Los Angeles County‘s court system is making millions of dollars charging for online access to records, turning its management of public information into a profit center.

No other major urban county in California charges for online access to court records that can help someone learn whether a doctor was sued for malpractice, a contractor was accused of shoddy work, or a prospective tenant had a habit of skipping out on the rent.

There is no charge for an electronic search of civil lawsuits filed in Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. An identical search is also free in most counties of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Fresno, and Kern counties.

Although the public pays, lawyers and law firms among the 22,000 members of the Los Angeles County Bar Assn. can get free access to the civil case information.

Los Angeles County court officials say comparison with other jurisdictions is unfair because the county’s system is the largest in the nation.

Even so, the fee charged by the L.A. County court for online searches of public records is out of line with major courts around the country.

The second-largest state court in the nation — Chicago‘s Cook County — offers online searches of civil cases without a fee.

And it is possible to do an online search of a master index of cases filed in most federal district, bankruptcy, and appellate courts across the country for eight cents a page. To view and print a document filed in federal court also costs eight cents a page.

About The Author:
Attorney Ted Bills can be reached at 719.444.1000 or at http://www.SpringsAttorney.com.

Attorney Ted Bills has one mission – to fight for the rights of victims, the wrong accused, and those who have been devastated by the misconduct of others – he represents clients with an aggressive approach designed to provide SWIFT justice.

Attorney Ted Bills practices Auto Accident (Car, Truck, and Motorcycle crash), DUI, Personal Injury, and Criminal – Traffic Violation law in Colorado Springs, CO and is a member of the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, and the El Paso County (Colorado Springs) Bar Association. He works in tandem with his clients to provide assertive, business-savvy, legal services that solve problems, reduce delays, and minimize costs.

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