How to read a public record

A public record is a document a government, a court, or a company has been required to put in a file. It is not automatically true in every line. It is a primary source: dated, attributed, and available for anyone else to read.

What we mean

Court dockets and judgments. Legislative texts and votes. Gazettes and official notices. Company registries, annual reports, and securities filings where they exist. Procurement notices. Minutes of a public board. Freedom-of-information releases, with the exemptions still visible.

A filing proves that someone filed it, on a date, in a venue. It does not prove that every allegation in the filing is true. An indictment is a charge. A judgment is a finding. We will say which one we have.

How we use it

We quote the operative language, not the lawyer’s covering email. We name the court or the registry. We note what is missing — a sealed exhibit, a redaction, a document that exists only as a screenshot. If we cannot see the file, we do not pretend we have.

Tips that point to a record, rather than to a rumor, are the most useful: tips@lapress.org.