Evidence is public record when it has been formally admitted during an open court proceeding or filed with the clerk, which means trial exhibits, transcripts, and documents on the docket are generally available to anyone who asks. Everything else, including discovery materials, grand jury testimony, sealed exhibits, suppressed evidence, and active investigative files, usually is not. Whether a specific piece of evidence is accessible depends on how it entered the case, whether a judge admitted it, and whether anyone persuaded the court to restrict it.
The Default Is Openness
American courts start from a strong presumption of transparency. In Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, the Supreme Court held that the First Amendment guarantees the public a right to attend criminal trials.1Justia Law. Richmond Newspapers Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555 (1980) Federal appellate courts have extended that principle to civil cases and to documents filed with the court. Trial exhibits, witness testimony given in open court, and papers filed with the clerk are presumed open.
The presumption can be overcome, but only when a court finds on the record that closure serves a compelling interest, that the interest would be harmed without closure, and that no less restrictive option would work. The party seeking secrecy carries the burden.
Trial Exhibits and Filings
The clearest route to public access is admission at trial. When a lawyer offers an exhibit during open proceedings and the judge admits it, that exhibit joins the court record. The same is true of testimony given in open court and documents formally filed with the clerk. Federal case files are available online through PACER, and visitors to a federal courthouse can review electronic and paper records at public access terminals for free.2United States Courts. Find a Case (PACER)
Here is where a common misunderstanding comes in. Evidence that exists in a case is not the same as evidence that is part of the public record. A document produced in discovery, a deposition transcript in a lawyer’s office, or an exhibit the judge refused to admit may all be central to the dispute yet invisible to the public. Journalists, for instance, have no right of access to discovery materials never filed with the court.3United States Courts. Accessing Court Documents – Journalists Guide If you are hunting for a specific piece of evidence, the first question is whether it was ever formally submitted to the court.
Discovery Materials Usually Stay Private
Discovery is the pretrial phase where lawyers exchange documents, take depositions, and request information. The volume dwarfs what eventually appears at trial, and most of it stays in the lawyers’ files. Unless a party files a discovery document with the court as part of a motion or exhibit, the public has no general right to see it.
Cases that settle before trial show this clearly. The evidence the parties exchanged typically remains private, especially when the settlement includes a confidentiality clause. The court may never have seen most of the material. If the settlement terms themselves are filed, they become part of the record, but many settlements are structured specifically to avoid that.
Grand Jury Evidence Is Secret
Grand jury proceedings are one of the broadest exceptions to the open-courts principle. Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 6(e) imposes a blanket secrecy requirement on grand jurors, prosecutors, interpreters, court reporters, and others present.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 6 – The Grand Jury Testimony, documents the grand jury reviewed, and deliberations are all shielded from public view. The secrecy obligation survives after the grand jury finishes its work.
Rule 6(e) does carve out narrow exceptions. Prosecutors can share grand jury material with other government personnel assisting in a federal criminal case, a court can authorize disclosure under specific conditions, and the material can be shared with intelligence and national security officials when it involves foreign threats or terrorism.4Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule 6 – The Grand Jury None of these exceptions opens grand jury evidence to the general public. If you are looking for what a grand jury heard, you almost certainly will not find it in any public record.
Sealed Evidence
Evidence that would normally be public can be placed under seal. A judge may seal exhibits, filings, or entire portions of the record to protect trade secrets, the identities of confidential informants, details that could endanger someone’s safety, or sensitive material in cases involving minors.
The process begins with a motion asking the court to seal specific materials, explaining why the harm from disclosure outweighs the public’s interest in access. Under the First Amendment framework, the party seeking secrecy must show a compelling interest and that the order is narrowly tailored. The common-law standard is somewhat more flexible, but the moving party still carries the burden.
Once evidence is sealed, only people directly involved in the case, mainly attorneys and court staff, can access it. Unauthorized disclosure can draw sanctions. Sealing is not necessarily permanent. Anyone with standing, including journalists and members of the public, can file a motion to unseal, and courts have consistently held that non-parties have the right to challenge sealing orders even after the underlying case has ended.
Protective Orders in Civil Litigation
Protective orders do something different from sealing. Sealing restricts access to materials already filed with the court. Protective orders govern how parties handle sensitive information during discovery, before it ever reaches the public record. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(c) allows any party to move for a protective order by showing good cause, meaning a real risk of harm from unrestricted disclosure.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 – Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery
Judges have wide latitude in shaping these orders. A court can prohibit certain discovery entirely, limit who can view specific documents, require that depositions be sealed, or direct that trade secrets be disclosed only in a restricted way.5Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 26 – Duty to Disclose; General Provisions Governing Discovery In complex commercial litigation, protective orders routinely require parties to return or destroy confidential materials after the case ends. The practical result for public access is that documents covered by a protective order often never become part of the public record at all.
