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Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

judyrecords.com

191–200 of 289 posts

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#192
post #83

I recently had some criminal charges expunged, and I notice they show up here. Is there any way to request removal of court records which are no longer publicly available from the originating court?

Isn't there laws protecting people against this? Expunged record should not be visible, right?

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like a privacy nightmare, though.

That would be more of a problem with the legal system, not this search page.

That's not true. Court records used to be accessible in person only. You would have to be motivated to find anything. This puts everyone's past and often forgotten transgressions on display.

This might look cool or even useful to some, but it's straight up immoral.

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#196
This is a pretty big violation of privacy, especially for people who's criminal records have been expunged.

It could satisfy some people's curiosity or if they are a lawyer, they could save a few grand on PACER, but for everyone else this is a privacy disaster.

I hope you take this down eventually.

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#197

Cool, I guess. I'm not really a fan of anything that can be used to further persecute people who have already paid their debts to society. I know this is public information, but the information itself has been relatively opaque for generations. Beyond mild curiosity, the only paying customers for a service like this will be groups like employers, schools, creditors, landlords etc. It removes the pain around paid back…

Our legal system is built on case law. Reading the law as it was passed is not enough - one must consult rulings in the relevant jurisdiction for precedence. I think the benefits of making this type of information widely available outweighs the potential downsides.

What does that have to do with listing the calendar calls of 25 year old divorce proceedings

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great point. It's extremely difficult to represent yourself pro se if you don't have access to information about how cases like yours might unfold, arguments that have been used, how well those arguments have worked, how the cases have been decided, whether a company has settled a similar case as yours, and so on.

Is that really a bad thing? Nobody should be representing themselves because they have no idea beyond Law and Order what all is supposed to be happening around them. That's why you get a complementary attorney if you can't afford one. It's just too important to risk no? Like DIY surgery. It's quite expensive and impenetrable to be doing your own appendectomy and I'm not mad about that. In both cases you could if you…

Just like surgery, your argument only works given effective public funding.

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#199

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great point. It's extremely difficult to represent yourself pro se if you don't have access to information about how cases like yours might unfold, arguments that have been used, how well those arguments have worked, how the cases have been decided, whether a company has settled a similar case as yours, and so on.

Is that really a bad thing? Nobody should be representing themselves because they have no idea beyond Law and Order what all is supposed to be happening around them. That's why you get a complementary attorney if you can't afford one. It's just too important to risk no? Like DIY surgery. It's quite expensive and impenetrable to be doing your own appendectomy and I'm not mad about that. In both cases you could if you…

> That's why you get a complementary attorney if you can't afford one.

Not in US you don't. Leaving aside how you don't have a right to a lawyer when you are on either side of a civil matter, most states will send you a bill should you avail yourself of the "a lawyer will be provided for you" part of the Miranda rights. Now, if you are broke, they'll still provide services to you.

In Canada you actually get free legal advice before any questioning.

Re: Show HN: Full text search on 630M US court cases

#200
post #183

Does anyone know why American court opinions tend to omit the word "the" before plaintiff and defendant? For instance "Afterwards plaintiff sued defendant claiming damages". In Australia and the UK, this would be "Afterwards the plaintiff sued the defendant claiming damages". In general US opinions seem more concise and formulaic than their Anglo counterparts. This is just one striking example. I'm just curious about…

At least in US contracts, it's fairly common to establish role based pseudonyms at the beginning of the contract. Especially for reused contracts. Presumably, the same style applies to our legal system.

For example, a contract may read:

This contract is between John Smith (hereafter employee ) and XYZ LLC, a Delaware company (hereafter employer). Employee agrees to provide Employer with services for...

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