If you’ve ever Googled your name and found a link to CourtListener.com showcasing your court records, you know how unsettling it can be.
CourtListener is a popular site for legal professionals and researchers, but for individuals, it can feel like a privacy invasion.
Fortunately, there are steps you can take to remove and reduce the visibility of these records and protect your online reputation.
This guide explains how to remove or de-index CourtListener links and reclaim your online narrative.
What Is CourtListener and Why Does It Have My Information?
CourtListener, run by the non-profit Free Law Project, is a free resource that aggregates millions of court opinions, filings, and oral arguments from state and federal courts. Its goal is to make legal information easily accessible to the public.
Since court records are considered public information, CourtListener legally republishes them for research purposes. Unfortunately, this means your name and case details might appear in search results, even if the case is resolved or no longer relevant.
Can I Remove My Information from CourtListener?
CourtListener has a strict removal policy:
- For sealed or expunged cases: CourtListener will remove or redact the record if you provide a valid court order.
- For unsealed cases: They won’t delete the record entirely, but they may block it from search engines upon request. This prevents the record from appearing in Google search results, though it will remain accessible on their website.
Content from CourtListener at https://www.courtlistener.com/terms/#removal
Removal Policy
The Board of Directors of Free Law Project, the non-profit sponsoring CourtListener, believes that there is a compelling public interest in making the law broadly available to all. In pursuit of this goal, we have poured our energies into making CourtListener.com the best free legal research tool that we can. Occasionally however, there can be competing privacy interests of individuals and organizations. This policy describes the balance that we attempt to strike when thinking about this conflict of interests, and describes our policy for accepting and working with removal requests.
If you would like a case removed from the results of the major search engines, please send us a request using the contact page. You must include links to the pages you would like removed. Upon receiving this request, we will generally block search engines from indexing pages on our site by using the robots HTML meta tag and/or the x-robots-tag HTTP header.
We will not remove any public document from our database without a court order. If you want information deleted from our site, your only recourse is to get it deleted from the public record and to obtain a court order demanding that we do the same. If you are able to furnish such a court order, we will generally remove the document from our site. If the court order demands an expungement or redaction, we will generally anonymize or redact cases by replacing names with initials or black boxes, and placing a note at the top of the document explaining the change. We will not make changes to any other documents without a court order that specifically requires that we do so.
After we have blocked the pages, they will eventually be removed from all search engines, however, as is mentioned above, your case is a public document, and there may be other copies of it on the Internet – Although we will have blocked the search engines from finding your case, there may be other websites that have copies of it. In addition, we have no control over any search engine, and they may not remove your case from their results for many months, if at all.
If, after reading the above, you would still like to have a case blocked, so it is not found by search engines, please send your written request as described above. You may also attempt to contact us via email, but we do not guarantee receipt of email communications.
Placing court documents online is a form of First Amendment expression that is protected by numerous state and federal statutes. Despite this, we have occasionally been sued for doing so. It is against our mission to lose such a case and we never have. We have even fought back against unconstitutional judicial orders and won. If you are considering suing us over content on our website, we strongly urge you to instead wait until the search engines have removed the content from their results.
We might change this policy in the future and make no guarantees that we will keep blocked records in place. Further, all removals not pursuant to a court order are at our sole discretion.
This policy is similar to the policies of other major sources of free online court opinions, and we hope that we have struck a reasonable balance between both your interests and the public’s interest in your case.
Last Modified: February 8, 2023
How to Remove or De-Index a CourtListener Record
Follow these steps to remove a CourtListener record from search engine results:
1. Collect the Necessary Information
- Identify the URLs of the records you want removed.
- Gather any supporting documentation, such as proof of sealing or expungement.
2. Submit a Removal Request
- Go to the CourtListener Contact Page.
- Include:
- The URLs of the records.
- A brief explanation of why you’re requesting removal (e.g., privacy concerns, reputational impact).
- Alternatively, you can email them directly, but they recommend using the contact form for guaranteed receipt.
3. Wait for Confirmation
CourtListener typically responds within a few weeks. If your request is approved, they will block the URLs from search engine indexing using meta tags.
Speeding Up Google’s Removal Process
Even after CourtListener blocks the URL, Google might take weeks or months to update its search results. To expedite this process:
- Use Google’s Outdated Content Tool.
- Submit the blocked URL and follow the prompts to request removal.
What If CourtListener Denies My Request?
If CourtListener declines to block or remove your record, you still have options:
1. Suppress Negative Results
Create and optimize positive content to push the CourtListener link down in search rankings. Examples include:
- Building a professional website.
- Publishing articles or blogs about your expertise.
- Updating LinkedIn and other social profiles.
2. Petition for a Court Order
If your record contains sensitive information, work with a lawyer to seal or expunge the case. Once sealed, CourtListener will comply with a court order for removal.
3. Professional Help
Reputation management services specialize in suppressing or removing harmful records. These experts like our team at Erase.com can save you time and ensure a more comprehensive solution.
Erase.com’s content removal service is designed to help you showcase your strengths and position you as a reliable and trustworthy partner.
We’ve helped over 5,000 individuals and businesses manage their online reputation and removed over 1,300 harmful court records for our clients in 2024 alone.
Get started and take control of your online presence today.
Key Takeaways
- Sealed or Expunged Cases: Provide a valid court order to remove or redact the record.
- Unsealed Cases: Submit a request to block the URL from search engines.
- Act Fast: Use Google’s Outdated Content Tool to speed up de-indexing.
- Build Your Reputation: Create and optimize positive content to suppress negative results.
- Seek Support: Reputation management experts can streamline the process.
CourtListener records don’t have to define your online narrative. With the right steps—like de-indexing or suppressing records—you can regain control of your reputation and ensure your best self is what people find online.
Feeling overwhelmed? Our team of reputation management professionals are here to help.
Take action today to protect your name and rebuild your online presence.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can. Submit a request through the CourtListener Contact Page with the case URL, your full name, and a valid reason for the request, such as privacy concerns or reputational harm. Sealed or expunged records are typically addressed quickly with the proper court documentation. For unsealed records, CourtListener may agree to block the URL from search engines, but the document will remain accessible on their platform.
CourtListener will not delete public court records unless there is a valid court order. For sealed or expunged cases, they will either remove the record or redact sensitive information. For unsealed cases, they may de-index the page from search engines like Google upon request, but the record itself will still exist on their website.
If CourtListener agrees to block the page from search engines, the change is typically implemented within a few weeks. After that, you can speed up Google’s recognition of the change by using the Google Outdated Content Tool to request faster de-indexing.
Sealed or expunged records can be removed entirely with proper legal documentation. For unsealed records, CourtListener’s team assesses removal requests on a case-by-case basis. They focus on privacy concerns but emphasize maintaining public access to legal documents. Blocking search engine access is more common than full removal for unsealed cases.
Submitting a removal or de-indexing request to CourtListener is free. However, if you choose to work with a reputation management service, costs can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars, depending on the complexity of the case. Professional services often include additional strategies like suppressing negative content in search results.
If you’re struggling to remove or suppress a CourtListener record, our Reputation Specialists can assist. Contact us today for a personalized consultation and regain control of your online reputation.
