Court papers, or papers of the court, is a general reference to the documents filed with the clerk of the court during the course of a civil lawsuit. These documents are generally accessible to the public and include the petition or complaint that initiated the lawsuit, the answer filed in response to the lawsuit, motions seeking certain types of relief from the court, responses opposing such motions, and other documents such as each party’s inventory of the property owned by the parties to a divorce and a social or home study analyzing parenting and child custody qualifications in a child custody dispute. Some documents created during a lawsuit are not filed with the court and are therefore not included in the papers of the court.

In California, court papers or documents filed with the clerk of the court during a civil lawsuit are generally public records and accessible to the public. These documents include the initial petition or complaint, answers, motions, responses, and other relevant filings such as property inventories in divorce cases and studies related to child custody. However, not all documents created during a lawsuit are filed with the court; some, like certain correspondence or draft documents, may not be part of the official court record. California law provides for public access to court records, but there are exceptions for confidential or sealed documents, such as those involving juvenile cases, certain family law matters, and documents that are protected by privacy laws or court orders.