District of Columbia County Court Records
A court record refers to the contents of a court file generated to document activity in a case and transcripts, videotapes, electronic records, or stenographic tapes of court proceedings, depositions, or other proceedings filed with the Clerk. District of Columbia court records are maintained by the Clerk of the Court of Appeals and Clerk of the Superior Court per the Rules of the DC Court of Appeals and Superior Court Rules. A court record is vital for research and case appeal. Most appellate judges use review court records and related District of Columbia Public Records to understand a case better.
Are Court Records Public in District of Columbia County?
Per the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), anyone can inspect or copy court records. Therefore, individuals can retrieve case information from either the District of Columbia Court of Appeals or the Superior Court during regular business hours. Per District of Columbia Code § 2–534, any court record whose disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, interfere with legal proceedings, deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication is exempted from public records. Generally, adoption, juvenile, and mental illness records are not public records.
What Does District of Columbia County Court Records Contain?
District of Columbia County courts feature information in court records because they are public records. Below are the components of District of Columbia County court records:
- Case information (short caption, classification, case number, filed date, opening event date, case status, and record completed date)
- Party information (appellate role, defendant and plaintiff names, and attorney names)
- Event (event date, status, description, result)
- Docket information (date and docket text)
- Case disposition (disposition, date, and case judge)
- Assignment information (current case assignment, case number court, date assigned, and name of the judicial officer)
Where to Conduct a District of Columbia County Case Lookup
The following record custodians allow individuals to access record custodians online or in person at the offices:
How to Conduct a District of Columbia County Case Records Search
Here is how to conduct a case records search in the District of Columbia through the Court of Appeals and Superior Court:
- District of Columbia Court of Appeals (DCCA)
The DCCA allows individuals (including attorneys and self-represented litigants to view case dockets through the Appellate E-filing System. The system features a publicly available real-time view of the case docket for free. Individuals can search for case records by case or participant information.
- Superior Court
The Superior Court has two online portals where lawyers, their clients, and self-represented parties can find court records. The search criteria are by case or party name.
Alternatively, individuals can visit either the DCCA or Superior Court to view or obtain copies of court records. All visitations should be scheduled during office hours. The requesters must be able to provide the party name or case number to facilitate the search.
District of Columbia County Civil Court Case Records
Civil court case records are non-criminal documents on disputes between people/ businesses over money or some injury to personal rights. The District of Columbia County Superior Court has a Civil Division with jurisdiction over any civil action or action in equity (excluding family matters). The Division has the following branches:
- The Civil Actions Branch: This Branch has jurisdiction over civil actions that exceed $10,000 in damages. The Civil Actions Branch is also called the Civil Clerk's Office.
- The Landlord & Tenant Branch: This branch handles disputes between property owners and tenants. Examples of cases filed in the Landlord & Tenant Branch are:
- Violations of lease agreements
- Keeping a pet in violation of a no-pets rule
- Interfering with other tenants' ability to enjoy their homes peacefully
- Bringing in an unauthorized roommate or subleasing without permission
- The Small Claims and Conciliation Branch: This branch handles cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed $10,000.
Interested persons can electronically retrieve civil court case records through the Superior Court's Portal. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Smart Search icon. On the Smart Search page, enter a party name (Last, First, Middle) or case number (with or without hyphens) in the search box and click the Submit button. The search results will appear on the next screen.
Alternatively, requesters can visit the Civil Division to use the public computer terminals for a civil court case search. A case number or party name will be required to complete the search. The office operation hours are Monday-Friday (8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.); Saturdays (9 a.m. to 12 noon); and Wednesdays: 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (only Small Claims and Landlord & Tenant). The Division is located at:
District of Columbia County Superior Court
Civil Division
Moultrie Courthouse
500 Indiana Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 879-1133 (Civil Actions Branch)
(202) 879-4879 (Landlord and Tenant Branch)
(202) 879-1120 (Small Claims Branch)
District of Columbia County Criminal Court Case Records
A criminal court case record is an official record of a person's crimes in the District of Columbia County. The District of Columbia Superior Court's Criminal Division handles all local criminal matters like felony, misdemeanor, criminal traffic cases, and District of Columbia code violations.
Individuals can view criminal court case records online through the eAcess portal. The search criteria are by case number or name. Alternatively, requesters can call the Criminal Information Office at (202) 879-1373 or visit the Court's Criminal Division to find criminal case information. In-person requests should be made during office hours (Mondays-Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.).
How to Get Court Records Online for Free
District of Columbia County Courts have online tools where individuals find court records at no cost. For example, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals (DCCA) has an Appellate E-filing System where individuals can view court records for free. To locate this search tool:
- Go to the DCCA page and click the "COURT OF APPEALS E-FILING AND CASES ONLINE" section.
- Click the "SEARCH NOW" button under the "SEARCH DC COURT OF APPEALS CASES ONLINE" section.
- View court records by conducting a case search or participant search and clicking the search button. The search result will appear on the next page.
Courts in the District of Columbia County
Below is an overview of the addresses of all the courts in the District of Columbia County:
District of Columbia Court of Appeals
430 E St NW #115,
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: (202) 879-2700
District of Columbia Superior Court
H. Carl Moultrie Courthouse
500 Indiana Ave NW
Washington, DC 20001, USA
Phone: (202) 879-1133, (202) 879-1688
