BRB's Public Records Blog

Battle Over NC Court Criminal Record Access Continues

As previously reported, the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) ceased providing the licensees of the ACIS Daily Criminal Extract with the criminal case details. Court details now must be accessed in person or by using an old, antiquated technology system called The Green Screen. This move altered the way tens of thousands of criminal records are accessed in North Carolina.
 
In response to the NCAOC's mandate, several vendors filed suit in the Wake County, NC. The case is 11 CVS 1548 COURT VENTURES INC. and HIREASE INC (plaintiffs)   v. NORTH CAROLINA ADMINISTRTAIVE OFFICE OF THE COURTS and JOHN W. SMITH, II (in his capacity as Director of the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts) (defendants).
 
An point of contention in this court case has led to the introduction of legislation in North Carolina - Who is the custodian of these court records? Evidently the county clerks are saying that the AOC is the custodian of the records, and the AOC is saying the county clerks are the custodians. Once it is determined who is the custodian, then the case will likely focus on the contractual obligation to provide public records.
Below are further details.
 
Referencing CVS 1548, in section 61 of the NCAOC's First Defense Response, the defendants deny that they are the custodians of any public information in the ACIS database, although they admit they maintain the database. The defendants allege that the 100 clerks of courts are the custodians of the records. In Section 5 the AOC denies that "this is a public record action in that the relationship between plaintiffs and AOC are governed by contracts entered into pursuant to N.C Gen Stat. § 7A-109."
 
On April 6, House Bill 859l regarding AOC/Custody and Availability of Court Records was filed in the NC State legislature. The bill is meant to "...clarify that the Administrative Office of the Courts is a custodian of court records...those court records are a public record..."  The bill re-writes portions of section 7A-109.
 
The phone number for the Wake County Clerk of Court is 919-792-4000. The current version of the House Bill is viewable at:
www.ncleg.net/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H859v1.pdf.  

Free Copies of 2011 PRRN Membership Directory for Special Distribution

While supplies last, BRB Publications is providing copies of the 2011 PRRN Membership Directory free of charge to interested organizations for distribution at meetings or conventions. Public Record Retriever Network (PRRN) is the organization that set the first Industry Standards for the retrieval of public record documents and whose members abide by a Code of Professional Conduct.
 
The Membership Directory is 240 pages and organized in two sections. The first shows retrievers by state and county, indicating on-site researchers who visit courthouses and recorder's offices. The second section provides a full profile of each member.
 
This offer is only for mass distribution by organizations. If you are interested, please reach Mike Sankey at 800-929-3811 or mike@brbpublications.com.

New Hamphsire Court Reorganization and the New Circuit Courts

A bill working its way through the New Hampshire Legislature that will establish a new Circuit Court system to consolidate the existing 32 District Courts, 10 Probate Courts, and 25 Family Courts.  House Bill 609 was passed by the House will hit the Senate Floor on April 20th. If approved, it will be sent to the Finance Committee and if the Senate version of the bill has no changes then it will be forwarded to the Governor for signature. Most insider in NH expect no changes.
To see the bill, visit www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/quick_search.html

The purpose of the reorganization is to save management money and to operate more efficiently. Overall there are now 42 clerks and 10 registrars of probate positions that would be converted to 18 clerks, 3 deputy clerks, and 23 court assistants. 8 full-time positions would be eliminated.  Under the new rules, each county will have a Circuit Court with three Divisions: District, Family, and Probate. All current District Court locations will remain open. In most counties, the probate case records will be maintained in the District Court located at the county seat. 

The District Division will continue to handle misdemeanor, traffic, civil actions under $25,000, small claims, and landlord-tenant cases. The Probate Division will still have jurisdiction over wills, trusts and estates, guardianships and involuntary commitment proceedings, adoptions, name changes and partition of real estate. Family Division cases include divorce/parenting action, child support, domestic violence petitions, guardianship of minors, termination of parental rights, abuse/neglect cases, children in need of services, juvenile delinquency, and some adoptions.

At present, District Courts are organized by town and not by county. Each District Court maintains its own database of records and most case records have not been placed into electronic format; they are in paper format. The new law does not provide for a centralized Circuit Court repository for the existing or future District records. The assumption is that a search of District level records in a county will still require a search at each of the District Divisions in that county, unless the Circuit Clerk decides to consolidate the records. Also keep in mind there can be District Courts that cover portions of two counties. For example the Franklin District Court jurisdiction includes towns from two counties - Merrimack and Belknap.

