Does the UK have something similar? I ask because I’m researching a murder that took place there and I’d like to know how I can see the case files.
You want the Freedom of Information Act 2000, unless the murder was dealt with in Scotland, in which case you want the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.
I’d check – there’s a pretty good chance such a law wouldn’t apply to non-citizens who want information.
Note that any documents you receive may be heavily redacted to protect innocent parties and certain investigative methods used.
UK law will not distinguish between citizens and non-citizens in terms of the rights they have. That’s more of a US thing.
But the overall rights of access to information may be more limited. The UK FoI legislation contains some quite sweeping exemptions relating to law enforcement and court records which may limit their usefulness to the OP.
It is unlikely that you will get case papers in the Uk. These sort of things are often closed for 100 years.
Possibly a simpler source of information is to find copies of local newspapers from the town or area involved. These will usually contain most of the relevant information. Local or town archives often keep copies.
Just for clarity, anyone (citizen, foreigner, individual, corporation) can make a request under the US FOIA.
Some state FOIAs are only available to state residents, however.
I actually know quite a bit about how to do this. PM me with more info and I can probably point you to the right place
I would add you may well find you’re not entitled to the information you want, but there is certain info courts may give out depending on the case itself, what exactly you want, who you are (in relation to the case) and why you want it.
Thank you, I may follow through on that in the future. Right now I’m only looking at what’s available from online sources.
It’s possible you might find the written trial judgement using this page (England and Wales)
https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/judgments/
As a non-party, it might be tough to gain access to a full trial transcription though, never mind case notes and the like.
In a murder trial there typically won’t be a written judgment, just a verdict (“guilty” or “not guilty”).
If there’s an appeal against conviction, there may be written judgment available from the appeal.
Yep it does and I’ve used it myself (in relation to TfL - the body in charge of London public transport).
I made my request via this site - very straight forward with appropriate time-related reminders:
Yep, though the Judge’s sentencing remarks are particularly important when someone gets a life sentence (which is mandatory for a murder conviction).
If a case goes to the Court of Appeal there will be a written judgement and when there is an important matter of law at stake the case will be reported, which means either a summary or full text of the judgement can be got from the Law Reports.
Ours is a mouse of a FOIA, and there are plans to water it down even further. Tony Blair openly curses the day he was ever persuaded to introduce it.
The information that will be released to you under FOIA may vary depending on who you are in relation to a matter, though. I’ve had ridiculous situations in which a married couple both signed FOIA request forms to obtain a copy of the immigration file to the petition one spouse filed for the other, and had the results redacted. Or the beneficiary of a petition filed by a parent who received a copy of the petition, but with all the parent’s information redacted. Which is kind of ridiculous, considering she obviously knew her mother’s name, etc.