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Connecticut Court Records & Case Lookup
The Connecticut Judicial Branch remains one of the judicial systems in the United States with a low annual caseload. On average, only about 450,00 new cases are filed every year within the state's court system. Generally, most of the cases filed in Connecticut are civil matters, typically around 176,000, followed by traffic-related cases at about 147,000 yearly. In addition, an average of 83,000 criminal cases, 56,000 domestic relations suits, and 14,000 juvenile matters are filed in the state every year.
Connecticut court records are public documents under the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). According to this Act, unless otherwise provided by any state statute or federal law, records maintained by any public agency, including the state's judiciary, are considered public records. As a result, members of the public have the right to inspect or copy most Connecticut court records kept on file by the courts.
The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch provides the public with multiple case lookup portals for varying case types. These include civil/family/housing/small claims case lookup, superior court case lookup, supreme and appellate court case lookup, and criminal/motor vehicle court case lookup.
State of Connecticut Court System
The Connecticut court system is organized into a supreme court, an appellate court, a superior court, and certain lower courts that the state's general assembly deems fit to establish from time to time. The state's highest court and the court of last resort is the Supreme Court. It does not hear witnesses or receive evidence.
The Supreme Court generally reviews decisions made in the state's Superior Court to determine if they committed any errors of law. However, only certain types of appeals may be brought from the Superior Court to the Supreme Court. Such cases include convictions of capital felonies and judgments where the Superior Court finds a provision of the state statute or constitution invalid. In addition, the court reviews selected judgments of the Connecticut Appellate Court.
Like the Supreme Court, the Connecticut Appellate Court, also known as the Intermediate Court, reviews final judgments issued by the state's Superior Court to check if any errors of law have occurred. Also, it makes decisions based on records, oral arguments, and briefs and does not hear witnesses. The Probate Court and the Superior Court are Connecticut's lower courts in the state's judicial hierarchical structure.
Connecticut Trial Courts
In Connecticut, the judiciary operates a two-tiered trial court system consisting of the Superior Court and the Probate Court. The Probate Court is a court of limited jurisdiction, while the Superior Court is a Court of general jurisdiction.
Generally, Connecticut is divided into 17 geographical areas,13 judicial districts, and some juvenile districts across the state. The judicial district court locations primarily hear major civil cases, family suits, and criminal matters that are not juvenile cases. On the other hand, the geographical court locations handle other criminal and civil cases, while juvenile cases are heard at juvenile court locations.
Superior Courts in Connecticut
The Superior Court is the state's trial court of general jurisdiction. It hears all legal cases except those over which the Probate Court has exclusive jurisdiction. The Connecticut Superior Court operates the following principal trial divisions:
- Criminal Division - This division handles cases involving criminal offenses (felonies and misdemeanors), infractions, and violations.
- Civil Division - The Civil Division of the Connecticut Superior Court handles matters in which one person sues another to protect property or personal rights. It is divided into five parts, namely small claims, landlord-tenant, civil jury, administrative appeals, and civil non-jury. Typically, the Civil Division hears cases such as automobile accidents, contract disputes, landlord-tenant disputes, medical malpractice, and contract disputes.
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Family Division - This division of the Superior Court decides juvenile cases and family relations matters in a just and timely manner. It handles cases involving legal separation, divorce, name changes, dissolution of civil unions, family support payments, parentage, visitation of children, and relief from abuse.
Juvenile matters such as delinquency, emancipation of minors, termination of parental rights, and neglected children are heard by the Juvenile Court of the Family Division.
- Housing Division - The Housing Division handles cases involving housing matters such as housing code enforcement by tenants, summary process (eviction), property damage, housing small claims, and return of security deposits.
Furthermore, the Connecticut Superior Court has nine special sessions. These are the child protection session, Habeas Corpus, complex litigation docket, tax session, housing session, community court in Hartford, land use litigation docket, domestic violence dockets, and regional family trial docket.
