BRB's Public Records Blog

Tribal Courts

Tribal Courts represent a unique legal system that works within the separate sovereignty of the Indian nations within the United States.  The key point here is the case information in the tribal courts is NOT found in any level within the rest of the courts in the U.S.

When performing background investigations, searching Tribal Courts is a must for any obvious Native American name.  Also any particular cases which may be brought against any gambling facilities or casinos.  These court systems encapsulate criminal, civil, summary judgments and similar cases.  Below are several excellent sources to find tribal courts.

• National Tribal Justice Resource Center
• Tribal Court Clearinghouse
• A listing of Tribal Courts is also provided by www.versuslaw.com

Copyrighted excerpt from a new book, Business Background Investigations, by Cynthia Hetherington.

Minnesota Trial Court Online Public Access

Minnesota offers the Trial Court Public Access (MPA) at http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/default.aspx. Search statewide or by county. Records available include criminal, civil, family, and probate. Searches can be performed using a case number or by name.

But there are a number of caveats - certain publicly-accessible case records cannot be viewed online.

Electronic copies of public documents filed by parties also cannot be viewed online at this time. Name searches for criminal case records will not return pre-conviction criminal records.  A statewide case inquiry may exclude district courts that have not yet converted to the system. Also, the public access terminals found at the courthouses do not use this system. For example, party street address and name searches on criminal pre-conviction case records are publicly accessible and available at the courthouse, but not online. The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) also prevents the state from displaying harassment and domestic abuse case records online, but these are available at the courthouse. Comment fields for all case types are not available online but are available at the courthouse. Online users are not notified when such public data is restricted from online viewing.

The bottom line is the public access terminals found at courthouses are still the most accurate searching locations. In Judicial Districts (arranged by number and often covering several counties) many court's public access terminals contain court records for that entire district. The online system is supplemental at best.

The state provides free access to Appellate and Supreme Court opinions at www.courts.state.mn.us/?page=1650. An approved bail bond agent list search is also free.

Ramsey County MN Recorder's Office Moving

The Ramsey County (St. Paul metro area) Recorder and Register of Titles, including the property and tax records department, is moving at the end of November. The new Address is 90 Plato Blvd, St Paul MN 55107.  The phone number (651-266-2000) will remain the same. The location of archived records (prior to 1993) has not yet been determined; they may stay at the old building location.

North Carolina Courts Search Fees

You may have noticed that search fees charged by the Superior-District Courts in North Carolina have increased recently. A statute enacted in the 2007 legislative session raised many court filing fees and included specific text regarding criminal record searching. Most if not all clerks are now abiding by the mandated fee of $15.00 per name for criminal record searches. Most courts do not provide search services for civil records; visitors or retrievers must use public access terminal to look up record data. However, most of the few courts that do charge for civil name searches increased their fee to $15.00 also, even though civil record search fees were not mentioned in the statute.

The statute also mandated that copy fee is $2.00 for the first copy and $.25 for copy thereafter. Those searchers who have purchased a copy key and use the self service machines still pay only $.25 for the first copy.

Georgia's Driving Records Fee to Increase

Effective October 1, 2007, Georgia raised the fees for obtaining online driving records. The Georgia Technology Authority is the authorized agency that processes requests. The fees are now as follows: $6.00 per request for each three-year MVR request (was $5.00); $8.00 per request for each seven-year MVR request (was $7.00). New requesters must complete several applications and sets of user agreement forms. For further information, visit: https://online.dds.ga.gov

Article from BRB Publications newsletter The Public Record Update©

National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)

Military service records are kept by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) which is under the jurisdiction of the National Archives and Records Administration. The address is The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63132, fax: 314-801-9195, www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/

The military record sought is known as the DD-214 which is the document that military personnel receive when discharged from the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corp, or Coast Guard.

The request form used to obtain a DD-214 is known as Form SF-180.  The NPRC will release the data if the veteran (or next-of-kin if the veteran is deceased) authorizes the release of information.  The authorization must 1) be in writing; 2) specify what additional information or copies are requested that NPRC may release; and 3) include the signature of the veteran or next-of-kin.  Otherwise, a request is treated as a FOIA request and a limited amount of information will be released.

Using Form SF-180

This form can be requested in writing from the NPRC or can be downloaded as a pdf file. The form and instructions are found at www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/standard-form-180.html.  Also, the SF-180 can be obtained from the Department of Defense, Federal Information Centers, local Veterans Administration offices, and from veterans' service organizations.

Use of the SF-180 is not mandatory as long as the request is in writing and signed by the requester. But include as much of the following as possible - The veteran's complete name used while in service, the service number or SSN, branch of service, and dates of services if known. The DOB is helpful. If the records were part of the 1973 fire, then including the place of entry, discharge, and last unit of assignment is quite helpful.

The turnaround time for most requests is about 10 days plus mail time. However, requests that involve reconstruction efforts due to the 1973 fire, or older records which require extensive search efforts, may take 4 weeks to 6 months to complete.

About the DD-214

There are actually a number of different copies of the DD-214 with different sets of information. A discharged service person receives Copy 1, which has the least information. Copy 4 gives the nature of the discharge - General, Honorable, Dishonorable, Undesirable - and details of service. There are codes that characterize the service record including SPD (Separation Program Designator), SPN (Separation Program Number) and RE (Re-Entry).  For a discharged service person to get Copy 4, the person must actually ask for it.

