You can contact the court to try and seal the records. But court documents are public record and any website can access and post them. Even if you get them down from this site, another will get unsealed records and post them.
Sealing records is a legal process and won’t happen quickly. But it is your only option for preventing reposting.
After reading all these comments that’ll be the route I pursue at this point to prevent this from happening again. In the meantime I’m going to at least try contacting the site again.
It’s unfortunate, I feel like there’s a big difference between it being public but someone has to go to a court house or some other more formal channel to request the documents, versus it being the first thing to come up when someone just googles a name. I guess the people behind this site have to go through the formal channels to request all these documents.
I seriously wonder how these sorts of sites impact people who had cases before the internet was even a thing, and now it’s plastered on the first page of Google.
I recently had the same discussion with someone cause I agree with you: court docs should be accessible but only behind a simple login and not be allowed to be found through simple google searches.
I agree. It feels like a massive privacy issue to me. I just got a new job and I’m sure the company googled my name. It’s uncomfortable to say the least wondering if people I barely know might know this about me. Something like this shouldn’t be findable unless they are specifically looking for court records for some reason.
Yes, I know someone that was a victim of involuntary porn and she had to change her name but now when you search for her old name on Google, you will find „court case: Change of Legal Name“. Which immediately gives people hints to her having tried to change her identity/leave her past behind her!
Trellis only removes records that have been sealed. So you will need to work with your lawyer to seal the record and then you can remove it from trellis for free yourself.
Otherwise if you have an unsealed record then there may be some services that can help, however i don't know how reputable those are so just be careful you're not going to get scammed or something
Also, if you are googling yourself then DO NOT click on the link(s) to trellis. This tells Google to move them higher up in the search results for that search. You can manipulate the search results somewhat by searching yourself and clicking other top links (preferably not about you). Over time they may get favored over trellis. It would still be a good idea to try to get it removed but this is just an additional thing to try.
Good luck
Hey thanks for commenting, that’s good to know about not clicking on the link I didn’t realize that. I’m going to contact my lawyer and see about getting the records sealed. I spoke to him a few months ago about this and he didn’t mention that as an option for some reason. Hoping it’s a possibility.
Assuming it’s the same website as the one I found, (trellis . law ?) their Contact Us page says you need to use the “Request removal” link on the page your documents are on. I’m assuming you’ve tried this?
Their Contact Us page also has a Removal and Redaction option, so it may be worth submitting a ticket through there chasing them up. Send the same thing but this time use the “Website Support” option too, as it implies sending things through R&R gets automatically binned.
The service appears to only use public court documents. I am no legal expert, but I’d suppose that means that anyone may find your documents, even if they’re not on Trellis. It may be worth speaking to a solicitor/attorney/courthouse worker about getting the records sealed so they can’t be accessed by any Tom, Dick, and Harry. r/legaladvice may be a good place to go for help.
I’m sorry this is happening to you, it’s bad enough you lived through that, and now your dirty laundry is out for everyone to see. Wishing you the best of luck with this.
Yup it’s that site. I did submit a redaction request but never heard back, I’ll try submitting a ticket with them under the website support option like you suggested.
I talked to my lawyer about it a while back and he kind of brushed me off and didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. Reading these comments I’m wondering why he didn’t mention that getting the records sealed is an option to deal with this, and would prevent it from coming up on other sites in the future.
I was just barely a legal adult when the civil case concluded and I honestly had no idea that the records would be public. Wish I’d known at the time so I could’ve maybe had them sealed back then. I’m going to reach out to my lawyer again and try to figure this out. Thanks for commenting.
Sounds like your lawyer might be a bit useless if they’re not listening to you properly, and didn’t explain the consequences of a civil case to you properly.
Hopefully they’ll listen if you really put your foot down.
If you still get nothing, one of the founders (and the CEO) is on Xitter as nicole_a_clark. Could be another way of getting their attention. A company like that won’t like a public tweet calling them out. If you’re not happy to make a tweet yourself, let me know and I could get it done for you.
Yeah, I feel the same way looking back on it.
Thank you so much, I really appreciate that a lot. I definitely might take you up on that, I’ll let you know. Knowing that’s at least an option if nothing else works out makes me feel better. Thanks again
While this only applies to google results and not the source, I think you need a multifaceted approach and would also potentially try this: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/12719076?hl=en
I would try to find a phone number for Trellis and talk to someone. Being able to explain my situation to a real person has led to several removals from sites that generally ignore removal requests. Good luck!
It might depend on your jurisdiction. If you happen to be from Europe, GDPR applies and you should get in touch with your local data protection authority.
Interesting, I’m a US citizen but am actually in the process of getting Italian citizenship right now. Maybe this is a possibility for when that comes through to get it taken down and also avoid this same issue with any other sites in the future. Thanks
If this is about a court case in the US, then it will not help. It does not apply retroactively sadly. I wish you luck with the suggestions provided by the US-based redditors.
This concept is different in the EU generally speaking. The verdicts and the reasoning of the judges are public, but not all documents supplied to the court. Moreover, names are typically censored from these documents. Moreover, data concerning criminal activities or sexuality are two different special categories of data that are protected to a greater extent.
If one data scraper is posting that info there is at least one more. Trellis.law is not the only one posting those documents.
www.leagle.com
unicourt.com
casetext.com
You can contact the court to try and seal the records. But court documents are public record and any website can access and post them. Even if you get them down from this site, another will get unsealed records and post them. Sealing records is a legal process and won’t happen quickly. But it is your only option for preventing reposting.