Probate Courts in Connecticut
The Probate Court in Connecticut is the state's trial court of limited jurisdiction. It hears and makes decisions in certain types of cases, including deceased persons' estates, conservators, adoptions, and testamentary trusts. The Probate Court also handles cases such as the commitment of the mentally ill, certain name changes, and guardians of the persons and estate of minors.
What are the Specialty Courts in Connecticut?
The only specialty court in Connecticut is the Treatment/Drug Court. This court operates in Danielson and New Haven although not as separate courts. The state's judicial branch established the Drug Court in an attempt to reduce substance abuse and criminal behavior through supervision, residential and day treatment, and court monitoring.
Connecticut State Court Records vs. Federal Court Records
Connecticut State court records are court documents and information generated from the proceedings of courts established under the state's constitution. On the other hand, in Connecticut, federal court records are created from legal matters heard by courts established under the United States Constitution but operating within the state.
Federal court records in Connecticut largely include records from matters involving federal law, cases between the citizens or two different states, cases between two states, and maritime and admiralty matters. They are maintained by the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut and may be accessed through the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER).
In Connecticut, state court records generally include records generated from civil matters, criminal cases, family law cases, and probate matters. They are maintained by the clerks of each court and may be accessed by submitting the appropriate requests to the clerk of the court or online through approved platforms.
What Are Public and Non-Public Court Records in Connecticut?
Public Connecticut court records include documents and information on court records that may be publicly accessed without restriction. In contrast, non-public court records are court documents, information, or files that have been marked confidential or sealed by the court and cannot be publicly disclosed. In most cases, court records are sealed to protect privacy or preserve compelling interests. Sometimes, information (usually sensitive) may be redacted from a court record before disclosing the record.
The table below lists some public and non-public court records in Connecticut:
| Public Court Records | Non-Public Court Records/Information |
|---|---|
| Most civil court records | Juvenile court records, trade secrets, victim information, sealed/expunged court records |
| Some Family law court records | Adoption court records, financial statements, social security numbers, financial affidavits, sworn statements of assets, current income, liabilities, and expenses filed with the court |
| Court decisions and orders | Personal privacy-related records, mental health records in court records, medical files, and records of delinquency, neglect, and abuse |
| Traffic violation court records | Cases involving minors, law enforcement records that could endanger victims, information that could compromise personal or entity security, and cases involving the confidentiality of the state's judicial process |
| Criminal court records | Witness information, dates of birth in criminal cases |
How To Seal or Expunge Connecticut Court Records
Connecticut generally calls expungement the erasure of criminal records or an absolute pardon. This is a process that erases a person's criminal court records or history. When a criminal record expungement is granted in Connecticut, all police reports and court records regarding the case are typically erased. Expungement is used synonymously with record sealing in the state.
Under Connecticut law, a person qualifies for automatic criminal record erasure or expungement under the following circumstances:
- Their case was dismissed
- They were charged with a crime but not found guilty
- Their case was on for hold at least 13 months without prosecution or other disposition of the suit
- The charges against them were nolled (dropped) and at least 13 months have passed
In Connecticut, an individual does not need to file for criminal court record erasure under these conditions as such records should be automatically expunged. However, if they are not erased automatically, the subject of such records may file an expungement petition with the court.
Furthermore, if a person is not eligible for automatic criminal court record expungement in Connecticut, they may file for the erasure of their felony or misdemeanor convictions under the following circumstances:
- At least 5 years have passed since they were convicted of their most recent felony
- At least 3 years have passed since the disposition of their most recent misdemeanor conviction
However, even if an individual satisfies these conditions, they may still be ineligible for criminal court record expungement if they are on parole or probation. Similarly, their criminal record erasure request may be dismissed if there are any open cases or pending charges against them in any other jurisdiction, federal or state.
In Connecticut, some convictions that were imposed on or after January 1, 2000, are eligible for automatic erasure under the state's Clean Slate Program. The Program provides interested persons with a guide on how to petition for clean slate erasure in the state.
