County Level Court Records

Understanding Criminal Background Checks

When conducting a pre-screen background investigation, a criminal history is of utmost importance. These searches typically are placed in two main categories: arrest records and court records. The use of each category has its strengths and weaknesses, so it is important for you to evaluate what you are trying to achieve to determine which is best for your application.

Levels of Criminal Background Checks

County, State, Federal, National, and International Searches

County Level court records typically are housed within the courthouse at the county level. To simplify the system, each county jurisdiction typically is broken into three levels. The first and highest level is the district court, sometimes referred to as superior court. At this level, you generally will find most felony cases.

The second level is the county court. At this level, you will find most serious misdemeanor cases.

The lowest level is the municipal court, sometimes referred to as city court. At this level, you typically will find most minor misdemeanors and petty offenses, usually cases where the individual simply was issued a summons to appear in court.

Strengths and Limitations of Each Search Type

When conducting a County level Court Record Search, TruDiligence always will search the first and second level courts, where available. Municipal courts can be searched, but are considered a special request and will involve an additional charge.

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Time Saving Tip: Our system provides time saving functionality which can automatically assign this search type based on known address history for a specified period.