Miscellaneous

This week in public records: Secret Juries

Posted on August 02, 2008
The names of jurors are public records, according to a ruling by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which countered the actions of a Pennsylvania federal judge who kept the juror names from the media in a high-profile trial. Apparently, the 3rd Circuit believes that’s not the norm in federal court, but the reality [...

New York State Employees Online

Posted on August 01, 2008
The Empire Center for New York State Policy has begun to build databases to make New York government more transparent. Just today, the Center’s project, SeeThruNY unveiled a database of names and salaries for more than 263,000 employees of New York’s state government...

CriminalSearches - A free criminal records resource

Posted on July 29, 2008
Is it a tool, or will you be fooled? That all depends on how familiar you are with searching criminal records. Read my review of this criminal records search guide if you’d like to learn more about how criminal records are maintained. The free people finder sites offer more details for a fee, but this [...

This week in public records: Massachusetts - Pennsylvania - New Mexico

Posted on July 23, 2008
The Massachusetts Supreme Court is proposing new procedures that, if adopted, would curtail the available personal information in all court files. The court is accepting public comments on its Interim Guidelines for the Protection of Personal Identifying Data in Publicly Accessible Court Documents...

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The Conversation Between Attorneys and Investigators

Posted on July 13, 2008
Anthony Pellicano may have supplanted Sam Spade as the most widely recognized private investigator, albeit Sam was fictional, although Pellicano seems so. The National Law Journal hyperbolic headline, Christensen Case a ‘Wake-Up’ Call for Lawyers on Use of Private Eyes, suggests that the Pellicano/Christensen matter is stirring an otherwise somnolent crowd, causing attorneys to be [...

This week in public records: North Dakota - California - Tennessee - Kentucky - Missouri - Alaska

Posted on July 12, 2008
Juror names and jury questionnaires are public records and subject to disclosure even if a trial judge has made promises to the contrary. At least in North Dakota. A ruling by that state’s Supreme Court, cited by the Associated Press, rebuffed a trial court’s claim that the records in one case were sealed out [...

How To Find the New Web Page

Posted on July 07, 2008
I don’t regularly check the currency of the links in prior postings, but you may have realized that many links on the Internet are good one day and dead the next. One way to find the new page is to backspace to the URL, deleting the subdirectories...

Database of the Day: National Motorcycle Accident Reports

Posted on July 06, 2008
Search the Motorcycle Accident Reports Database by state and county for all 50 states, covering 2002-2006. The Gannett News Service pooled government and proprietary data to create the reports.The accident reports don’t identify the parties to the accident, but they list the date and time, place, nature of the accident, whether it was a fatality, [...

This week in public records: California - Pennsylvania - North Dakota - Arizona

Posted on July 03, 2008
Government agencies in California can’t assign control of records that would otherwise be public records to a private entity. SB 1696 enrolled. New Law Allows Greater Access to Government Contracts, PolitickerCA.com, Adam Keigwin. A Pennsylvania open records blog reports that the recent overhaul of the Pennsylvania Right To Know Law includes a requirement that records [...

Student Directories for People Finder Searches

Posted on June 15, 2008
Private investigators and Internet researchers may have to look beyond public records and personal information databases to develop profiles of students. Student directories, which can list a student’s full name, email, field of study, address and year of graduation, confirm attendance and suggest other research avenues...

This week in public records: Alaska Social Security number protection

Posted on June 14, 2008
Alaska is purported to have instituted one of the strongest identity theft protection laws through HB 25. Although the bill sets out restrictions on the collection, sale and distribution to third parties of Social Security numbers, the exceptions should cover the normal course of business for private investigators...

Database of the Day: Idaho Pending and Closed Court Cases

Posted on June 03, 2008
Idaho court records index for all 44 counties is online at the Idaho State Judiciary, Supreme Court Data Repository. Search by partial name for records from 1995 forward (some older cases may be available, according to the court Web site). The search form suggests that date of birth is a required field, but I found [...

Fee Increase for Recording Documents in West Virginia

Posted on May 30, 2008
(Special contribution by Michael Sankey of BRB Publications, Inc.) Effective June 8, 2008, the recording fee for each document recorded in West Virginia recording offices will increase by $5.00. There is no fee increase for document searches, copies or certifications...

Changes to Criminal Records Access in Vermont

Posted on May 30, 2008
(Special contribution by Michael Sankey of BRB Publications, Inc.) Effective July 1, 2008, significant changes are scheduled to take place in Vermont regarding criminal record access at the courts, from the Vermont Criminal Information Center (VCIC), and what will be reported on the VCIC record...

California AG Interprets Public Records Act to Allow Real Property Addresses On the Internet

Posted on May 29, 2008
A little noticed but potentially significant (for public records researchers) California Attorney General opinion was released a week ago. The opinion upends the almost universal interpretation of the Public Records Act by county Assessors pertaining to disseminating property addresses on the Internet...

