Uncategorized

How to Retrieve State/Federal Court Records Electronically

Leave a reply

Court Service

Determining Federal/State Court Records

1.Determine whether you need to retrieve State/Federal court records. To determine if a court is a State/Federal court:

a.Look at the caption (i.e., name of the court on a pleading).

•If the court is Circuit or Superior Court, it’s a State court.

•If it is District court, it’s a Federal Court.

•Appellate courts may be State or Federal and will have the name of the state in the title of the court, New York Supreme Court, or New York Appellate Court, for example.

b.Look at the laws that the court deals in order to determine if they are State or Federal laws. Divorce laws for example are State laws and bankruptcy laws are Federal, so divorce cases are heard in State court and bankruptcy cases in Federal court.

•Check the list of federal courts provided by the United States Courts systems, to see if the court is listed as a federal court. Continue reading

50 simple ways you can market your practice

3 Replies

By Stephanie Francis Ward

You can spend a lot of money on legal marketing, but you don’t need to. Nor do you have to be naturally outgoing or charming. What is necessary for good business development, say successful lawyers and consultants who shared their strategies with the ABA Journal, is a marketing plan focused on activities you do well, targeted at the right audience and carried out consistently. Give it some time, they say, and business will come. Continue reading

How the Judicial System Works

2 Replies

Image Gallery: Timeline of Civil Rights

By Jacob Silverman

Th­e United States is renowned for ha­ving one of the most sophisticated judicial systems in the world. Every day thousands of people, including law enforcement officers, lawyers, judges, government officials and ­even accused criminals, take part in this system, hoping to settle disputes and work for justice. What makes this system even more remarkable is that it is able to operate successfully in a country as large and diverse as the United States. One of the keys to this success is a balanced and carefully ordered hierarchy: Several different federal courts control issues relating to federal law and each state has its own set of courts that can adapt to the needs of its people.

Of course, it’s all a bit more complicated than that and no system works perfectly, but learning how the judicial system works can be useful in case you ever need to file a law suit, defend yourself in court, claim damages from the government or even pay a traffic ticket. In this article we’ll talk about what the different types of courts do, how judges are appointed and the basics of jury duty. Let’s start by looking at the essential elements of the U.S. judicial system. Continue reading