Q: Can I request my parents' divorce records? They nvr told me the truth. I just want a straight answer about happened.
Case was in mid 80s Baltimore County (possibly Bmore City). My mother had 'full custody' (according to her) yet my father all my life bemoaned the fact that 'your mother won't listen to me'. He claimed to be helpless, yet if he gave up custody (and paid support) he got what he wanted. If no provision of Law exists, I'd like to know if I can (and how) to petition the Court to grant me access. Since it involved me directly, it should be my basic human right to know the truth. I know I can call the Bmore County Circuit Court Clerk but prefer to temper my expectations with an answer beforehand.
A: All civil cases are open to the public. You should call the court (family law division) where the divorce was adjudicated and inquire whether they still have the paper file on such an old case. If not, you will need to order it from archives. Once it is at the courthouse, you can go there to review the entire file (there are often more than one court file for contested divorce cases, so ask for all of them), and have copied whatever there is you want to copy. If there were appeals, there may be transcripts of testimony filed. You may also be able to obtain audio of any court proceedings. You will need to ask about that. If ordered during the case, the CDs of the hearings may be in the file or otherwise available. Think hard whether you really want to know the full truth. I doubt your parents are the same people today that they were then, as people grow and change, and divorce often brings out the worst due to high emotions, hurt, anger, jealousy, etc.
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