Lee County Public Records

For people who were not there when a certain event occurred, records are the only way that they could be informed of what had happened during that time. This is one of the practical advantages of keeping records, an advantage that was recognized by the a long time ago, and served as one of the reasons why the law mandated certain government agencies to operate and maintain a depository of public records that are collectively referred to as Lee County Public Records.

Within this depository of records are a number of documents that are of great interest to the public and could provide them with assistance in a number of ways. For instance, court documents detailing the events that had occurred during the lifetime of a certain case are of great importance not only for law practitioners who use them in both the appellate process and for locating precedent for their ongoing cases, but also for the general public who are always curious to know about their neighbors and who could use the information in these records in background checks.

The importance of these records is perhaps best illustrated by the fact that they are supposed to be available to the public at all times and in all circumstances. The law mandates that these records are to be kept by an official custodian who is charged with keeping, maintaining, and securing the same as well as to make them available to the public at all times. It is thanks to this command of the law that the official custodian of these records, which the same statute identified as the clerk of court, could not refuse anyone access to the archives where the records are being kept, a mandate that made searching for court records easier.

Although there are a number of government offices in a number of locations where copies of official records are kept, the office of the clerk of court is still the best place to look for records. This is because not only are their records complete, these are the original, and only the clerk of court could actually authenticate a copy of a court record. Their procedure on how to obtain the same is always easier, albeit would require the searcher to personally appear before the clerk in order to make the request. In this regard, there are two separate methods to obtain court records after having made the request, the first would be for the searcher to do the actual search, and the second would be to ask the clerk to do the search. It is the second that is suggested since this is the more efficient method given that the clerks are the ones who know their filing system and should be able to locate the records faster.

Either way, once the records had been locate, the searcher could look into the same and ask for the same to be copied. A copy would typically cost a dollar per page, unless the papers are oversized, in which case, the fee would be five dollars per page. Once the copies are made, the clerk of court could, upon request, certify the same, after payment of the certification fee which is two dollars per document.

Another, more efficient, method of searching for public records would be to resort to online searches. The World Wide Web plays host to an undetermined number of online databases that provide essentially the same information as the clerk of court could provide, plus some more given their networked nature. In addition, most of these databases are easier to use and provide their information free of charge. Further, because they are done over the wire, in addition to the fact that the searcher need not actually leave their own homes, the searches are faster.

Florida Public Records

Comprehensive Public Court Records of Florida Counties