The Name Search Box looks like this:

Search Box to look for a Civil Case according to person or company name

How To Use:

Phonetic Search - Check on box if spelling is unknown.

Last Name or Company Name - Type in the last name of an individual or the company name. (To refine company name search. See: Search Tips, below)

First Name -Type in the first name of the individual (To refine search. See: Search Tips, below).

Middle Name - Type in the middle name of the individual (To further refine search. See: Search Tips, below).

Beginning Case Filing Date & Ending Case Filing Date - (Helpful and relatively safe way to refine your search) Filling these boxes with the appropriate data will refine your search to the greatest extent possible. Dates must be entered in the following format: 09-sep-1998 (representing the date September 9, 1998).

Caution: Since the Wild Card function is automatic, typing in only last names will produce cases for that name AND those that include those names within, or as a part of, the case entries. This may cause significant delay. For instance, just typing only "william" in the Last Name Box will find all cases with the letters: w-i-l-l-i-a-m as the last name AND those that have "william as part of the name. For example: williaman, williamby, williams, and williamson.

Name Search Results:

A Name Search might result in a screen display that looks like this:

Search Tip: Generally, the more information entered the "tighter" the search, and results are obtained FASTER.

Example: Typing only the name "Smith" in the Last Name Box will produce a list of thousands of cases. The "Smith James" parameters above produced almost 900 files. Refining the terms of the search further will continue to narrow the range of records that fit within the search parameters that you provide.

Search Tip: For a Company Name Search omit the spaces in the name of the company.

Example: A search for "Thomas Jefferson University" should be entered in the Last Name or Company Name field as "thomasjeffersonuniversity".

Search Tip: For Name Searches it is better to omit middle initial/name information of which you are uncertain. Name Search results will reflect only cases where the filing includes the information that you enter in the Name Boxes.

Example: A search for James W. Smith will not include cases filed under James Smith (No middle initial) in the results. Conversely, a search under James Smith (No middle initial entered) will list files including those for James W. Smith because the middle initial search restriction box was not filled in.

However, information entered into the Beginning Case Filing Date Box and the Ending Case Filing Date need not be exact. The search results will show a table that reflects all the appropriate cases that fall within the parameters that you specify. Date data entered in the Beginning Case Filing Date Box in the specified correct format - for instance 09-sep-1998 - will produce a list of cases filed on or after September 9, 1998. Typing the same date (09-sep-1998) in the Ending Case Filing Date will produce cases filed on or before September 9, 1998. Filling both boxes will restrict the search to cases filed on or between the dates entered.

Search Tip: Always use accurate information for the Last, First, and Middle Name boxes. Avoid using dubious, unreliable Middle Name or Middle Initial search markers. Instead, narrow your search by utilizing the Beginning Case Filing (or Judgment) Date and Ending Case Filing (or Judgment) Date boxes.

Example: Using the James Smith case, let's say you enter "smith" in the Last Name box, "james" in the First Name box, and leave the Middle Name box blank; then enter "09-sep-1998" as the Beginning Case Filing Date, and "10-oct-1998" as the Ending Case Filing Date. The search will produce a list of cases where all people named James Smith (with and without a middle initial) are named as parties in actions that were filed on or between September 9, 1998 and October 10, 1998.

Search Tip: Entries for the month of the filing use the first three letters of the month: jan, feb, mar, apr, may, and so forth. Capital letters are not necessary in any search.