Per Les Rosen, author of The Safe Hiring Manual:   "In order to avoid potential EEOC claims, an employer should treat a dishonorable discharge in the same fashion as a criminal conviction.  A general discharge or undesirable discharge may or may not have any bearing on employment and generally should not be the basis of an employment decision."

"The best advice may be to use the basic DD-214 to confirm a person was in fact in the military, then ask for the names of references from their military service to obtain job-related information that would be relevant to an employment decision."

Article from BRB Publications newsletter The Public Record Update©

Pre-Employment Screeners Conference

The Pre-Employment Screeners Conference will take place on November 11-13, 2007, at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater, FL.  This national conference pulls 400 -500 people including an estimated 40 -50 vendors.  BRB Publications will be exhibiting at the conference. For more information visit http://search4crime.com/.

New Sourcebook to Public Record Information Available

The 9th edition of The Sourcebook to Public Record Information is now available from BRB Publications.  "The Sourcebook" provides the competitive edge for successful background investigations and public record searching.  This extensive resource profiles over 20,000 government agencies including county courts, county recorders offices, state record depositories, state occupational licensing boards and federal courts and agencies.  More than a contact directory, The Sourcebook details, access requirements/restrictions, online availability, all fees, office hours, and more. Please click here for more information.

Maricopa County, AZ -- Public Record Access Terminals

Maricopa County has re-instated the public access terminals for justice court cases. And, unlike in the past, they are now available at these regional court sites, the downtown Justice Center, Downtown Superior Court Location, Northeast Regional Court Center, Northwest Regional Court Center, San Tan Regional Court Center, and Southeast Adult Court.  Be aware that the terminals do not have a print feature, users must make notes.

The Justice Court iCIS includes:

Docket - ability to view case information as a report

The information provided by the Superior Court iCIS includes:

Main Case Info - Primary case information - Plaintiffs, Defendants,   Attorneys, Judicial Officers, All Other Parties to a Case, AKA Information

Case Chronology - History of all Bonds, Dockets, Events, Hearings and Judgments in a case and ability to view scanned document

Charges

Docket - ability to view any documents that have been scanned

Judgments and Orders


Thanks to Rich R. Robertson Consulting and Investigations, www.rrrobertson.com  for this updated information.

The Use of Military Records for Employment

Posted with permission from ESR Newsletter and Legal Update, a newsletter by Lester S. Rosen Esq. and Employment Screening Resources (ESR), www.esr.com

With the national focus on the military with the events in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is likely that employers will receive applications from those with military experience. Many employers find that applicants with military service provide critical skills and training that are extremely valuable in the workforce.

The standard way to verify military records is to ask an applicant for a copy of his or her DD-214. This is the common term for the document given to all members of the military who are discharged from the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine Corp, or Coast Guard. The "DD" stand for Department of Defense. The short name is "discharge papers."

For employers who want more than a cursory confirmation of military service, the story goes much deeper. There are actually a number of different copies of the DD-214 with different pieces of information. A discharged service person receives copy 1, which has the least information. The copy with the codes that gives the nature of the discharge, i.e., General, Honorable, Dishonorable, etc. - and details of service is actually on copy 4. The codes characterize the service record of a veteran. The codes are known as SPD (Separation Program Designator), SPN (Separation Program Number) and RE (Re-Entry) codes. Other issues with access and use of the DD-214 are listed below.

1. For a discharged service person to get copy 4, the person must actually ask for it.

2. If a person did not ask for the copy 4, or wants to hide some embarrassing fact, then the person may only present copy 1 to an employer.

3. If the employer wants copy 4 and the applicant does not have it, then there can be a problem acquiring and understanding the copy. The employer can have the applicant sign a Form 180 and send it to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. However, there can be a wait  up to six months. Some records are no longer available due to a very destructive fire at the St. Louis facility in 1973. [footnote: Although the government has reconstructed some of the records by use of other military documents. For details about these military records, see www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain_copies/veterans_service_records.html]

4. A note of caution. Even after getting a copy 4, there is the issue of translating the military codes. There are websites that provide a complete list of the codes and definitions. However, should civilian employers use these codes for hiring decisions, since the codes were meant for internal military use only? The various codes may represent items that have no foundation or were the result of clerical errors, or are simply not related to job performance.

When making hiring decisions, employers should be very careful before attempting to draw conclusions from various codes on the DD-214. Using the codes on the DD-214 to infer conduct in order to make hiring decisions could result in claims of discrimination, or decisions being made based upon irrelevant or unsubstantiated criteria. The situation can be further complicated if the employers insist that an applicant first obtains a complete DD-214 and then rejects the applicant. That record request could potentially be viewed as evidence of discrimination.

An employer should also exercise caution in using a discharge as a basis of an employment decision. There are four common types of military discharges: honorable, general, undesirable, and dishonorable. Of these, only a dishonorable discharge is given as a result of a factual adjudication equivalent to a criminal trial. In order to avoid potential EEOC claims, an employer should treat a dishonorable discharge in the same fashion as a criminal conviction, taking into account the various factors reviewed in Chapter 11. A general discharge or undesirable discharge may or may not have any bearing on employment and generally should not be the basis of an employment decision.

The best advice may be to use the basic DD-214 to confirm a person was in fact in the military, then ask for the names of references from their military service to obtain job-related information that would be relevant to an employment decision.

For more information on effective pre-employment screening refer to The Safe Hiring Manual by Lester S. Rosen, ESQ.