In NH the Superior Court is the court of general jurisdiction and handles criminal, domestic relations, civil cases over $25,000, and provides the only forum in this state for trial by jury. Also in NH, if a Small Claim case is over $1500, the defendant may request a jury trial. If such a request is filed, the case is transferred to the county Superior Court.

New Jersey Begins Release of New Driver License Document

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission recently announced the phase-in of their new Enhanced Digital Driver's License. The new document is more secure and made with tamper-evident material. One noticeable change is that the cardholder name is formatted on two lines, the last name on the top and first name below. Also the position of the photo moved for drivers under 21 years of age. The larger photo is still on the left side but now half way up the document.  Starting in 2012 after the MVC computer system is fully implemented, drivers will be given the option to renew either by mail or over the web.
 
See www.state.nj.us/mvc/PressReleases/archives/2011/051111.htm for further details.

Oklahoma Okmulgee County Combines District Courts

Last month the Okmulgee County 24th Judicial District Court closed its Branch Court in Henryetta and moved the operation including closed case files to the main branch in Okmulgee. The District Court handles Felony, Misdemeanor, Civil, Eviction, Small Claims, Probate cases. Previously, an on-site records search necessitated visiting both locations. 

Riverside California Courts' Changing All Phone Numbers

During May and June, the Riverside Superior Court in California is transitioning to a new phone system which will require all court telephone numbers to be changed. At present the Court has changed only a handful numbers, but many will be changed over the next several weeks.
 
The Court is maintaining a web page that shows the old and new numbers as they are changed. See this list at http://riverside.courts.ca.gov/transitionphonelist.pdf

Vermont Secretary of State Moving Into New Facility

The Vermont Secretary of State is moving to a new facility on June 3rd and 4th. The new address is 128 State Street, Montpelier VT 05609-1104. This move affects the following Divisions: Corporations, UCC, Elections, and the Office of Professional Regulation. Although the agency will remain open on Friday the 3rd, some Divisions may not be reachable by phone. However, the main switchboard number - 802-828-2363 - will be functional and is suggested as a "way in." The goal of the agency is to be fully operational on Monday, June 6th. 
 
Note that the State Archives, which is part of the Secretary of State agency, previously moved to 1078 U.S. Rte. 2, Middlesex, Montpelier, VT 05633-7701. Interestingly, the "town" of Middlesex where this agency is located does not have a Post Office so mail must be addressed to Montpelier, but must include Middlesex in the address.

Reminder - SSNs Soon to be Issued Randomly

The Social Security Administration has decided it will no longer issue new SSNs with a logistical sequence of numbering that indicate the state of issue and year of issue.
 
Effective June 25, 2011, all new SSNs will be issued on a purely random basis. The SSA will eliminate the geographical significance of the first three digits, currently referred to as the area number (assignment to individuals in specific states). The significance of the fourth and fifth digits of the SSN for validation purposes will also be eliminated. Randomization will still exclude area numbers 000, 666 and 900-999.

Thus, the existing tables and validation services will be frozen in time - they can be used for validation of SSNs issued prior to the randomization implementation date, but not going forward.

If you have a question, email to ssn.randomization@ssa.gov or visit  www.ssa.gov/employer/randomization.html.

One general question often asked about SSNs is "Under what circumstances will the SSA issue a different number to a number holder?"  The SSA reports it will do so only per one or more of the following conditions:
Sequential numbers assigned to members of the same family are causing problems;
More than one person is using the same number;
An individual has religious or cultural objections to certain numbers or digits in the original number.
A victim of identity theft continues to be disadvantaged by using the original number.
Situations of harassment, abuse or life endangerment (including domestic violence).
The web site listed above gives specific references to documentation of these issues.
 

Montana Courts Increasing Civil Limits Designations

Per the governor's signature on SB 238, the state of Montana is modifying the courts' limits for Civil Actions and for Small Claims. Effective July 1, 2011, the District Courts, which are the general jurisdiction courts, will only try civil matters exceeding $12,000. The previous limit was $7,000. The courts of limited jurisdiction, which are Justice Courts, City Courts and Municipal Courts, will have the maximim civil amount raised from $7,000 to $12,000. The Small Claims maximum limit will increase as well, from $3,000 to $7,000.

The enacted legislation decreed that in certian case types (including recovery of money and damages involving personal property) the new limits are exclusive of attorney fees. The new law also increases the City Court jurisdiction on certain matters from $5,000 to $9,500. 
 
To view a copy of the bill, visit http://data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2011/billhtml/SB0238.htm