How I Get Access To Court Documents?

Is there a web site? Can I go to my local courthouse and ask to see court documents like search warrants? If I am not able to get this information then the question is how did this blogger get the information? Is he/she in a position of trust within the legal system or has a "friend" that holds such a position? If the Angels had been waiting, btw this only happens in the movies, and a police officer had been shot would the blogger be guilty of an offence before the act.

Blogger leaked order to raid Hells Angels TheStar.com - News - Blogger leaked order to raid Hells Angels
April 07, 2007
Peter Edwards
STAFF REPORTER

An Internet blogger leaked a confidential court document on a massive police bust of the Hells Angels biker gang clubhouses 11 days before tactical officers launched their dawn raids this week, the Star has learned.

Leaked on the Internet was a judge's order allowing federal authorities to seize the Hells Angels' fortified clubhouse on Eastern Ave. in Toronto, which was home to the largest Hells Angels chapter in Canada.

"It's very shocking," said Toronto-area organized crime expert Antonio Nicaso, who has lectured police around the world. "That could have jeopardized the whole operation. It can be dangerous for the informer. It can be dangerous for everyone."

Despite police comments that they needed extreme secrecy to protect officers, hints of the upcoming raids and a digital file of a court order allowing authorities to secretly seize the Eastern Ave. clubhouse were posted on at least five Internet sites, including one for true crime aficionados, on March 25. The Web postings were still available yesterday. "It could be a mistake or it could be something that was done with malice,'' said Nicaso, adding it would be unfair to conclude the bikers have a mole in policing or the courts. "I think they have to investigate because things like that are not normal. I think it deserves a full investigation."

Steve Skurka, a Toronto lawyer who defended two Woodbridge Hells Angels in a previous trial, said he's never heard of anything like this. "Certainly it's unprecedented. ... Search warrants are supposed to be conducted by surprise."

Skurka said he expects the leak to be "highly significant" for both the defence and the police.

Asked how the defence might view the leak, he said "it raises questions about the order."

For a full day after the raids began at 6 a.m. Thursday across southern Ontario, New Brunswick and Vancouver, police said they couldn't release much information because they wanted to ensure officers' safety.

The 18-month operation, called Project Develop, involved some 400 officers and relied on information from a Hells Angels' member who had become a police agent. His identity has not been released and he's now under police protection.

Secrecy is essential in organized crime investigations to protect officers and informers, Nicaso said.

"That's bizarre," Nicaso said of the Internet leak. "The whole operation depends on secrecy."

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