BRB's Public Records Blog

Florida to Raise Court Fees, Providing Governor Signs Bill

Effective July 1, 2008, the filing fees, search fees and copy fees will increase for Florida Circuit, County and Appellate Courts. The fee increase is part of Senate Bill 1790 which is awaiting the governor's signature.

In general, fees will raise approximately 15% for filing and 33% for record searches and copies. The fee for a copy will increase from $1.50 to $2.00. The fee for a name search at the county level courts will increase from $1.50 per year to $2.00 per year.  The bill also increases fees for misdemeanors, felonies, and criminal traffic offenses. And there is a significant increase from $75 to $265 for "removal of tenant action."

According to a spokesperson at the Florida State Court Administration, the likelihood of the bill being signed by the governor is quite high.  To view a copy of the bill, go to www.flsenate.gov/Welcome/ and type in 1790 under the Jump to Bill tab on the left.
 

Jasper County Mississippi Adds New Justice Court

Mississippi recently added a new Justice Court in Jasper County in Paulding and is calling it District Court #1. The original Justice Court in Bay Springs is now designated as Justice Court #2.  Mississippi Justice Courts are courts of limited jurisdiction over small claims civil cases involving amounts of $2,500 or less, misdemeanor criminal cases and any traffic offense that occurs outside a municipality. Justice Court judges may conduct bond hearings and preliminary hearings in felony criminal cases and may issue search warrants. For case records going forward from May 1, 2008 both courts must be searched (records are not co-mingled). For case records prior to May 1, 2008, search the Bay Springs Court.

Woodford County Courts Online

Woodford County Illinois court records are now accessible online. The free database allows users to search by name or case number and view case information such as charges, dispositions, sentences, civil judgments and the history of proceedings. The court is linked to www.judici.com, a site used by 39 out of the 106 Illinois counties.

About Minnesota's New Online Access to Trial Court Records

Minnesota recently unveiled the state's new 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 name.

But there are a number of caveats; foremost, certain publicly-accessible case records cannot be viewed online. For example, electronic copies of public documents filed by parties also cannot be viewed online at this time. Also, name searches for criminal case records will not return information on cases without dispositions.  Two counties (Ramsey and Dakota) are not yet online. The federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) also prevents the state from displaying harassment and domestic abuse case records online.

Interestingly, 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 harassment and domestice abuse case records 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.

This online system is supplemental at best. In fact, the web page states MPA REMOTE SHOULD NOT BE USED FOR BACKGROUND CHECKS. 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.

Proposed Amendments to Ohio Court Record Access

The Supreme Court of Ohio is accepting public comments until December 19, 2007 on proposed amendments addressing access to court records per the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio.

The proposed amendment list is extensive and includes among other items: 1) modifications to the current process of sealing court records; 2) partial redaction (only the year on the DOB) or omission of personal identifiers when a case is filed; 3) any party to the case or any individual who is the subject of information in a case record may request that the court limit public access to the case information.

To view the proposed amendments, go to  http://rules.supremecourtofohio.gov/rules/ and click on the third item down on the list.  Comments on the proposed amendments should be submitted in writing to:  Jo Ellen Cline, Legislative Counsel, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65 S. Front St, 7th Floor, Columbus, Ohio  43215-3431, or Clinej@sconet.state.oh.us not later than December 19, 2007. The Courts asks to please include your full name and mailing address in any comments submitted by e-mail.

Colorado State Courts Raise Certification Fee

Effective July, 2007, all District, County, and Water Courts in Colorado have been instructed to raise the document certification fee from $10.00 to $15.00. Our research indicates that all courts are now complying with this mandate.

The other search-related fees have stayed the same. Most courts charge $5.00 per name for a name search and the copy fee is $.75, $.25 if self serve. Nearly every court requires a self-addressed, stamped envelope (SASE) for return of information.

Albemarle County, Virginia Circuit Court Online

But, it’s not free . . . subscribers must pay a $600 per year fee and corporate subscribers must pay $1,200 per year for a 4 user subscription.  The Virginia General Assembly mandated that all Virginia clerk’s offices must provide secure online access to land records by 07/01/08.

For more information on subscribing contact the court by phone – Clerk Shelby Marshall 434-972-4083.  The court website does not have subscription info posted at this time.

Alabama Probate Court Temporarily Suspends Online Access

Jefferson County, Alabama has temporarily suspended online access to probate records.  The online system had been available only a few months.  A “glitch” in a file transfer program allowed some Social Security Numbers to be viewed online.  New software is expected to be implemented this month to correct the error but it may take months to manually check the effectiveness of the system.

http://www.jeffcointouch.com/jeffcointouch/ieindex.asp

Beltrami County District Court, Minnesota

Effective June 15, 2007, The Beltrami County District Court in Bemidji, MN is moving to 600 Minnesota Ave, NW, Suite 108, Bemidji, MN 56601. Phone umbers are expected to remain the same. The court handles all the criminal and civil cases in this county.

Nebraska Modifies Justice Court Case System

JUSTICE, an online access subscription to Nebraska District and County Courts (except Douglas County District) has been available for sometime. This Spring, JUSTICE launched a new program for non-subscribers.

The JUSTICE One Time search allows users to access the JUSTICE information for $15.00 per search, payable by credit card. Users can search one name, limiting the results by party name, DOB, case type, or case year. Search results show a maximum of 30 cases; users may view the full details for each case returned at no extra charge. Users may re-access the same search results for 3 days from the date the search was performed. If the search produces a no hit, the $15.00 fee is still incurred. For more information, visit https://www.Nebraska.gov/justicecc/ccname.cgi.