Imagine searching for your name on Google and coming across a Trellis law link that shows your court records. Quite an uncomfortable situation, right? Having court orders on Trellis law can feel like a breach of privacy. It can significantly damage an individual’s or a business’s online reputation. But the good news here is that you can remove your online court records by implementing some Trellis law removal strategies.
A 2021 report found that one in three Americans is more likely to have personal data exposed online, and court records are a major part of this information.
Once Trellis Law publishes any of your court records, they can pop up anywhere, including the first page of Google search results. By removing the Trellis law court records, you can limit the visibility of this reputation-damaging online information and safeguard your digital image.
Monitoring your online legal database and removing any court records before they can adversely impact your online reputation can be a daunting task, but not with the effective strategies. Here in this blog, we’ll discuss why your online records may appear on Trellis Law and some actionable steps to remove them from the platform.
What is Trellis Law, and What Does It Do?
It’s a state trial court legal research and analytics platform that publishes public court records with the involved individual’s name, case details, and sensitive information. Another aspect of this platform is that it serves as a research tool mostly for legal professionals, attorneys, and the general public.
The surprising fact is, most people are not aware that their court records are accessible online through the Trellis law. And it can actually create critical risks for personal and professional reputations.
Where does the platform collect court records from? Trellis Law collects court records from public databases/court documents. Then it displays them on its site by organizing the information in an easily searchable way. This makes it easy for people to access the court filings, case statuses, judgments, and more through this platform.
Trellis law specifically displays –
- Personal details of individuals involved in the case, including the names and addresses
- Case summaries, motions, court judgements, and hearing schedules
What’s the issue with the platform if it makes legal research so accessible?
Have you ever been involved in a legal case?
If yes, then you must not want anyone with internet accessibility to be able to know your personal legal information, no matter whether it’s a minor traffic rule violation or a serious legal issue.
Unfortunately, platforms like Trellis Law made it possible for the general public to get access to this private information.
When such critical and personal information about people becomes available online, it raises significant online privacy concerns. The platform makes the legal information more open and available, but it makes people worried about having their personal information made public.
What is Trellis Law Removal?
It refers to the process of removing public court records from the Trellis law platform and protecting an individual’s online reputation and privacy. Although Trellis Law is a separate online platform that publishes court records, other major online channels and search engines like Google can also display these sensitive records in their search results.
The removal is a multi-step process –
- Firstly, you need to connect with the official team of the platform to proceed with further practices.
- Secondly, it also requires you to submit the court record removal request to the search engine that is showing the sensitive legal information in its search results for search queries related to you or your business.
- For critical cases, you may need to hire a professional content removal service to ensure the comprehensive removal of your court records.
The Mechanisms Behind Trellis Law Removal
Let’s have a clear understanding of the mechanism that works behind the Trellis law removal process. Here’s a brief overview.
- If you have sealed records – The removal of this information requires an official court order.
- If you have unsealed records – The removal process can be service-guaranteed removal and post-payment removal.
- If you want to decrease the Google visibility of your court records – You may need third-party professional help or an official court order.
- If you want to stop public access to your court records – As Trellis law is a public domain, you need to have the platform’s subscription to deny the public access to your court records.
- If you want to remove your personal contact information – It requires you to seek professional and confidential assistance.
We’ve mentioned this structured overview to make you understand that different types of court records require different removal techniques, and how Trellis Law efficiently handles all kinds of court record removal requests.
Why Is Your Information on Trellis Law?
Trellis Law publishes public court records that the platform acquires from local, federal, and state trial court systems. The platform is a legal database that considers any type of court records as public information unless they’re sealed or expunged.
If your court record meets public access criteria, it is more likely to be published by Trellis Law on its sites. The platform has the right to legally republish those court records.
Reason: If you are wondering why your court records are available on Trellis Law, it may be because the information is available in either the local, state, or federal court system. And this makes the records searchable and accessible through the Trellis’s AI-powered legal search platform.
So, what does this mean?
It means that your legal case details, including your name and personal identity details, may appear in online search results, even if your case is resolved and no longer relevant.
How does Trellis Law Obtain Information regarding Your Court Records?
Here’s where the platform collects information from.
- Publicly available court records
- Any court record that Trellis Law can automatically include information about on its site, the platform must not have to take permission from anyone to publish the information
- Records directly obtained from the local, state, and federal court systems
What Types of Court Records Appear on Trellis?
As per the news provided by Trellis Law , Trellis is built on the most complete trial court database available, with over 2.5 billion records from 3,500 courts across 46 states. This wide coverage allows the platform to detect legal patterns, signals, and trends that other similar tools can’t even access.
From civil and family cases to criminal cases, the platform can display a variety of trial court records. The records are mostly the personal details of different parties, hearing schedules, case summaries, and final judgments.
