What Are Custody Court Records?
Custody Court Records are a collection of privileges and history, a pass to the past that is sometimes difficult to navigate. These court records provide the public with authoritative information which bears on the child’s case. For a parent involved in a custody case, for example, the court record provides proof of participation in court-ordered drug or alcohol testing, participation in anger management classes, or compliance with other orders of the Court.
These records are often created by the Court and filed with the Clerk of Court. The records include pleadings, Court orders, transcripts of hearings, exhibits, judicial summaries, etc. They may also include evaluations, psychological examinations, expert opinions, etc. The law in Pennsylvania provides that certain records may be excluded – for example, those that are protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Most of the time, records are available through a simple request to the Office of Judicial Support. The request may be verbal or in writing, depending on the local rule. A requestor may typically inspect or copy the records. Copying fees may be incurred when the requestor actually requests that copies be made. The fee may be per page or for the entire record. Often times , a party to the case does not have to pay for the transcript of a hearing if they have participated in the hearing, but a third party requesting the transcript must pay a fee that is set by the Court Reporters Association. An inspection of the requested records may take place in or out of the Court room. Under certain circumstances, Court files may be sealed. In most counties, certain records, such as Interstate Compact, Interventions, and Adoptions, are physically kept in a separate file.
Some Commonwealth agencies, such as the Department of Public Welfare, may require verification that a person requesting a record is authorized to do so before releasing information. In that case, the local County Children and Youth Social Services agency may be called upon to verify that authorization.
The procedure for requesting access to records is governed by local rules, affective July1, 2017. Accordingly, it is important to consult the local rules of your Court before requesting records. Each Court provides an Access to Family Court Records brochure or some informational notice like that.
Accessing Custody Court Records
Custody court records are stored with the official court administrator for the courthouse in which a custody case is pending or was previously pending. Pursuant to North Carolina statute, there are no restrictions on access to custody records kept by the court. Therefore, any interested person can access the records by simply going to the clerk of court and requesting a copy of the file. If a case is ongoing that might prevent someone from being able to access the file, a request can normally be made through the custody court coordinator instead of the clerk of court.
For cases that have been completed or entered into the public record, there is typically no restriction on viewing the file unless a court order is pending that would seal the file. In these instances, the person requesting the record may only be required to confirm their identity and sign the case log in sheet. In addition to going to the courthouse, an individual may also request court records by submitting a public records request to the court directly. A person making a public records request may wish to contact the appropriate courthouse department first to determine what information and identification will be required, if any.
Privacy Issues with Custody Court Records
Many parents are surprised and concerned to learn that the majority of custody court records are open to the public. The privacy concerns associated with custody cases are an important consideration for any parent involved in litigation over the fate of their most precious possession. The level of privacy regarding a custody case can vary by court, but generally speaking, custody cases in the New Jersey family courts are open to the public unless otherwise addressed by the court. The significance of the presumption of openness in custody cases is that the public can view all of the pleadings, affidavits, letters and reports that comprise the file. There is no blanket privacy protection for the children named in the matter, as there is in a juvenile delinquency case (N.J.S.A. 2A-4A-60).
Though court records related to custody cases are considered public and open to the public, access to such records is not necessarily available at all time. The public is generally not permitted in the courtroom while the judge is in chambers addressing a case, for example. Similarly, entering matching terms into a court computer database is not necessarily open to the public. In other words, one will need to go to the courthouse and ask the clerk of the court in person for access to records.
For putative fathers who fail to timely respond to a Notice of Motion to establish paternity, they should be put on notice that the contents of the notarized birth certificate shall be as full and complete as is obtainable by the mother of the child and that they do not have a right of access to any documents or information in the custody of the State Registrar or the local registrar pertaining to the child, except a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate. N.J.S.A. 26:8-40(b).
How to Request Custody Court Records
Usually, a person who is requesting custody court records are either they are a party involved in the custody matter or they are an attorney for the party in the custody matter. In some cases, the attorney will request it for a client. A person would usually file the request to the office of open records; however, some counties such as Chester and Montgomery County have online forms that a person may fill out to request the records. When requesting the document(s) a person will need to provide their name, phone number , e-mail address and the date or dates the person is requesting the records for. There are also certain fees associated with the documents depending on your county. You will need to check with your county for the prices. If you are representing someone else, there is a possible release or authorization form that you may need to complete depending on the county you are in. In your request of records, you need to provide evidence or proof that you paid the filing fee. The method of payment you should make is by money order, cash, credit cards and cashiers checks generally are not accepted.
Challenges with Custody Court Records
Even with the protective measures in place and the availability of records, there can still be challenges in accessing custody court records. Not every parent is entitled to see court records regarding their child’s whereabouts. For example, with dependency cases, a mother may lose that entitlement if the court finds the mother to be an unfit parent and terminates her parental rights. In those circumstances, the Department of Human Services would not have to provide notice of its hearings or provide copies of dependency court records to the former parent since they are no longer a parent.
Also, even in custody cases, there are instances where the right to see the court records for a case can be lost. For example, if a child relates a disclosure of abuse to someone, Council of the Prendergast Children’s Choir, and that member then contacts the police, the parent may not be entitled to see the police report or the court records with the dependency court. Alternatively, a non-parent who has a per se right to access custody court records from the local courthouse are found to be unfit or harmful to the child, that non-parent may no longer be entitled to access the court records. Alternatively, a local family law court may seal a custody court record on its own after determining that the record is harmful to the child.
Administrative restraints can also be a large concern when seeking to obtain access to custody court records. One of the first steps in attempting to find a custody court record from your local family law court is to complete a request for that record. If you live in Philadelphia, forms to request custody court records can be located on the Philadelphia Family Court website. This form can then be filled out and submitted to the local court staff. Local court staff members are supposed to then review your request and respond in a timely manner. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.
In addition to administrative hurdles, courts can take an inordinate amount of time in ruling on requests for access to custody court records. Courts have no obligation on how quickly they process and rule on these requests. This can lead to requests being placed on hold for months to years without judicial action. The length of time and general absence of certain record types on the local court’s public docket can make it appear that a case never existed or that a record was intentionally missed for an incorrect legal outcome. In practice, this is often due to simple administrative concerns. In short, records may be withheld or lost due to administrative error.
Legal Issues with Custody Court Records
In the context of a custody battle, custody court records can have important substantive impact. Often, information contained within documents held by the Court is relevant to resolution of custody and partial custody – visitation disputes. Many times, custody, partial custody and visitation actions also involve claims for child support. It is not uncommon that the parties to a custody matter will be compelled to litigate all claims in order to avoid re-litigating the same issues in another forum. To facilitate the consolidation of issues, Courts often permit examination and introduction of child support records to resolve custody and partial custody issues. During the course of custody litigation, it is not uncommon for one party to seek the assistance of a forensic psychologist to evaluate the parents and the children who are central to the custody proceeding. The parties or the Court may request and retain the services of a court appointed custody psychologist to provide an objective analysis of the parties and the children to assist the Court in resolving custody issues. When this happens , the Court will expect that the parties litigating the custody issue provide the psychologist with all relevant records that have been compiled that relate to the family. While the parties may opt not to forward documents such as dependency proceedings and dependency forensics to a private custody psychologist, adopting a different approach with a Court appointed custody psychologist can prove to be very detrimental. In the event that there are dependency proceedings or dependency forensics, it is critical that the parties not only advise their counsel of same, but, moreover, advise opposing counsel and the Court of their existence. The failure to do so can prove to be disastrous later in the litigation.