Are Lost or Closed Records in the Newspaper?

If there is a court case that “can’t be found” or a record that is “closed,” remember that there might be some account of it in a local newspaper. I’ve got one 1870 era case where the packet of court papers is “gone.” One option for me is to search the newspapers of when the case was heard and when judgement/sentence was issued in hopes that the newspaper mentioned something. Always keep in mind that there might be a newspaper account of an event as well. And while court records can sometimes be sealed, newspapers are a little more difficult to control in that fashion.