Obtaining Civil & Criminal Court Records with the Help of Duval County Clerk of Court
These days it is much easier to find information on a person's criminal background than it used to be in years past. A few minutes and keystrokes on the internet can find answers to questions that used to require you to spend hours in the library.
It is also becoming the case with many of the local jurisdictions and the files they store. In many places, what used to require a physical trip to the local courthouse to request physical dockets can now be accessed through a few convenient clicks of a mouse. The Duval County Clerk of Court is one such example. In this article we will be explaining exactly how to utilize its resources so as to locate the types of files that you would need for running a background check on people of interest to you.
Using the Clerk of Court for a Criminal Background Check
As a rule of thumb, when running a Florida background check, you should start by finding out how much information you can access online before going through the trouble of calling or physically visiting the actual office.
Thankfully, for the purposes of our article, the Duval County Clerk of Court operates a web-based Resource ePortal (found at: https://core.duvalclerk.com/) enabling you to to search for court records. The search is relatively simple and you can use parameters such as case number, case year, case type, case party, citation number and, ofcourse, name. Under court type, you have a Felony section for tracing criminal court dockets. Be advised, using this tool requires signing up.
If you wish to trace Duval County court records, the old-fashioned way without using the internet, you still have options. You can reach the clerk’s office most readily by calling them at (904) 255-2000. If you would prefer to speak with someone in person, you should arrive at their office in the courthouse (located at 501 W. Adams St., Jacksonville, Florida 32202) from 8:00am to 5:00am. Once you are there, you will be asked to submit a formal Freedom of Information request. To learn more about the process involved in such a request, refer to the FDLE's guide.
There is one final note you should consider when conducting your searches. The Clerk’s office will be able to help only with information related to court proceedings. If you also need to find Duval County arrest records indicating incarcerations made without reaching court, you should access the Sheriff's online Inmate Information Search at https://inmatesearch.
Finding Civil Records
Another important service the Clerk provides is access to civil records. If all you want to look up is criminal activity, you can just follow the procedures we have discussed above. But in addition to those resources, you can also utilize the Clerk's online search tool (https://or.duvalclerk.com/