What is a Criminal Litigation Search?
A criminal litigation search is a search of court records to find information about a person or organization involved in a criminal case.
In general, you cannot search for records of criminal court cases by the names of defendants or anyone else involved in the case, though there are some exceptions to this, notably with Crown court records held at The National Archives. Usually, you will need to know when and where a trial took place to have any hope of finding records. To search for records, follow these steps:
Step 1: Establish which court heard the case and when.
Consult the following to try to establish these two key facts:
- Newspapers: If you know when the trial took place but don’t know which court they were heard in, you may find the missing details in local newspaper reports. Newspapers reported on some criminal cases and the reports are often more informative than the court records themselves. Consult the British Library Newspaper Library or the appropriate local county record office.
- Criminal registers and calendars: These records of convicted criminals can provide the place and date of their conviction and many are searchable online by name. Search at Ancestry for criminal registers 1791-1892 (charges apply) and at Findmypast for criminal registers, calendars, and other related records 1770-1935 (charges apply).
Step 2: Establish where the records for the court type are held
Once you know the court, use the following sections of this guide to locate advice on where to find records for that type of court. We have listed the different types of criminal courts by period, each with brief details of where to find the respective records. Click on the links to be directed elsewhere or to one of our guides.
Step 3: Consult the respective research guide
Use our guides for search advice on each of the courts whose records we hold. Searches at The National Archives usually begin in our online catalogue. A successful catalogue search will unearth short descriptions of the court records and a document reference for each – you will need the document reference to see the record itself or to request copies. For more guidance on searching or browsing our catalogue, visit our Discovery help pages.