Law Enforcement Files
Evidence compiled during a criminal investigation sits in its own category. Witness statements, surveillance data, informant identities, and investigative methods are generally kept confidential while an investigation is active. The Freedom of Information Act gives the public a right to request records from federal executive-branch agencies, but it explicitly exempts law enforcement records in several situations.6FOIA.gov. About the Freedom of Information Act Under the statute’s seventh exemption, agencies can withhold investigatory records when release could interfere with enforcement proceedings, deprive someone of a fair trial, reveal a confidential source, expose investigative techniques, invade personal privacy, or endanger someone’s physical safety.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 5 USC 552 – Public Information; Agency Rules, Opinions, Orders, Records, and Proceedings
One important limit: FOIA applies only to executive-branch agencies. It does not cover the courts or Congress.6FOIA.gov. About the Freedom of Information Act So FOIA can help you request an FBI file or DEA records, but it will not get you a sealed court exhibit. Most states have their own public records laws with similar law enforcement exemptions, though specifics vary. Federal law also recognizes crime victims’ right to be treated with respect for their dignity and privacy in court proceedings, which can further limit disclosure of victim-related evidence.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 3771 – Crime Victims Rights
Evidence a Judge Keeps Out
Not everything offered at trial makes it into the record. When a judge excludes evidence under the rules of admissibility, it stays out of the public record as a formal exhibit. Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence allows a judge to exclude relevant evidence when the risk of unfair prejudice, jury confusion, or wasted time substantially outweighs its value.9Legal Information Institute. Federal Rules of Evidence Rule 403 – Excluding Relevant Evidence for Prejudice, Confusion, Waste of Time, or Other Reasons
The exclusionary rule reaches further. When law enforcement obtains evidence through an unconstitutional search or seizure, courts can bar the government from using it at trial.10Constitution Annotated. Fourth Amendment – Exclusionary Rule and Evidence The evidence may be powerful, but if the Fourth Amendment was violated to obtain it, the judge suppresses it. Suppressed evidence does not disappear, but it stays out of the trial record and therefore out of the public record as a court exhibit.
Judges sometimes split the difference. Graphic photographs or extremely sensitive materials may be shown to jurors but withheld from public release. The evidence is part of the case without being part of the open record.
How to Access Federal Court Records
If you want to look at evidence that is part of the public record in a federal case, you have two main options. The first is PACER, the electronic system that provides online access to more than a billion federal court documents. Anyone can create an account. Access costs $0.10 per page, capped at $3.00 per document.11PACER: Federal Court Records. PACER Pricing: How Fees Work If your total usage stays at $30 or less in a quarter, those fees are waived.12PACER: Federal Court Records. Pricing Frequently Asked Questions
The second option is visiting the courthouse. Public access terminals at the clerk’s office let you view electronic records at no charge, though printing costs $0.10 per page.2United States Courts. Find a Case (PACER) For extensive research, the in-person route can save real money. Academic researchers working on defined scholarly projects can also request fee exemptions from multiple courts, provided the request is limited in scope and not intended for commercial redistribution.13PACER: Federal Court Records. Fee Exemption Request for Researchers
State courts have their own record systems. Many offer electronic filing and online portals, but fees, scope, and usability vary widely. Per-page copy fees at state court clerk offices typically range from about $0.10 to over $1.00, and certified copies often cost between $5 and $25. For state records, start with the clerk of court’s website for the specific court that handled the case.
What Happens After a Case Closes
Evidence that became part of the court record generally remains accessible after the case ends, subject to the same public access rules. Court files are archived, and electronic records on systems like PACER stay available indefinitely. Physical exhibits may be returned to the parties or retained by the court depending on local rules.
Seized evidence in federal criminal cases follows a different path. The Department of Justice presumes that seized evidence should be disposed of once a case is fully closed, meaning all appeals and post-conviction challenges have been resolved and a two-year waiting period has passed. Before disposal, the evidence must be photographed, copied, or otherwise documented. Exceptions apply for evidence with historical significance, evidence needed for ongoing investigations, and evidence subject to a court preservation order.14U.S. Department of Justice. Procedure for Disposal of Seized Evidence in Closed Criminal Cases
Sealed records can outlast the case that produced them. Sealing orders sometimes include expiration dates, but many do not. Anyone who wants sealed records opened later can file a motion to unseal, and courts have recognized that members of the public and the press have standing to bring such motions even if they were never parties to the case. The court applies the same balancing test it used for initial sealing: whether a compelling interest justifies continued secrecy, or whether the passage of time and changed circumstances tip the balance toward disclosure.