The following are some major types of court records that Trellis displays.
| Type | Issues Involved |
| Civil | Disputes between individuals or organizations, financial matters, property issues, breach of contract, and other major legal disagreements |
| Family | Family-related legal issues, such as child custody, divorce, property disputes, domestic violence, and the like |
| Probate | Issues related to wills, estates, and the administration of deceased individuals’ assets |
| Criminal | Violations of criminal law, minor offenses, serious crimes, and the legal processing of these matters |
| Housing | Legal disputes related to real estate and property, including evictions, landlord-tenant issues, and property-related litigation |
Why You Might Want the Removal?
Is your legal information publicly available online? If yes, it can have an adverse impact on your privacy and online reputation.
Imagine that you got involved in a legal case many years back. Now you own a business and have worked really hard to build a good life for yourself. Suddenly, you have found out that the information of that specific case is still available online through the Trellis Law platform.
Now, imagine what perception your potential clients are getting after they have come across your court records online!
As you navigate the complexities of today’s digital scenario, you mustn’t want your online image to suffer from your past legal entanglements. Thus, you must know how to remove a court record from Trellis Law if it appears online.
Let’s have a clear idea of why it’s important to remove the court records from the Trellis Law platform.
- Exposes sensitive details – Your court records can expose sensitive details about past legal involvements to anyone who searches for your name online. Your potential employers, clients, and even the general public can have complete access to these crucial details. This can impact your personal and professional life in many ways.
- Appearance on search engine results – Most of these court records will end up appearing in search engine results. Whenever people search for your name online, they are more likely to come across those court details. This means that even those who’re not on the Trellis Law platform can easily find your records.
- Negative public perception – People who work for you or with you, or those who know you a little, might see this information online and form negative perceptions based on it. They may even make decisions based on their perception without knowing the exact story behind your involvement in a court case.
Can You Remove Trellis Court Records?
Yes, you can remove your court records from Trellis Law only if –
- The case is sealed, and you provide a valid court record (sealed cases).
- For unsealed court cases, Trellis allows the search engines and other online platforms to have access to the records unless the case is completely sealed by the court.
Will they charge? No, the platform doesn’t charge a penny for accepting the court record removal process. But Trellis Law will only remove the officially sealed public court cases. To find out the official process of Trellis law removal,click here.
How to Remove Court Records from Trellis Law?
Erasing your digital footprints is a complex process, so as to remove the court records you or your business has.
Now, it’s time to talk about the official process of removing your court records from the Trellis Law platform. Below, we have provided you with a step-by-step guide to remove your court records from the specific platform. Let’s have a look.
Note: The process we’ve mentioned below doesn’t reflect a guaranteed removal. As we’ve highlighted above, Trellis only redacts crucial personal details like name and address for unsealed cases.
Step 1: Identify the Court Record
To navigate to your court record on Trellis, you need to sign up for trellis.law/signup with valid details like your name, email ID, and password.
After you log in, use the platform’s search function to find your specific case. You can search by your name and any other specific detail of the case to narrow your search results.
Once you locate the exact court record that you want to remove, it’s time to understand the record’s actual status.
- Is your record sealed? – You need to identify whether there is an official court order that sealed the case. If it’s a sealed case, you can submit your court record removal request.
- Is the case dismissed or expunged? – You must have proper documentation that proves that the case was dismissed by the court.
- What type of personal information is displayed on Trellis? – Take note of the sensitive details that Trellis has displayed on its platform publicly, such as your name and address.
Step 2: Collect the Essential Information
You need to copy the URL of each court record that you want to remove.
Supporting Documents Required for Court Order Request Removal
You will also need to submit some major supporting documents to verify and ensure the success of your Trellis law removal request. The following is some crucial information that you must collect to proceed with your removal request.
- Government-issued ID to confirm your identity – This official court documentation about your case will help you prove that your removal request complies with the platform’s internal review protocols.
- Case dismissal documentation: You must have the proper documentation of your court case dismissal, such as a dismissal order. This is important to support your request.
- Sealed case records: If the case is sealed, you need to collect the official court order document for the same.
- Personal information: Apart from the above two things, you need to ensure that you provide accurate and valid personal details that clearly reflect your identity and the court case as well.
Step 3: Check if the Court Record Can be Sealed or Expunged
If you want to have an unsealed court case, always check whether the case can be sealed or expunged. To do this, you need to follow some important steps.
- Firstly, you need to check the eligibility of your court case for sealing or expungement. By following the court system, you’ll be able to remove the court record from Trellis.
- If your case is eligible for sealing, you can make the court record invisible to the public by sealing the case.
- If you choose to expunge the case, it will legally destroy the court record.
