Legal

Terms of Service

Effective Date: April 17, 2025  ·  Last Updated: April 17, 2025

Please read these Terms of Service ("Terms") carefully before using CourtWatch.live ("the Site," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using this Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1. About CourtWatch.live

CourtWatch.live is a free, nonpartisan public accountability database that aggregates and displays publicly available court records sourced from official government portals under Florida Statute §907.043 (the Citizens' Right-to-Know Act) and other applicable public records laws. Our mission is to make public information easier to find, read, and understand — not to editorialize, assign blame, or allege misconduct.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By using this Site, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age, that you have read and understood these Terms, and that you agree to be legally bound by them. If you are using the Site on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

3. Nature of the Data

All data displayed on CourtWatch.live is sourced exclusively from official public records. We do not create, fabricate, or editorialize data. Specifically:

• All case records are sourced from the Citizens' Right-to-Know Act Annual Reports and official county court portals.
• Judge information reflects publicly available court assignments and is not an accusation of wrongdoing.
• The judge shown on a case profile is currently the assigned case judge and may not be the judge who made the original pretrial release decision. We are actively working to surface that distinction accurately.
• Data may be incomplete, delayed, or subject to change as court records are updated.
• Nothing on this Site constitutes legal advice.

4. Permitted Use

You may use CourtWatch.live for lawful, personal, educational, journalistic, and civic purposes. You may not use this Site to:

• Harass, threaten, or harm any individual identified in the data
• Engage in stalking or targeted harassment of any judge, defendant, or other individual
• Scrape, copy, or reproduce large portions of the database for commercial use without written permission
• Misrepresent data from this Site or present it out of context in a misleading way
• Violate any applicable federal, state, or local law
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of the Site or its infrastructure

5. Accuracy and Limitations

We make every effort to ensure the accuracy of data presented on this Site. However, we make no warranties — express or implied — regarding the completeness, accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information. Court records may be sealed, expunged, amended, or otherwise unavailable through public portals. Users are encouraged to independently verify any information before relying on it for any purpose.

CourtWatch.live is not affiliated with any government agency, court system, law enforcement body, or political organization.

6. Intellectual Property

The underlying court data is public record and not owned by CourtWatch.live. However, the design, layout, codebase, written descriptions, methodology, and organization of this Site are the intellectual property of CourtWatch.live and its operators. You may not reproduce or distribute the Site's design or structure without written permission.

7. Donations

Donations made through this Site are voluntary contributions to support the operation and expansion of CourtWatch.live. Donations are not tax-deductible. All donations are processed securely through Stripe. CourtWatch.live does not store payment information. Donations are non-refundable except in cases of documented billing error.

8. Third-Party Services

This Site uses third-party services including but not limited to:

• Stripe — payment processing
• Supabase — database infrastructure
• Netlify — hosting and deployment
• Loops — email communications
• Anthropic (Claude API) — AI-assisted data drafting and internal tooling

Use of these services is subject to their respective terms and privacy policies. CourtWatch.live is not responsible for the practices of any third-party service provider.

10. Disclaimer of Warranties

THIS SITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS.

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, COURTWATCH.LIVE AND ITS OPERATORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THIS SITE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ANY CLAIM ARISING FROM THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL NOT EXCEED $100.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless CourtWatch.live and its operators from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or in any way connected with your access to or use of the Site, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party rights.

13. Privacy

Your use of this Site is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. Please review our Privacy Policy to understand our practices.

14. SMS Communications

CourtWatch.live may offer SMS notifications in the future. SMS functionality is not currently active. When enabled, message and data rates may apply. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP.

15. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any dispute arising from these Terms shall be resolved exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Orange County, Florida.

16. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Your continued use of the Site after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the new Terms.

17. Contact

For questions about these Terms, please contact us at hello@courtwatch.live.

CourtWatch.live is an independent public interest project. It is not affiliated with any government agency, political party, or law enforcement organization.