BRB's Public Records Blog

Florida Raises Court Fees

Effective July 1, 2008, the filing fees, search fees and copy fees increased for Florida Circuit, County and Appellate Courts. The fee increase is part of Senate Bill 1790, which was signed by the governor on June 10th.

In general, fees are increased approximately 15% for filing and 33% for record searches and copies. The fee for a copy increased from $1.50 to $2.00. The fee for a name search at the county level courts increased from $1.50 per year to $2.00 per year. 

The bill also increased fees for misdemeanors, felonies, and criminal traffic offenses. And there is a significant increase from $75 to $265 for “removal of tenant action.”

Please note that as of July 3, 2008, not all court clerks have implemented the fee increase.

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.

Washington State Increases Lower Court Civil Limits

Effective July 1, 2008, the maximum claim amount that can be heard at the limited jurisdiction District Court level will increase from $50,000 to $75,000. The increase will not take place at the Superior Court level; the minimum claim amount will remain the same at $50,000. This means that cases can be filed at either court if they involve over $50,000 but under $75,000.  In addition, the small claims limit at the District Court will increase from $4,000 to $5,000.

To view a copy of the bill, go to www1.leg.wa.gov/legislature and use the Bill Search tab to enter 2557. 

Maryland Courts and Recent Changes

Several changes have taken place over the past few months.

1)      The old dial-up system proving access to the record dockets to Circuit and District courts has been shut down. All users have migrated to the web interface at http://casesearch.courts.state.md.us/inquiry/inquiry-index.jsp

2)      Previously, data was not provided on the web interface for case information from Montgomery and Prince George's Counties Circuit courts. Now the system provides information from these two counities, but there is a one-day delay. Circuit courts are the general jurisidiction courts in Maryland.

3)      To better manage the civil case load, the Maryland Judiciary raised the civil case limit at the lower, limited jurisdicational District Courts from $25,000 to $30,000. However, not all courts are necessarily following this pattern. A search of both courts is in order when looking for records involving that dollar amount range.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Rescinds Redaction Ruling

Update to the March 12th posting on this site.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court rescinded the rule closing selected online court records and redacting information from court files.  A statement issued by the the court on 3/25/08 indicated the ruling was withdrawn to provide further study and consideration.

Oklahoma Supreme Court Decision Limits Online Access to Public Records

A recent decision by the OK Supreme Court requires filers to redact personal data identifiers including SSN's, taxpayer ID's, names of minors, dates of birth, financial account information and home addresses from all pleadings or other documents filed with the court.  Filers also have the option to redact other information including personal identifying numbers, medical records, employment history and financial information.  Internet access will be immediately limited to court dockets only.  The effective date of these rules is June 10, 2008.  View court opinion.

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.

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.

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.