How To Petition For Criminal Court Record Expungement in Connecticut
There are two levels of expungement in Connecticut: a provisional pardon and an absolute pardon. Rather than remove convictions from a court record, a provisional pardon generally provides a person with an official state document specifying that the person should not be denied a license or job due to their criminal history. It is called a certificate of employability. On the other hand, an absolute pardon erases past convictions from a person's criminal record completely.
Any eligible person in Connecticut should take the following steps to request criminal record expungement (absolute pardon):
- Gather all the required documents and information required to complete the application. These include the following:
- A fingerprint card
- Rap sheet (State Police criminal history report)
- A police incident report for every offense committed in the state within the last 10 years
- Proof of income
- Letter of Adult Probation for any period of probation supervision
- Three reference questionnaires (only one can be from a family member)
- Prepare all the needed documents in .pdf, .jpeg, or .png
- Complete the application for absolute pardon using the State of Connecticut Board of Pardons and Paroles' (BOPP) ePardon Portal
- The applicant should wait for the BOPP to contact them
Generally, an applicant has up to 6 months to complete the form electronically. The staff at the BOPP will review the application and contact the applicant for a phone interview if they consider them eligible for absolute pardon. Generally, convictions for non-violent offenses may be considered for expedited review, which, in some cases, are granted without requiring the offender to be present.
The State of Connecticut BOPP generally reviews applications at a standard pre-screen to determine whether an applicant should proceed to a full hearing and appear before it (BOPP). The review period may take between two to three months. Applicants are usually sent letters containing the results of the BOPP's review.
How Do You Access State of Connecticut Court Records?
Connecticut court records may be accessed in some ways. The state's Judicial Branch makes provisions for online access to court records through its case lookup services for varying court types. In addition, court records may be accessed in person at the various courthouses across the state.
Online Access to Connecticut Court Records
Interested persons may use any of the following services for online access to Connecticut court records:
- Supreme and Appellate Court Case Look-Up - This provides access to case information for the state's Supreme Court and Appellate Court case information filed after January 1, 1991. Anyone may look up case information by case name, party name, attorney name, trial court docket, or docket number using this case look-up service.
- Superior Court Case Look-up - This case lookup service provides access to family, civil, housing, and small claims records in Connecticut. Users may search by party name, docket number, property address, and attorney/firm Juris number.
- Centralized Small Claims Case Look-up - This provides access to records of cases filed in small claims sessions, and users may conduct their searches by party name, docket number, and attorney/firm Juris number.
Furthermore, copies of disposed Superior Court records in Connecticut may be obtained by email. A typical email request should include the name of the case and its docket number. In most cases, the state's judiciary will retrieve the files or records requested and make them available to requesters within one or two business days. Requesters may opt to receive requested records by email or pick them up at any court location or the Centralized Services Unit.
In-Person Access to State of Connecticut Court Records
Generally, court clerks' offices provide access to Connecticut court records for individuals who wish to retrieve them in person. Such persons may either submit a written request or complete a request form (if provided by the clerk) in the judicial district, geographical area, small claims, juvenile matters, or housing sessions court where the cases were filed.
How To Request Judicial Administrative Records
Judicial administrative records of each court in Connecticut may be retrieved by contacting the clerk of the court. Requesters must provide specific information about the record being searched through any means recommended by the clerk to help facilitate easy retrieval. Alternatively, a person may contact the External Affairs Division of the Connecticut Judicial Branch at (860) 757-2270 or the Centralized Services Unit at (860) 263-2750 to request administrative records.
How To Access Older and Archived Court Records in Connecticut
Older Connecticut court records may still be accessed at the individual courts in which the cases were filed. However, if they are not, they have probably been transferred to the State Library. Generally, court records from the 18th and 19th centuries are available at the State Library.
Many of the older and archived records have been digitized and may be accessed through the links created by library staff. The Connecticut Office of the Public Records Administrator and State Archives provides a Guide to the Records of the Judicial Department to help individuals who intend to access archived court records in the state,