FTC Permanently Halts ?Pretexting? Scheme

Posted on May 29, 2008
Defendants Barred From Obtaining or Selling Consumers? Phone Records to Third Parties The Federal Trade Commission has put a permanent halt to an operation that allegedly obtained consumers? confidential phone records without their knowledge or consent and sold them to third parties...

FTC Reaches Settlement With Investigators Involved In The HP Spy Scheme

Posted on May 29, 2008
The FTC reached an agreement on Wednesday for $600,000 in settlements and judgments against several private investigators others involved in the Hewlett-Packard Co. boardroom scandal. The FTC settlement imposed a $67,000 penalty against Matthew DePante, his father, Joseph DePante, and their now-defunct company, Action Research Group Inc...

Database of the Day: New York Voter Registration Lookup

Posted on May 28, 2008
It’s the season when government agencies attend to their voter registration online access. Election time presents a good opportunity to call people for information gathering. I’ll leave the details to your imagination, but in the interim check the New York Voter Registration Search at the NYS Voter site, operated by the New York Board of [...

Wisconsin motor vehicle records can be public records

Posted on May 26, 2008
Law enforcement agencies may release motor vehicle reports that they obtained in the course of an investigation in response to a public records request, according to an opinion issued by the Wisconsin Attorney General. Van Hollen reasoned that the DPPA identifies certain permissible uses for which a state motor vehicle department (a “DMV”) may disclose specified [...

Impersonation to obtain personal information snares researchers and private investigators

Posted on May 26, 2008
Impersonating someone to a government agency or hiring another to carry out this ruse could result in a criminal prosecution. The operators of BNT Investigations, which was not licensed in Washington state, where they were based, plead guilty to crimes that carry a minimum 2-year sentence...

New York AG Exacts Fine from US Search

Posted on May 25, 2008
Data reseller USSearch.com will pay $250,000 for accessing and selling non-public personally identifiable information obtained from credit bureaus. The New York Attorney General determined that US Search illegally accessed the consumer information more than 2,385 times...

Database of the Day: Domestic Partnership Registry

Posted on May 16, 2008
The recent California Supreme Court decision overturning California’s law banning same-sex marriage as unconstitutional provides a timely discussion of the domestic partnership registry. California, among other states and municipalities provides a means for couples — variously, same or opposite sex in civil unions or domestic partnerships — to register their relationship...

This week in public records: California - Florida - Ohio

Posted on May 13, 2008
It looks like the California Assembly bill that would have created an Internet Domestic Violence Registry has excised that feature from the recent draft. The California Sheriffs’ Association has announced that VINELink will soon include all California counties, not just the 17 that are currently at that site...

This week in public records: California - Missouri - New Jersey

Posted on May 11, 2008
The Marin Independent Journal prevailed in its 2 year tussle with the county to obtain county employees salaries, finally decided by the 1st District Court of Appeal. And the newspaper has made county salary data available at its Web site. Salaries of earners over $100, 000 can be searched by name or agency at the [...

Database of the Day: Wisconsin Voter Registration Lookup

Posted on April 26, 2008
Find a Wisconsin voter’s address, voter registration status, party affiliation, data of registration and voting history for current and inactive Wisconsin voters. The search requires the input of the first and last name and date of birth. In a prior roundup of government sites with voter registration lookups, I forgot to mention the National Association of [...

Database of the Day: Medicare Service Providers

Posted on April 16, 2008
If you’re researching background on health care providers take a look at the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System database. You’ll find any type of medical service provider who accepts Medicare or Medicaid. Search by partial name, city, state or zip code...

Database of the Day: New Hampshire Offender Search

Posted on April 10, 2008
The New Hampshire Department of Corrections Offender Locater database can be searched by partial last name. The inmate search covers inmates currently in a Department of Correction facility. Results include Date of Birth, Prisoner ID#, Booked Date, Current Parole Date, Maximum Parole Date, Facility, Case ID, Offense Date, Court Docket and Conviction Crime...

The Search Systems Free Criminal Records Search Guide

Posted on April 07, 2008
Pacific Information Resources, Inc., familiarly known as Search Systems, has released a guide to researching criminal records. The document is viewable online and can also be downloaded as a PDF. Search Systems provides links to commercial and government-operated databases of public record information on the Internet...

Database of the Day: Illinois Physician Profiles and License Actions

Posted on April 06, 2008
Review the professional and disciplinary background of 44,000 physicians and surgeons licensed to practice in Illinois. Search the database by doctor’s partial first name, partial last name, city, specialty keyword or hospital affiliation. Select a physician’s name to see specialty certifications, legal and disciplinary actions for the past 5 years, and resume details...

This week in public records: Pennsylvania - New Jersey - North Dakota

Posted on March 30, 2008
The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania is formulating new policies regarding public access to court case files. The Notice from the court highlights the proposed removal of Social Security numbers and bank account numbers from future court files...

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