DU legal eagles...are court transcripts public record?

[Downtown Hound]

And if so, how does one go about acquiring them? Can you just pick out a certain trial that happened at some point in recent history, and get the transcripts for it if you have all the necessary information as to what trial and where?

[GreenPartyVoter]

1. I googled "how to procure a court transcript" and from what I saw

it seems easy enough to do.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

2. I was a court reporter for 20 years.

Go to the clerk's office. Look up the cause number and find out where and when the trial was. The clerk will make a note on the docket sheet of who the court reporter was. They can usually tell you where to contact the court reporter, whether it was the official for that court or a substitute.

After you tell the reporter what case, and what day of trial, or what witness you want, they will look at their notes and give you a page estimate and a cost estimate. Then you will give them 1/2 the total amount as a down payment and the other half upon delivery of the transcript.

[UTUSN]

3. Without legal credentials I was about to say YES, all public if it was presented in court testimony

I don't know whether SEALING something by the judge could shut it out.

But things get purged after certain number of years. I got what was left of a case after 50 years and it was basically a summary of the outcome. I was told that court reporters sometimes keep their NOTES on their own. What I wanted was the verbatim testimony of all the witnesses. It was gone.

[gratuitous]

4. Proceedings in open court are public records

The cost will vary from court reporter to court reporter. An original transcript will cost significantly more than a copy. If someone else had ordered the transcript, you can order a copy. However, if no one has previously ordered a transcript, you will have to order an original transcript. Depending on the length of the hearing, it could be several hundred dollars.

[Dinger]

5. I Bought Official Transcripts By Going To The Clerk,

and paying ten cents a page. No problem. If the records are sealed, I'm not sure how that works.

[lonestarnot]

6. Man, you got off cheap! How long ago was that?

[Dinger]

8. 2000

In the same courthouse where mccarthy was a judge. Shawano Co. in Wisconsin sucks. he presided over my great aunt's divorce.
She said he was an asshole.

[texastoast]

7. Yes, unless the case is sealed by the judge

A motion to unseal the case can be filed. If the case is already closed, a motion to reopen would have to be filed in order for the judge to consider the motion to unseal. Depending on the circumstances of the case, good luck with that. Even sealed cases are kept for a time prescribed by the jurisdiction.

[Downtown Hound]

9. Thanks for all your responses guys

I think I have all the information I need. :grouphug: