Should Records of Divorce Be Public Records?

Should divorce records be made public? As always, there are pros and cons to this but which side weighs more with you?

The question “Are records of divorce public records?” has been the subject of many news forum discussions since 2004 US Senatorial candidate Jack Ryan quit his bid after a Los Angeles judge unsealed court records of his child custody battle.

Ryan and his ex-wife (actress Jeri Ryan of Boston Public fame) objected to the records being made public since they had a young child and the details of their case contained explicit details about their sex lives. But, in the heat of the electoral race, the American press prevailed upon the judge — and all the tawdry details were made public.

The general practice is that court records involving children are sealed. Otherwise, they are open to the public unless state legislation orders that they be sealed (as in New York where they are sealed for 100 years).

Sealing records, however, are left largely to the judge’s discretion, as the Ryan case proved.

Divorce Public Records Are Now Online

It seems that divorce public records have grown even more “public” in the Internet age. As of 2006, at least 30 US states have already published their court records (divorce, marriage, etc.) on the Internet. This number still does not include the federal courts that have done the same.

Although California (the Ryan case venue) does not publish its records online, it does not have the same hundred-year sealing policy as New York.

The only thing the states and courts that publish records online have done to protect individuals involved in the cases is to omit critical data, such as Social Security or bank account numbers.

However, regular American citizens will likely have an easier time getting their court records sealed, especially when they involve underage children. The court can be petitioned to seal the entire divorce record or parts of it. Whatever the judge seals will then be stricken from online records.

Even opinion-makers in the press agree that more than an issue of the public’s right to information, the sealing or unsealing of divorce public records seems to be more about the media losing a valuable source of intrigue and scandal involving celebrities.

Regardless of gossip or not, there are those that do NEED to know. Are you one of them? If so, start your search for divorce records now at RecordsSiteReviews' online records of divorce section today.