How to Look Up a Criminal Court Docket by Name or Case Number

A criminal court docket is the official record of a criminal case, listing the charges filed, key hearing dates, filings made by each party, and the case’s current status. You may search for a docket when you need to confirm what charges exist, check upcoming court dates, or see the current status of a case. Whether you have a case number in hand or only know someone’s name, courts provide ways to search their dockets online or in person. 

What Is a Court Docket?

A criminal court docket is the official timeline or log of a criminal case, giving the public, attorneys, and defendants a clear view of how a case is moving through the court system. It serves as the court's record of the actions in a criminal court case from the time charges were filed till the final judgment is issued in the matter. A criminal court docket typically lists the parties involved in the case, the charges filed, and the documents or motions submitted. It also includes minute entries made by court staff, the schedule of upcoming hearings, and the outcomes of past proceedings.

Where Criminal Court Dockets Live 

You can find criminal court dockets in a number of places, including the following locations:

• Statewide Judicial Portals: Many states operate a central online system where you can look up active and closed criminal court dockets. For instance, in New York, this system is called WebCrims.

• County or Municipal Court Websites: Local courts sometimes operate their own search pages when cases are not covered by the state system. This provides the public with an option to use local official systems to look up criminal court dockets.

• Clerk of Court’s Office: All courthouses maintain records of dockets of cases filed and heard in their jurisdictions. Some courthouses provide online access to their dockets, while others only make access available via in-person visits to their locations. If you visit the courthouse in person, visit the office of the clerk and submit a request to view their criminal court dockets.

• Public Terminals in Courthouses: Some courts provide public access computers in the lobby or records department, where you can search dockets by case number or name.

• Third-Party Websites: Third-party websites, such as RecordsFinder, aggregate public records in searchable databases for the general public to find. These records include criminal court dockets.

Note that if you need an official stamped copy or certified copy of a criminal court docket, the clerk’s office is typically the only source for such.

Court Docket Lookup by Name or Case Number

When searching for a criminal court docket, you can conduct the search using the name of a party to the case or the case number.

You can conduct a criminal court docket lookup by name using these steps:

• Enter the full legal name: Provide the first, middle, and last names of the individual, if known. Courts usually index cases with names as filed.
• Try Variations: If you are unable to find results with the name provided, search with common spellings, nicknames, or initials as some systems are sensitive to spacing, punctuation, or hyphenated surnames.
• Narrow Results: You can use filters such as filing year, date of birth, or county to reduce the chance of pulling up unrelated dockets.
• Identify Safeguards: It is possible for multiple persons to share a common name. In such an instance, all results may not apply to the person you are searching. Hence, double-check identifiers such as birthdate, address, or middle initial before finalizing on the result.

To search by case number, follow these steps:

• Enter full case number: A case number is like a docket's fingerprint, and it usually has formats that include a year, case type code, and sequence number. If you enter the number correctly, it will bring up the exact criminal court docket.
• Verify the Jurisdiction: Since case numbers are unique only within a specific court system, ensure that you are searching in the right jurisdiction to obtain a result.

What to Do If the Docket Looks Wrong (Mistaken Identity or Data Issues)

If a docket search returns an incorrect result, you should consider taking the following steps:

• Double-Check Your Entry: Verify that you have entered the name or case number as it should be. You may also try alternate spellings, spacing, or formats, such as with or without dashes.
• Confirm Identifiers: Look for secondary details such as date or birth, middle initial, or filing county as these help separate your search subject from someone with a similar name.
• Cross-reference Jurisdictions: If the result is returned for your search, confirm if you are checking for a wrong county or state system. Note that courts only display cases filed in their jurisdiction.
• Contact the Clerk of Court: The office of the clerk in the jurisdiction where the case was filed can confirm whether the docket you found belongs to the right person. Hence, contacting the clerk's office can help you obtain information that may be missing or displayed differently.
• Request Corrections If Needed: If a genuine clerical error such as a wrong spelling or wrong birthdate was found, you may ask the clerk about the process of fixing the record. Note that procedures vary by court and requests typically need to be in writing.

FAQs 

How do I search court dockets by name?

Visit the official court’s online portal, the clerk of court’s office, or use a reliable third-party resource such as RecordsFinder to search court dockets. To begin the search, enter the full legal name of the person, including middle initials if possible. If the search returns too many results, filter by date of birth, filing year, or county.

How do I look up a docket with a case number?

Enter the case number exactly as it appears on paperwork or notices. If the search does not return the desired results, you can try variations such as case numbers with or without dashes and case numbers with upper or lower case. Also, you should verify that you are searching in the correct court jurisdiction, as numbers are not universal across jurisdictions.

Are criminal dockets public?

Criminal dockets are considered public records and can be viewed online or in person at the courthouse. However, certain categories, such as juvenile cases, expunged records, or sealed files, are generally restricted by law and are therefore not accessible to the public.

What if the portal doesn’t show documents?

In many instances, criminal docket or case search portals only display basic docket details such as case number, names, hearing dates, and status, but not complete case filings. If you need certain documents that are not available for view or download on the portal, you should visit the clerk of court's office in person and submit a records request. You may be required to pay a nominal fee to obtain the documents.

Knowing where to look is key to obtaining accurate criminal court docket information. Whether by name or case number, official court portals, clerk's offices, and courthouse terminals provide the most reliable access to docket information. This is because these sources involve the official institutions and custodians of the records required. Criminal docket information can be used to confirm charges, case status, hearing dates, and filings. However, sensitive or sealed matters, such as juvenile or expunged cases remain restricted. If a search done online via the court portal produces unclear or incorrect results, you can contact the clerk of the court to verify the record or correct the errors.