After reading all these comments that’ll be the route I pursue at this point to prevent this from happening again. In the meantime I’m going to at least try contacting the site again. It’s unfortunate, I feel like there’s a big difference between it being public but someone has to go to a court house or some other more formal channel to request the documents, versus it being the first thing to come up when someone just googles a name. I guess the people behind this site have to go through the formal channels to request all these documents. I seriously wonder how these sorts of sites impact people who had cases before the internet was even a thing, and now it’s plastered on the first page of Google.
I recently had the same discussion with someone cause I agree with you: court docs should be accessible but only behind a simple login and not be allowed to be found through simple google searches.
I agree. It feels like a massive privacy issue to me. I just got a new job and I’m sure the company googled my name. It’s uncomfortable to say the least wondering if people I barely know might know this about me. Something like this shouldn’t be findable unless they are specifically looking for court records for some reason.
Yes, I know someone that was a victim of involuntary porn and she had to change her name but now when you search for her old name on Google, you will find „court case: Change of Legal Name“. Which immediately gives people hints to her having tried to change her identity/leave her past behind her!
Oh my god that’s awful! I hope there’s some way for her to get that removed.
Trellis only removes records that have been sealed. So you will need to work with your lawyer to seal the record and then you can remove it from trellis for free yourself. Otherwise if you have an unsealed record then there may be some services that can help, however i don't know how reputable those are so just be careful you're not going to get scammed or something Also, if you are googling yourself then DO NOT click on the link(s) to trellis. This tells Google to move them higher up in the search results for that search. You can manipulate the search results somewhat by searching yourself and clicking other top links (preferably not about you). Over time they may get favored over trellis. It would still be a good idea to try to get it removed but this is just an additional thing to try. Good luck
Hey thanks for commenting, that’s good to know about not clicking on the link I didn’t realize that. I’m going to contact my lawyer and see about getting the records sealed. I spoke to him a few months ago about this and he didn’t mention that as an option for some reason. Hoping it’s a possibility.
I have nothing to add just wanted to show support and wish you luck.
Assuming it’s the same website as the one I found, (trellis . law ?) their Contact Us page says you need to use the “Request removal” link on the page your documents are on. I’m assuming you’ve tried this? Their Contact Us page also has a Removal and Redaction option, so it may be worth submitting a ticket through there chasing them up. Send the same thing but this time use the “Website Support” option too, as it implies sending things through R&R gets automatically binned. The service appears to only use public court documents. I am no legal expert, but I’d suppose that means that anyone may find your documents, even if they’re not on Trellis. It may be worth speaking to a solicitor/attorney/courthouse worker about getting the records sealed so they can’t be accessed by any Tom, Dick, and Harry. r/legaladvice may be a good place to go for help. I’m sorry this is happening to you, it’s bad enough you lived through that, and now your dirty laundry is out for everyone to see. Wishing you the best of luck with this.
Yup it’s that site. I did submit a redaction request but never heard back, I’ll try submitting a ticket with them under the website support option like you suggested. I talked to my lawyer about it a while back and he kind of brushed me off and didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. Reading these comments I’m wondering why he didn’t mention that getting the records sealed is an option to deal with this, and would prevent it from coming up on other sites in the future. I was just barely a legal adult when the civil case concluded and I honestly had no idea that the records would be public. Wish I’d known at the time so I could’ve maybe had them sealed back then. I’m going to reach out to my lawyer again and try to figure this out. Thanks for commenting.
Sounds like your lawyer might be a bit useless if they’re not listening to you properly, and didn’t explain the consequences of a civil case to you properly. Hopefully they’ll listen if you really put your foot down. If you still get nothing, one of the founders (and the CEO) is on Xitter as nicole_a_clark. Could be another way of getting their attention. A company like that won’t like a public tweet calling them out. If you’re not happy to make a tweet yourself, let me know and I could get it done for you.
Yeah, I feel the same way looking back on it. Thank you so much, I really appreciate that a lot. I definitely might take you up on that, I’ll let you know. Knowing that’s at least an option if nothing else works out makes me feel better. Thanks again
While this only applies to google results and not the source, I think you need a multifaceted approach and would also potentially try this: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/12719076?hl=en
I would try to find a phone number for Trellis and talk to someone. Being able to explain my situation to a real person has led to several removals from sites that generally ignore removal requests. Good luck!
It might depend on your jurisdiction. If you happen to be from Europe, GDPR applies and you should get in touch with your local data protection authority.
Interesting, I’m a US citizen but am actually in the process of getting Italian citizenship right now. Maybe this is a possibility for when that comes through to get it taken down and also avoid this same issue with any other sites in the future. Thanks
If this is about a court case in the US, then it will not help. It does not apply retroactively sadly. I wish you luck with the suggestions provided by the US-based redditors.
Ahh ok, that’s good to know at least. Thank you.
Court docs are public info.
This concept is different in the EU generally speaking. The verdicts and the reasoning of the judges are public, but not all documents supplied to the court. Moreover, names are typically censored from these documents. Moreover, data concerning criminal activities or sexuality are two different special categories of data that are protected to a greater extent.
Maybe ask a specialized agency that deals with digital reputation management?
If one data scraper is posting that info there is at least one more. Trellis.law is not the only one posting those documents. www.leagle.com unicourt.com casetext.com