L.A. County's is the state's only major urban system that charges for online searches.
Los Angeles County's court system is making millions of dollars charging for online access to records, turning its management of public information into a profit center.
No other major urban county in California charges for online access to court records that can help someone learn whether a doctor was sued for malpractice, a contractor was accused of shoddy work, or a prospective tenant had a habit of skipping out on the rent. There is no charge for an electronic search of civil lawsuits filed in Orange, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties. An identical search is also free in most counties of the San Francisco Bay Area, as well as in Sacramento, San Joaquin, Fresno, and Kern counties.
Tapping into the civil index "ought to be free," said Michael Roddy, executive officer of the San Diego County Superior Court, the second-largest trial court in California. Roddy and court officials in other counties said providing Internet access to court records is more efficient because the public doesn't have to drive to a courthouse, park, stand in line, and ask court clerks for assistance. "I prefer you don't have to come down to the courthouse," Roddy said.
And yet, the Los Angeles County Superior Court imposes a $4.75 fee for each name searched on the court's website, http://www.lasuperiorcourt.org.
Details here from the Los Angeles Times.