Holes In Northern California Records Checks
Posted by Mike Spencer
When you think of all-things-wired and the center of digital information you likely think of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. While this may be true in many respects, the digital age has not dawned on some San Francisco area courthouses.
I have done background checks in civil, criminal and family law cases for more than 20 years in North-ern California. People not familiar with the local courts system might think they are getting a thorough background check but in reality aspects of California courts are "fractured" when it comes to looking up public records. It's important to know where you are going to have to look in person for information because you can't access it by computer.
The most glaring example of old-school court searching is at 850 Bryant Street, the San Francisco Hall of Justice. Criminal records may only be accessed by looking at ledger books and then ordered by case number up at a window. Complicating matters even more is court staff cutbacks and more records being kept off-site and managed by private companies. It can sometimes take a month just to get a look at a criminal file.
San Francisco County civil courts do make records available by computer with a search by name feature. What I like most about San Francisco civil records is they make the scanned case documents available so you can read everything from complaint to verdict or settlement.
The delays for retrieving criminal records have occurred in some other counties, such as Alameda County, for the same reasons. In Alameda County (Berkeley down to Fremont) cases older than five years old are often off-site and have to be specially ordered. Alameda County is another jurisdiction that does not make criminal records available online. The Alameda Country criminal records are also generally not available online, though the county does link the various courthouses on one computer once you access it in person.
One other peculiarity is the Alameda County courts civil section allows you to search online only if you have a case number. It will not allow online searching by party or case name.
Contra Costa County, which is east of San Francisco by about 25 miles, does not have criminal cases available online but it does have civil cases. But while the public can't search online for criminal rec-ords, commercial databases do have access. With the commercial databases you can get a case number but not the actual charges.
Up north in the heart of Wine Country, neither Sonoma nor Napa counties has criminal records readily available by computer. You may send in a written request but if you want to search for criminal records in a hurry you will need to visit these courts in person. Neither county has civil records available online. So at least you get to drive though some nice scenery to visit the courts in these jurisdictions.
San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Marin counties all have criminal and civil records available online through fairly simple search procedures. The only caution though is that the search pages don't specify how many years the records go back. So if you have a potential case that is older than 20 years you might want to call a court clerk and ask about the years covered by a computer search.
In conclusion, looking for criminal records in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bit tricky. If you think your subject might have a criminal case in San Francisco, Alameda or Napa or Sonoma counties, you need to physically go to the courthouse to do an index search. There are also several attorney service firms that will do the searches for you for a reasonable cost.
I have done background checks in civil, criminal and family law cases for more than 20 years in North-ern California. People not familiar with the local courts system might think they are getting a thorough background check but in reality aspects of California courts are "fractured" when it comes to looking up public records. It's important to know where you are going to have to look in person for information because you can't access it by computer.
San Francisco, Alameda, & Contra Costa County Courts
The most glaring example of old-school court searching is at 850 Bryant Street, the San Francisco Hall of Justice. Criminal records may only be accessed by looking at ledger books and then ordered by case number up at a window. Complicating matters even more is court staff cutbacks and more records being kept off-site and managed by private companies. It can sometimes take a month just to get a look at a criminal file.
San Francisco County civil courts do make records available by computer with a search by name feature. What I like most about San Francisco civil records is they make the scanned case documents available so you can read everything from complaint to verdict or settlement.
The delays for retrieving criminal records have occurred in some other counties, such as Alameda County, for the same reasons. In Alameda County (Berkeley down to Fremont) cases older than five years old are often off-site and have to be specially ordered. Alameda County is another jurisdiction that does not make criminal records available online. The Alameda Country criminal records are also generally not available online, though the county does link the various courthouses on one computer once you access it in person.
One other peculiarity is the Alameda County courts civil section allows you to search online only if you have a case number. It will not allow online searching by party or case name.
Contra Costa County, which is east of San Francisco by about 25 miles, does not have criminal cases available online but it does have civil cases. But while the public can't search online for criminal rec-ords, commercial databases do have access. With the commercial databases you can get a case number but not the actual charges.
Wine Country Courthouses
Up north in the heart of Wine Country, neither Sonoma nor Napa counties has criminal records readily available by computer. You may send in a written request but if you want to search for criminal records in a hurry you will need to visit these courts in person. Neither county has civil records available online. So at least you get to drive though some nice scenery to visit the courts in these jurisdictions.
The Good News
San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Marin counties all have criminal and civil records available online through fairly simple search procedures. The only caution though is that the search pages don't specify how many years the records go back. So if you have a potential case that is older than 20 years you might want to call a court clerk and ask about the years covered by a computer search.
Best Advice
In conclusion, looking for criminal records in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bit tricky. If you think your subject might have a criminal case in San Francisco, Alameda or Napa or Sonoma counties, you need to physically go to the courthouse to do an index search. There are also several attorney service firms that will do the searches for you for a reasonable cost.
