BRB's Public Records Blog

Kansas and Hawaii Courts Facing Closure Days

In a letter to court employees circulated in early November, Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Davis warned that KS state courts will have to close as much as 6 weeks from February through June if the Legislature fails to restore $8 million in budget cuts. Staff would be placed on unpaid leave. Since the letter was released, there has been talk of closing the courts for only 12 days, providing changes are implemented to meet the shortfall. Earlier this year, 18 Kansas counties cut back on their court hours open to the public. See www.kscourts.org/.

In October, the Supreme Court of Hawaii announced a 2-day per month furlough for all court employees, with the exception of juvenile detention facilities. A calendar of the closed days from November through June 2010 is posted on the web at www.courts.state.hi.us/.
 
The court closures in Kansas and Hawaii follow the example in California, whose court system is already operating on a furlough schedule that closes all state courts the third Wednesday of each month.
 

Pennsylvania Fee Increase for Recordings and Civil Actions

House Bill 1607, signed by Pennsylvania Governor Rendell on October 9, 2009, amended Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedures) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes. Now known as ACT 49, this law adds an additional $13.50 to a number of document fees. The increase is added specifically to all documents that currently are assessed an Access to Justice (Judicial Computer System) JCS fee of $10.00. As of December 8, 2009, the new fee will be $23.50, rather than $10.00, on all documents covered per the original law for the JCS portion. 
 
In simple English, the added fee affects all recorded Deeds, Mortgages; Mortgage Assignments; Mortgage Releases; Mortgage Satisfaction Pieces; Installment Sales Agreements; Easements; and Rights of Way. 
 
Also, the JCS fee is currently part of the fee charged on filing certain civil court actions and appeals. Thus, the court costs associated with a number of filings will also increase $13.50.
 
The fee increase does not affect record searches or copy fees. A copy of the bill can be found at www.legis.state.pa.us.

Relocation of Wabasha County Courts in Minnesota

The Wabasha County 3rd Judicial District Court has moved from 625 Jefferson to its new facility at 848 17th Street East in Wabasha, MN. Phone numbers remain the same. The main number is 651-565-3524. The County Recorder's Office is not moving and remains at 625 Jefferson. www.co.wabasha.mn.us/

Washington County Tennessee Consolidating Court Locations

Effective October 26, 2009, the four court locations in Washington County, TN will house at the new Justice Center Address at 108 W Jackson Blvd, Jonesborough, TN 37659. The limited jurisdiction civil General Sessions Court and Probate Court are moving from Johnson City to Jonesborough. The 1st District Circuit & General Sessions Court located on E. Main in Jonesborough will also move into the Jackson Blvd. location.

At this time, it is not known if the Johnson City phone numbers will remain the same or be changed. For questions, call the 1st District Circuit Court at 423-753-1611.

 

Fee Increases At Clerk's Office - Macomb County, Michigan

November 1, 2009 there will be fee increases for court record copies and for certified copies of certain public records. At the 16th Circuit Court, plain copies will increase from $.40 per page per copy to $1.00 per page. The $10.00 certified fee remains the same; however, certified copies of vital records will increase to $15.00 for the first copy and $5.00 for each additional copy. Search fees for the Clerk's records did not increase.

The fees for copies or searches from the Register of Deeds remain the same.
See www.macombcountymi.gov/clerksoffice/#

Hamilton County Courts, Indiana

In late September, 2009, the Circuit & Superior Courts of Hamilton County Indiana switched their case file management to the Odyssey case management system provided by the Indiana Supreme Court. As a result, online access to the court record index is now available at http://mycase.in.gov/default.aspx.

Previously, courts place the record index with https://www.doxpop.com. While Hamilton County records may still be accessed from Doxpop's subscription system, the range of records date from 01/1987 to 9/21//2009. Thus, since the switchover, new cases and updates to existing cases for Hamilton County are no longer updated on Doxpop.

San Bernardino Superior Court Looking to Close Redlands Division

The San Bernardino Superior Court recently announced its intention to close the Redlands Division effective October 12, 2009. 

The current plan is to transfer all Probate matters to the Civil Division at 303 W Third Street in San Bernardino and to transfer Traffic matters to the Traffic Court at 351 N Arrowhead also in San Bernardino.

The court is looking for public comments to be received by August 21 at 5PM via email to Redlands@courts.sbcounty.gov. For more information, visit
www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/COURTS/flash.asp.

Changes at California Courts

For further details, visit the state courts site at A number of statewide changes were recently instituted by the Judicial Council of California.

Document Certification Fee - Effective July 29, 2009, the fee for certifying a copy of a paper, record, or a proceeding on file increased from $15.00 to $25.00.

Case Filing Fees - Also effective July 29, 2009, the fee for filing most any case in the CA court system increased by $5.00 per filing.

Mandated State Court Business Day Closures - Per the Council, all state courts will be closed on the third Wednesday of each month, from September 2009 through June 2010.

For further details, visit the state courts site at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/.

Contra Costa Superior Court Fees

Effective this week, the Superior Courts in Contra Costa County, CA are participating in a Pilot Study Program for criminal record searching.  All of the Superior Courts in the county are now adding a $15 surcharge for any name lists presented that have 51 or more names, per 70627(c).

Also, regardless of the number of names, there is now a $.50 charge to receive a printout of a case, per 70627(a). This is in addition to the standard $.50 copy fee, if a copy is needed.

Civil Judgments in South Dakota - Search Online

Access civil money judgments from 04/19/2004 forward on a statewide system at:

https://apps.sd.gov/applications/judgmentquery/login.aspx

Charges for searches with a credit/debit card are $4.00 per name or date range search and an additional $1.00 charge to access the judgment docket. A subscription service with added features is also available.