- Does the process seem complex to you? You can consider consulting with a lawyer to help you determine whether your case qualifies for sealing or expungement and how you can apply for this. Because the process for every case greatly varies by jurisdiction.
Step 4: Submit a Redaction and Removal Request
Now that you have all the documents to submit a removal and redaction request, we’ll provide you with the official steps to do this.
To remove the court record from the Trellis Law platform –
Follow the steps below:
Search for your court case by using Trellis legal search trellis.law/search > search by the case number, your name, the name of the judge, party, counsel, or motion > keep the page open as you’ll need to URL later > open a new tab and visit the trellis removal request page trellis.law/removal-request
You’ll come across a removal request form –
Enter your name and email ID in the mentioned fields > copy and paste the URL of your court record > click ‘Yes’ under the ‘Are these records about you?’ tab
Type the reason in the given text box, regarding why you want to remove that specific court record from Trellis > click on ‘Choose file’ to upload your court case sealing documentation > click on the ‘Submit Request’ button
To redact your personal details from the court record –
You need to open the docket of the case and click on the Request Redaction button at the bottom right side of the page. Below, we’ve mentioned some important steps to submit a redaction request.
Visit the page to access the redaction request form trellis.law/removal-request > enter your name and email address > click on ‘Yes’ to confirm if the court record is about you > write a brief explanation to verify your request (e.g., why you want to remove your personal details from the court record) > attach a court order if the case is sealed > submit the form for every court record individually
Step 5: Contact the Team Directly
Facing problems in submitting your court record removal request to Trellis even after providing all the necessary documents?
For such cases, the only solution is to directly contact the team through their official support channels. You can contact us through these three methods:
- Email – You can email the team directly at support@trellis.law for privacy and support-related matters.
- Customer Support Form – To fill out this form, you need to visit the Trellis Support Contact Page at support.trellis.law/trellis-support on their official website. Here, you need to fill out a contact form with your details and request.
- Phone Number – Apart from the other two methods, you can also contact the team over the phone at (323) 870-7754.
Step 6: Wait for Confirmation
Now, it’s all about waiting!
You need to wait for the removal confirmation from the official team of Trellis Law. They may email you mentioning further proceedings, or they can confirm your request if they receive valid documentation from your end.
Trellis generally processes requests in the order it receives them. If your request is approved by the team, the platform will redact or remove the court record.
How much time can it take? Trellis can process your request within a few weeks. However, it may take more time if there are any documentation verification-related issues.
Step 7: Get the Case Sealed or Expunged
To get your case sealed or expunged, you need to hire an attorney to file the formal petition with the court. You must obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from a state agency as per Florida Rule 2.059(c)(1).
Just like Florida, states like California, Texas, and New York require you to obtain a Certificate of Eligibility from a state agency. The guidelines vary based on states –
Apart from this documentation, you need to collect all the documents related to your case, such as arrest records, court records, and case numbers. For this, you need to be prepared to pay the required case filing fees and attend the hearing if your petition is granted. Similarly, you need to get the document signed by the judge to seal or expunge your court case.
Step 8: Speed up De-indexing from Google
Do you know that Google may take weeks to update its search results even after Trellis retracts or removes your information?
But you can speed up this process by using –
- Google’s Outdated Content Tool
- Submit the Google URL to remove the search results
- De-index your name from the search results
You can submit your search result removal request on search.google.com/search-console/remove-outdated-content or Google’s ‘Results About You’ tool to find the URL and request the removal of the sensitive information.
Note: You need to add a <meta name = “robots” content = “noindex” > tag to the HTML page to remove the content permanently. You can also submit a legal removal request by submitting a Google online form, specifically for legal reasons or privacy concerns.
De-indexing will remove your name from the court record, but the webpage will still be live and indexed. It may take a longer time to come out of the Google search results.
What if Trellis Denies Your Court Record Removal Request?
Trellis law removal is not a guaranteed process!
Trellis can also deny your court record removal request if they find it invalid. So what will you do if Trellis denies your request? Let’s find out.
- Try Again with Your Additional Documentation
If your initial request is denied, it’s more likely that you may not have provided sufficient evidence. For such cases, you need to provide stronger documentation that your case was already dismissed. You also need to provide enough proof that your personal information is being publicly displayed on Trellis.
Clearly stating the problem and resubmitting the request can help you emphasize your privacy concerns and convey the potential risks. It’s a more effective practice to get your request accepted by Trellis.
- Contact the Hosting Provider
Another effective method is to find the hosting provider for Trellis. You can contact the provider and explain your situation to convey any privacy violations that have occurred due to the court record on Trellis.
- File a Legal Complaint
Does your court record contain sensitive information?
If yes, you need to hire an attorney to seek professional help for sealing the case and filing a legal complaint. Once your case gets sealed, Trellis will definitely comply with your court record removal request.
