Friday, August 28, 2009

Public Access To Court Records - 3 Common Mistakes

By Mike P. Aul

As a private investigator I need to search for public access to court records all the time. I have made all the mistakes that there are out there. This article will address the 3 mistakes that most people commonly make. These mistakes can greatly inhibit your efforts of finding court records.

The first mistake people usually make is not having enough information on the person they are looking for. You will need at least the person's full name and date of birth. This is especially true if the person you are looking up has a fairly common name. The date of birth will help you to distinguish the results and be sure you have the right records for the right person.

The next mistake people often make when looking for public access to court records is wasting a huge amount of time. More often then not people search and search Google only to realize that hours have passed and they have nothing. For example if you are looking for court records on someone who lives in Connecticut then you should start with the state of Connecticut Judicial web site. Be sure to try and focus your investigation from the beginning. The idea is to get the most court records as you can in the least amount of time.

The third big mistake people make is missing important records. Just because a subject lives in New york right now it does not mean that he has lived there forever. You might get a few records from New York but you will miss the convictions he may have gotten when on vacation or living in another state. This is very important no matter what your reason for your search. You would not want to hire a babysitter who has a DUI conviction would you?

How to overcome the problems.

The best solution to avoid all these disastrous mistakes is to subscribe to a court records database or background check web site. These services pool billions of records together into one place that you can search. They also regularly update and maintain their databases so you can get the most current information. While this is my best recommendation for the most time efficient and comprehensive investigation I must caution you to be sure you select a database site that offers a money back guarantee and preliminary results.

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