Lake County Public Records

The collection of records known as Lake County Public Records exists not only because their existence is mandated by law, but also for many other practical purposes. It is true that the law that mandated the existence of these records recognized some of the practical reasons behind the mandate, such as a means to allow the people to be familiar with the record, but there are a number of other practical reasons that the law had not included in its enumeration of reasons behind the mandate that it had given.

Perhaps the most important reason that was not mentioned by the statute is the fact that public records are used in the judicial process, both in the trial and the appellate setting. These records provide information that could allow the magistrates examining them to ascertain whether or not the proper constitutional and statutory rights of the parties involved in the case had been observed during the progress of the case. This is because these records contain a summary of every event that had happened during the lifetime of the records and the minutes of the hearings related to the records.

Public records are so important that the law also mandated that they be available to the public at all times. It is because of this command of the law that the official custodian of the records, whom the same law identifies as the clerk of courts, could not refuse anyone access to the records. It would not even matter if the person who wishes to look into the particular record was related to the parties, whether or not he is actually from outside the county, or even outside the country.

As part of its mandate as the official custodian of public records, the Lake County Clerk of Courts operates and maintains an archive where all original copies of a particular record are kept. There are a number of other depositories where these records may be located, but it is suggested that the first place to look would be this archive given that it is only the clerk of court who could authenticate the same.

The procedure to look into the records of the clerk is also relatively simple. First, the person who wishes to look into the records would have to personally appear at the office of the clerk of courts in order to make the request. The request is always granted given that no one could restrict access to public records regardless of circumstances. While the searcher could personally look into the records, it is suggested that, if there is a particular record desired, the specifics of the same should just be left with the clerk. Given that they are more familiar with the filling system in use, they should be able to locate the record faster.

Either way, once the records had been located, note that the same could not be actually taken out of the walls of the archives. These original records have to be secured by the clerk so that other people who would look for them in the future may have the chance to look at them. A copy of the records, however, could be made upon request and upon payment of the requisite fee which is usually one dollar per page. Once the copy has been completed, the same could be certified by the clerk for two dollars per document.

Another option would be to take the search online. The World Wide Web plays host to a number of online databases that provide the same information. These databases are easier to use and they are almost always free to use. In addition, because they are internet searches, their results are often instantaneous, with more information than those provided by the clerk of court that may be of use to the person doing the search.

Florida Public Records

Comprehensive Public Court Records of Florida Counties