Accessing U.S. Court Records and Public Documents

If you're in need of public records or court documents, there are a few different routes you can take. Whether you need marriage records, birth or death certificates, court dockets, case files, records of adoptions or probate, and even judicial orders, many can be obtained through the internet, written request, telephone or in person. Knowing where to go is half the battle.

You'll need the name or names on the court documents. If you have both parties of court records, you'll have a much better chance at obtaining the correct documents. Along with any names involved, your search can be defined by knowing the document type, a court records number or case number, city, county, and state in which the records are located.

You can check for court records directly from the court, either through the court's website, or telephone, or even by mailing in a specific request, containing ALL of the court document information. Sometimes when ordering copies of documents, there may be small fees such as copy fees, or document fees. If you are mailing a request, should contact the court by telephone to find out about the specific documents you need, and the fees - if any. Online there may also be a per-page fee, and can often be purchased securely with a credit card on the website.

You can also access federal and Supreme Court documents through the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts PACER Service Center. There website requires a membership, but has a very extensive database. Justia is another highly useful website, created to search for federal district court documents.

Ixquick Search Engine Respects User Privacy

Are you looking for a search engine that doesn't share your private information? Well search no more! Ixquick has decided that they don't want to record IP addresses, and that means that there are no records to keep. While you may not get the same search engine results as you would with Google, Yahoo, or others - but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that your usage and privacy is respected - and not recorded.

In a press release early this year, Ixquick announced that it completely stopped recording IP addresses, creating a privacy-friendly search portal. “At Ixquick we feel people have a fundamental right to privacy” says CEO Robert Beens. “Using a search engine is sharing your innermost secrets and habits which should be safe. Ixquick has the best privacy policy of the search industry. Today it has become even better.” They previously used a system that dumped user data after 48-hours of retention time, but that has all changed. They no longer record the information at all.

LDS and Vatican Argue Over Genealogy Records

Controversy was recently stirred up when the Vatican sent a letter to the Catholic bishop of Utah, asking that the Catholic dioceses refrain from cooperating with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Most people are aware that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS) hold one of the largest (or quite possibly the largest) genealogy collection in the world. So why would the Vatican impose such a ban? The actions have created a hushed reaction from both churches, as well as controversy over the letter.

While for many years, the LDS have been quite open about the collection of genealogical records, the Catholic church has been known throughout it's history for sweeping matters under the rug, and have long been accused of hiding or destroying historical and Biblical records.

While arguing the religious rightness of either church distracts from the true point, it remains unclear whether or not the historical records will be recovered from the Catholic church anytime soon. However, you can presently search through the LDS world genealogy records online for free.