Hardee County Public Records

Of all the documents that are classified as Hardee County Public Records, perhaps the most searched for documents would be the type of document known as court records. This is because court records are typically the public record that is most often of use to the public. They are used not only by the people whom the records refer to but also by justices during the appellate process, lawyers and law students in the practice of their profession, and the general public who are always curious about something and could often find pertinent information within the brown envelopes where these records are typically contained in.

The official record of a case starts the day that the case was initiated either by a plaintiff or by a complainant. At first, the records would only contain the name of the parties, the relief prayed for by either the complainant or the plaintiff, and the type of case. Over the course of the life of the case, however, more and more information would be added to the docket so that by the time that the case is ready to be decided at the levels of the first court, it would contain the names of counsel, the minutes of the hearing, and the evidences presented by both parties. Note that, unless it is for acquittal, cases are rarely decided with finality at first level courts, so the records are important in the appellate process as well.

Court records are so important that no less than Florida statute had made keeping them mandatory. The clerk of court has been given this mandate, to maintain, keep, and secure official original copies of records, but at the same time, to make the same available to the public regardless of circumstance. The Clerk of Court, therefore, has to balance these two mandates in order to fulfill both of them.

A person who wants to see a copy of a court record would be best advised to try the office of the clerk of court first. To obtain a copy from that office, there is a relatively simple procedure to follow. First, a request to look into the records must first be made. This request could either be done personally or through a letter sent to the office. Either way, an appointment to look into the records would be scheduled, and the person could look into the records. For those who have a specific record in mind, however, it is probably more efficient to just leave the specifics of the particular case with the clerk so that they could do the search themselves.

Once the records had been located, note that they could not actually be taken out of the archives. This is because these are the original documents, and the law mandates the clerk to keep them within the walls of their offices. A copy of the records could, however, be made upon request and upon payment of the required fee which is usually one dollar per page. Once the copies had been made, the same would be certified by the clerk for two dollars per document.

There are other options to locate court records, but perhaps the more efficient would be to use online resources. The Hardee County Clerk of Court operates and maintains an online database where records are kept, but the same is currently incomplete, so it may be advisable to just use other online resources. These online resources come in the form of online databases. These resources are easy to locate and use in addition to the fact that most of them are free. In addition, because they are internet search, not only does the user need not leave his or her home in order to use them, they are near instantaneous with their results, and they often provide more information through their links to other databases.

Florida Public Records

Comprehensive Public Court Records of Florida Counties