The Texas Government Code, Chapter 552 states that anyone has the legislative right to access public Texas court records. The information in these records is considered free to the public. The person in charge of providing you with Texas court records is not allowed by law to ask you why you want the records, who you are pertaining to the information requested or what you plan to do with the records that you obtain.

You Have Rights

Texas court records are available both offline as well as online through a number of different methods. Not only are you legally allowed to access public court records, but there are also rules regarding the government's response to you. Any request to access Texas court records must be responded to in a timely manner. You should be notified if any fees are required to fulfill your request that exceed $40.

You are allowed to request a copy of the court records you obtain. In many cases, the copies are free, but sometime you may be asked to pay a reasonable fee.

Public Texas court records and the laws associated with them were created as a means to make valuable information available for view by anyone who wants to see it. As long as the Texas court records that you are looking for are deemed open to public view, the government is not allowed to prevent or delay your reception of the requested court records for any reason. In addition, the government is not allowed control or monitor what you do with the information that you obtain through your access to Texas court records.

Get To Know Texas Courts

Second in population only to California and second in land mass after Alaska, the Texas court system serves a public that is both varied and widespread. At the top of Texas's legal food chain there are two courts. Although the Supreme Court of Texas is the last resort appellate court over juvenile and civil cases, the Court of Criminal Appeals holds reign over proceedings for adult criminal cases. The panels for both courts consist of nine members.

Obtaining Texas Court Records

The Texas Office of Court Administration works under the Supreme Court of Texas. This office is responsible for providing resources and information to the public that relates to the courts of Texas. If you would like to obtain access to Texas court records through the Office of Court Administration, you can use the links found on the Texas Courts Online website.

All you have to do is go to the page for the appropriate district or city to find the court where your particular case was held. Each individual court has the responsibility of maintaining and providing access to the records pertaining to cases heard in that court.

The Office of Court Administration maintains Texas court records that pertain to cases from all courts in the state, including the district courts, the justice courts, the county courts, the municipal courts, the Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court of Texas.

As with any search for information, the more you know when you begin, the easier it will be for you to find all of the information that you seek. If you have a defendant name or a case number, you will be much better off than if you start the search process with no information at all on the Texas court records you need.

 

• Texas State Court Districts

• Texas State Legislature