Tips & Questions

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How is an Associate Civil or Small Claims case number formatted?
            Cases filed prior to September 3, 1999 have the following format:
                      21C95-12345 for an associate civil case filed in 1995
                      21S90-23456 for a small claims case filed in 1990

            Cases filed after September 3, 1999 have the following format:                       00AC-123456 for an associate civil case filed in 2000
                      05SC-001234 for a small claims case filed in 2005

            Please note that cases need to include leading zeros to make that portion of
            the case number a full five (if filed prior to September 3, 1999) or six digits
            (if filed after September 3, 1999).


What are parties and related parties in a case?
            A party in a case is defined as any person or company associated with the
            case. On an original civil claim they are referred to as the Plaintiff and
            Defendant.


What are related parties and related party codes in a case?
            Related parties may be added to the case to further define the initial parties
            of the case. Here are examples of related parties and related party codes:
            John Doe, AKA (also known as) John Smith; The Back Company FKA
            (formerly known as) The Neck Company. See the list below of
             Related Party Codes.


What are service related parties and service related party codes?
            When a summons is issued, it is called service in a case. In some cases a
            related party is added to the case for service. Here are examples of service
            related party types and codes: a place of employment (POE) or a legal
            representative (LRP). See the list below of Service Related Party Codes.

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What is a judgment status?
            This defines when the judgment has been satisfied, vacated, modified,
            reversed or appealed.

            NOTE: If the judgment shows no status (or status date), it is assumed that
            the judgment is current or outstanding. The minutes may show that a
            judgment has been satisfied when there is no status (or status date) entered
            in the case. If there is no status, you should further validate the judgment by
            reviewing the minutes of the case.


What is a judgment status date?
            This is the effective date of a judgment status.


When is the case satisfied?
            For a case to be satisfied, all judgments for the case must be satisfied.
            Partial satisfactions of judgments will not result in the case being satisfied.
            Partial judgment satisfactions can be seen in the minutes of a case. To verify
            specific judgment satisfactions, including the judgment status and status
            date, you will need to look at the minutes for the case.

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My name search is not working. Why?
            If searching by name, enter a complete last name and at least the first letter
            of the first name. To broaden your search, use fewer letters in the first
            name. To Narrow your search; use more letters in the first name.

            If searching by agency, enter at least the first three characters of the agency
            name.

            In addition, hyphenated names and names with spaces may be entered
            differently. If a hyphenated name (Smith-Jones) was used, it may be
            entered as either Smithjones or Smith Jones. If a name has a
            space (St John), it may be entered as Stjohn.

            No punctuation is ever used in names or agency names.

            Note: Names and agencies are entered as they appear on the filing
            petitions. For example: if you are looking for DiamlerChrysler Corporation
            and it was entered as Diamler-Chrysler, Diamler Chrysler, DiamlerChrysler
            Corp. or Daimler-Chrysler Corporation, it will not come back as a result in
            your search of DiamlerChrysler Corporation.


How do I enter a date for a filing date search or docket date search?
            Enter the two digit number for the month the case was filed (e.g. 01 =
            January). Enter the two digit number for the day of the month the case was
            filed (e.g. 03). Enter the four digit year for the year that the case was filed in
            (e.g. 2005).

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How do I navigate between detail case pages?
            There are navigation buttons below the brief summary of case information.
            These buttons will take you to case detail information as noted on the
            button (e.g. Summary, Parties, Future Court Dates, Minutes, Judgments,
            Garnishment/Executions).

            At the top of each case detail page there are three options that will allow
            you to:
                      Go to the Circuit Court Home page
                      Go to the Court Cases Online Home page
                      Return to the search page you started on (<< Search Again)

            When you are given a list of cases, names, judgment numbers or
            garnishment numbers that are highlighted and underlined, you may click on
            the highlighted and underlined item to move to the next page which will
            provide additional case detail information.

            If you are viewing a case detail page, you may use your Back button on
            your browser menu bar to return to the previous page or you may click on
            one of the case detail buttons shown below the brief summary of case
            information.

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How do I use the "Go" feature on the Minutes case detail page?
            Some cases will have a lot of minute entries. You can look at all of the
            minute entries by using the Next button at the top or bottom of the minute
            entries. You can also move to a particular date in a case by using the "Go"
            feature at the top of the minute entries. Just enter the date (mm/dd/yyyy)
            and click on "Go". If the date you enter does not have an actual minute
            entry, the first minute entry after that date will be displayed. If you are past
            the first minute entry for the case, you may clear the date field and click on
            "Go" and you will return to the first minute entry for the case.


When I look at a docket on the web site, will the judge call the docket in the same order in the courtroom?
            When the case is actually called in the courtroom, the order may be
            different than it appeared on the web site. This is caused by last minute
            additions, changes and deletions to the dockets.

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Related Party Codes	Code	Description
Related Party Codes	AGT	Agent
Related Party Codes	AKA	Also Known As
Related Party Codes	ASG	Assignee
Related Party Codes	DBA	Doing Business As
Related Party Codes	FKA	Formerly Known As
Related Party Codes	NF	Next Friend
Related Party Codes	NKA	Now Known As
Related Party Codes	PPR	Personal Representative
Related Party Codes	RES	Respondent
Related Party Codes	STO	Statutory Trustee of
Related Party Codes	SUB	Substituted
Related Party Codes	SUC	Successor in Interest
Related Party Codes	SUG	Subrogee
Related Party Codes	TRU	Trustee
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Party Service Codes	Code	Description
Party Service Codes	AIC	Anyone in Charge
Party Service Codes	DA	Defendant Ad Litem
Party Service Codes	DOI	Director of Insurance
Party Service Codes	GAL	Guardian Ad Litem
Party Service Codes	GAR	Garnishee
Party Service Codes	LRP	Legal Representative
Party Service Codes	MGR	Manager
Party Service Codes	NFR	Next Friend
Party Service Codes	OFC	Officer of Company
Party Service Codes	PIC	Person in Charge
Party Service Codes	POE	Place of Employment
Party Service Codes	PRE	President
Party Service Codes	PRP	Personal Representative
Party Service Codes	PST	Summons to be Posted Here
Party Service Codes	REG	Registered Agent
Party Service Codes	SOS	Secretary of State
Party Service Codes	SRV	Serve
Party Service Codes	TST	Trustee
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