Is there a way to find out online whether someone has recently been divorced? A friend of mine said that he was able to find a webpage for the state he lives in that lists whether a particular person has had any legal action taken against them. Is there one for New York state? Is it legal? I plead ignorance on this issue, so if the only way to get this info is illegal, forget about it, and may the mods do what they must to his thread. Thanks.
I’m not going to look up a possible web site for you, but as far as I know, divorce records are public information in all 50 states. If you can’t find a web site, go to the courthouse in the county the divorce took place to find the record.
All circuit court judgments are public record. In some places, the newspaper prints public records (especially in small towns) like marriage licenses, divorce decrees, cases filed, etc… Our paper does it once a week in a tab in eeensy-weency print. At one small paper, I used to gather the names of kids who’d gotten their driver’s licenses! Fun reading. 
You could call the circuit court clerk (or the equivelent in your state) and maybe a clerk would look up the case for you. I wouldn’t guarantee it, though.
There is a Vital Records site for all states, with their requirements for getting the info.