbor moving in, are about to hire a potential employee, or study law at the university, you might need to run a Connecticut court records search. This article will explain all aspects of running a Connecticut court records search and who is eligible to do that.

How can Connecticut civil court records be defined?

Generally, court records can be defined as information about the claim. Every claim turned into a lawsuit, and subsequently, the case became a court record. Court records serve as the best investigation and educational tool for people, like students, investigators, and parties in the case. Typically, Connecticut court records contain the following information:

· Full name of both plaintiff and defendant

· Brief description of the claim and the case

· The time and date the proceeding has been taken

What types of Connecticut court records exist?

Generally, Connecticut civil court records can be split into two broad categories: public and confidential.
 

Public Connecticut court records
 

Public Connecticut civil court records could be viewed by any individual unless the judge ruled otherwise. Examples of public Connecticut court information include: civil, admiralty, equity, law, criminal, and bankruptcy cases.
 

Confidential Connecticut civil court records
 

Confidential Connecticut court information may be hidden from the public eye based on the judge's decision. A judge may decide to seal certain documents that might be considered public. 

Some of the reasons to fuel such a decision are the desire to protect victims and avoid releasing information that might compromise an ongoing criminal investigation or a defendant's standard of life. Here are a few examples of the confidential Connecticut civil court records:

• Connecticut court records on "juvenile dependency" and "juvenile delinquency."

• Connecticut civil court records on "juvenile dependency" contain records of cases where the child is removed from their parents. On the contrary, "juvenile delinquency" Connecticut court records showcase the accusations that a child has committed a crime.

• Connecticut court records on adoptions

• Connecticut civil court records on name changes

• Connecticut court information on paternity (except for final orders)

• Connecticut court information on mental illness commitment records

• Connecticut court records on alcohol and drug treatment commitment records

• Connecticut civil court records sealed by a judge's order

Who is eligible to run a Connecticut court records search?

Once you are done establishing the type of Connecticut court records your case has, you need to establish whether you are eligible to run the Connecticut court records search.

Only if you are the party in the case would you have access to both public and confidential Connecticut court information.

However, if it is not the case, you can only run a Connecticut court search if you are or belong to any of the following groups:

• Person Authorized by a Party

Sometimes a party in the case might assign another party to help them run the Connecticut court records search. However, this does not apply to electronic records of criminal, juvenile justice, child welfare cases, or confidential electronic records.

• Court-appointed People

Every individual appointed by the court is allowed to access the Connecticut court information

• Legal Aid and Government Staff

People that belong to either legal aid or government staff are entitled to run a Connecticut court records search.

Where to run Connecticut civil court records search?

If the Connecticut civil court records of your interest are stored in paper, the only option you have to run the Connecticut civil court records search is by physically arriving at the courthouse and requesting to access the Connecticut court information.

However, if your Connecticut court records are stored digitally, you can both access them physically at the courthouse and remotely. 

If you plan to run a Connecticut court record search remotely, we recommend using both private and government websites to obtain the most precise court records. Government websites such as the Judicial Brunch of State of Connecticut website (jud.ct.gov) will give you an overview of the Connecticut court information and help you run the Connecticut court search.

Whereas private platforms like backgroundcheck.co will provide you with more background information on the parties involved in the case.

Key takeaways: If you are planning on running a Connecticut court records search, identify which types of records you are aiming to obtain. If these are the paper Connecticut court records, then the only option to run the Connecticut civil court records search would be by physically arriving at the courthouse. 

If the court of your jurisdiction offers the possibility of running a remote Connecticut court records search, use both private and government platforms to obtain the most precise information.