california divorce first-amendment court-records freedom-of-information
How much can I see, of a dissolution of marriage filed in Alameda County, California?
<p>I live far away from California, but want to know more about this divorce.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Can I request a copy of all documents in this case online?</p>
</li>
<li><p>If so, can I request the documents to be emailed to me? If not, can I request snail mail?</p>
</li>
<li><p>If so, what can I see and what can't I see? How much can I see?</p>
</li>
</ol>
<p>Note the two red arrows below. What does &quot;Order for Destruction of Exhibits Filed&quot; mean? Are the exhibits destroyed already? Am I too late?</p>
<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ers3L.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/Ers3L.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

<p>Legally, you have a right under both common law and the First Amendment to access virtually all of the court's records in the case. <a href="https://casetext.com/case/courthouse-news-serv-v-planet#p785" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><em>Courthouse News Serv. v. Planet</em>, 750 F.3d 776, 786 (9th Cir. 2014)</a> (“Though the Supreme Court originally recognized the First Amendment right of access in the context of criminal trials, the federal courts of appeals have widely agreed that it extends to civil proceedings and associated records and documents.”)</p>
<p>Practically, I don't know what court this is, so I can't say whether the court makes records available online, whether it is set up for online record requests, or whether it will e-mail records in response to a request. If you can't find the answer after poking around the website, you should call the clerk of court to ask how to make your request.</p>
<p>The entries you noted with the arrows suggest that the court has held a trial at which there were exhibits entered into evidence, and that the court has destroyed or otherwise disposed of its copies of whatever exhibits it had. Other documents, such as motions and court orders, should still be available.</p>
