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 West Virginia, court papers or documents filed with the clerk of the court during a civil lawsuit are generally considered public records and are accessible to the public. These documents include the initial petition or complaint, the defendant's answer, motions, responses, and other relevant filings such as property inventories in divorce cases and reports from social or home studies in child custody disputes. However, not all documents created during a lawsuit are filed with the court; some may be exchanged between the parties and their attorneys without being entered into the court record. It's important to note that while most court documents are public, there are exceptions for sensitive information, such as documents involving juveniles, certain family law issues, and sealed records, which are not accessible to the public. Access to court records in West Virginia is governed by state statutes and rules of the court, which outline the procedures for obtaining these documents and any associated costs.