- Consider a Professional Reputation Management Service
A personal reputation management service from a renowned agency can help you boost your court record removal efforts. These services often specialize in removing or suppressing harmful court records. The team can guide you through the process of court record removal and ensure showing your online reputation in the best possible light.
These agencies often have an expert team of skilled online reputation management experts who will develop personalized strategies to remove online information that can damage your digital image.
Common Challenges You Can Face in Removing Court Records from Trellis Law
When you want to remove court order details, you must follow some guidelines to ensure the removal. During the process, it’s quite natural for you to face some major challenges. Identifying these challenges will help you overcome those issues before they create more barriers and make the removal uncertain.
Here are some common challenges you can face while removing the court order from the Trellis Law.
- Ineligibility for Removal
Just like the other public record aggregators, Trellis mostly displays legally accessible information to the public. For such cases, it will be extremely difficult for you to permanently remove the entire case details from the platform unless it’s formally sealed by the court.
- Problem in Proving Your Privacy Risks
There are some potential risk factors related to your privacy. One of the most crucial risks here is that Trellis often displays your name, personal information, and even your home address as your court record details. If you want to redact or obscure your court record online rather than completely removing it, you need to demonstrate those risks well.
- Requirement for Multiple Formal Documents
If you want to permanently delete a court record, the process requires you to submit multiple formal documents. However, you need to get a court order for sealing or removing the court order from Trellis Law. If you don’t have proper documentation, it will decrease your chances of getting the court record completely removed from Trellis Law.
- Possibility of Redaction
Some cases can be unsealed as well. For such cases, the platform is more likely to offer only the redaction services for the sensitive personal details, such as your name and home address. The platform may not completely remove the case record itself, but rather redact it.
- Not All Information Is Subject to Removal
Do you know that, according to Trellis policy and the legal landscape, not all information can be removed and made inaccessible to the public? Yes, the fact is right. The Trellis Law platform primarily removes only that data which has already been sealed or ordered as sealed by a court.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about the process of Trellis law removal.
Q. 1 Can I remove my name from Trellis law search results?
Ans. Yes, you can directly submit a redaction request on Trellis Law. You need to locate the specific case URL on the platform and fill out the Request to Remove Records Form. It requires you to provide your name, email, and the reason why you want to remove the special court record. For sealed cases, you need to include the court record as well. As a courtesy, Trellis may redact your name for unsealed cases. However, the record will remain accessible on their platform.
Q. 2 Can Trellis post dismissed cases?
Ans. Yes, Trellis posts information on dismissed cases because these cases are public record. The platform aggregates the data from different public sources, including state and local courts. A dismissed but unsealed case is more likely to appear in court records on Trellis. A dismissal will not erase the court record from existence; it just showcases the result of the judgement.
Q. 3 Can I contact Google directly to remove Trellis results?
Ans. Yes, definitely. You can connect to Google to request the removal of Trellis Law information. However, you need to provide valid reasons why you want to be removed. You need to mention that the Trellis Law information about your court records contains sensitive personal information or violates privacy. But you cannot directly request to delete the information from Trellis L itself. You need to submit the removal request through Google’s Personal Content and Product Policies or its Legal Help Center by providing the specific URLs for the pages that you want to remove.
Q. 4 What happens after I submit a court order removal request from Trellis?
Ans. Your request will undergo an evaluation to confirm your eligibility and the accuracy of the information provided by you. The process can take several weeks, and the team will communicate with you about the updates via email. Trellis Law will accept your request if you’ve a valid court record to remove the case or redact your personal details for unsealed cases.
Q. 5 How does removing a record from Trellis law affect my legal standing in future court proceedings?
Ans. It won’t affect your legal standing in future court proceedings. Always remember that you intend to protect your online reputation, not to alter legal facts and outcomes. Removing a court record from Trellis is just about controlling how you’re perceived online.
Q. 6 Is Trellis law safe?
Ans. The website is completely safe for users who are conducting legal research. But the real concern is about the privacy of people involved in court cases, as Trellis often discloses the data and even the crucial details of a court case, such as the names and home addresses of the people involved. So, publicly available court records can unintentionally expose sensitive details.
Conclusion
Having your court records accessible to the worldwide internet users is no sort of casual matter! From damaging your online reputation to manipulating public perception, it can have a serious impact on an individual.
As Trellis Law is one of the major online platforms that makes your court records accessible to internet users and often publishes personal details as well, you need to prioritize the Trellis Law removal process.
We hope that our comprehensive guide will help you know the most effective ways through which you can remove your court records from the platform, or at least redact your name from the court records. However, the process often ensures success with professional assistance. You can seek relevant services from a reputable online reputation agency to ensure the success of the court record removal process.
