BRB's Public Records Blog

Court News-Denton County, TX

Two Justice of the Peace Courts in Denton County are moving late this Spring.  Justice of the Peace Precinct 4 located in Roanoke is moving to Flower Mound. The court is moving from 816 N Highway 37, Roanoke, TX 76262 to 6200 Canyon Falls Dr, Ste 101, Flower Mound, TX 76226.

Justice of the Peace Precinct 2 in New Colony is moving from 6301 Main St. which is also known as FM 423 to a new location on FM423 one mile North. This move is scheduled in June but the exact address has not yet been released.  The phone numbers will remain the same.

Indiana Expanding Trial Court Records Available Online

Following recommendations made by the Advisory Task Force on Remote Access to and Privacy of Electronic Court Records, more records will be made available on the state's case management system at mycase.in.gov.

The Indiana Supreme Court Order mandated these changes via Cause 94S00-1702-MS-52.  According to the Order, seven specific types of records are to be placed online. 

Below is a quick summary with dates of availability. The Order with full details may be viewed at www.in.gov/judiciary/files/order-other-2017-94S00-1702-MS-52.pdf

1. Financial Payments - on or after March 1, 2017
2. Public Access to all Orders in Select Civil Cases - on or after March 1, 2017
3. Expungement (XP) Pleadings and Orders - on or after March 1, 2017
4. Attorney Access to documents on cases displayed on mycase.in.gov - on or after May 1, 2017
5. Public Access to Final Orders in Criminal Cases - on or after August 1, 2017
6. Attorney of Record Will have Full Access to All Documents - on or after September 1, 2017
7. Party Access to Will have Full Access to All Documents (except if sealed) - on or after November 1, 2017

There are Two Online Resources in Indiana 

There are two online systems in the state with docket information from the Circuit and Superior courts, plus some of the City courts. Neither provides all 92 counties in the state. However, the system with the most participating counties (90) counties with a search of the case index is DoxPop https://www.doxpop.com/prod/.

DoxPop is working to secure the additional online data described above available on it's system as well. A quick comment - the DoxPop system has been the system of choice for many local Indiana PIs and CRAs, so it is hoped they will be able to also include this data on their system.

 

Court News- Lewisboro Justice Court in Westchester County, NY

Effective May 1st, 2017, the new physical address for this town court is 79 Bouton Road, South Salem NY, 10590. The phone numbers remain the same.

Court News-Rouses Point Village Court in Clinton County, NY

Effective April 1, 2017, this court location closed. All files and open cases were transferred to the Champlain Town Court.

New Idaho Court Online Access System Delayed

The Idaho Judiciary has delayed its transition to a new case management system called iCourts for court filing and records.  The new system is an Odyssey product from Tyler Technologies and will replace the existing system called iStars.  At this time Ada and Twin Falls counties are running on the new system, but ten more counties were scheduled to move onto the new system in the Spring of 2017. However, this has been delayed due to the need to fix some bugs and reportedly per revenue shortfalls in the counties.

Overall, the transition is expected to take 3 years to realize all statewide benefits. Once the complete system is fully deployed to all counties, it will provide improved access to electronic court records, hearing schedules, court documents, e-filing and more. At present, public access is limited to case document information. The plan is to first give judges and attorneys online access to trial court records including the ability view court documents and files. Eventually the public will have access to case documents also, but not for several years.

Below is a brief overview of each system.

About iCourts 

The web page for searching is https://mycourts.idaho.gov/odysseyportal. As mentioned only Ada and Twin Falls counties are on the new system.  The docket index may be search by name or by case number. Initial results show the case number and sometimes the year of birth.

The Judiciary's schedule to add counties has Blaine, Boise, Camas, Canyon, Cassia, Elmore, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka, Owyhee and Valley Counties transitioning to iCourt in October 2017. Then Adams, Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Gem, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Payette, Shoshone, Washington Counties will migrate in April 2018. The remaining 16 counties, Bannock, Bear Lake, Bingham, Bonneville, Butte, Caribou, Clark, Custer, Franklin, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Madison, Oneida, Power and Teton, will go live in October 2018.

As mentioned, the public's ability to view case documents online at these courts will be delayed to at least 2018.

About iStars  

For all counties except Ada and Twin Falls, free access to trial court record index is provided at https://www.idcourts.us/repository/start.do. Records are searchable by name statewide or by individual county, and by case number. Results date back to 1995 or further depending on the county. Online results include identifiers year of birth and middle initial. The following personal information is not released: DL, address, first 6 characters of the SSN, and the month and day of birth.  In general, records go back to 1995. Court calendars are also shown on this site. Send questions to [email protected].

Online/Onsite Equivalency 

The terminals at the court house go back further, show the class of record, and can have more dispositions reported when compared to the older online system. Thus, iStars is not thought to be equivalent to an onsite search at the courthouse. It is not yet known if the new system will be online/onsite equivalent.

 

Eight Tips for Searching Courts’ Online Record Databases

1. Be Aware Not All Courts Are Online

A surprising number of courts do not have computerized record keeping. Per the latest statistics taken from the Public Record Research System (https://www.brbpublications.com/products/Prrs.aspx), 74.5% of civil courts and 71.45% of criminal courts provide online access to an historical docket index. Does this make you wonder about the so-called instant national background search?

2. Online Searching is Generally Limited to Docket Sheets

Most courts that offer online access limit the search to the docket sheet data - opposed to displaying case file images. But checking a courthouse’s computer online docket index is the quickest way to find if case records exist online. Just be sure to check all name variations and spelling variations.

In general, case document images are rarely online, at least for free. Those courts that offer case images are usually subscription based and often require e-filing of documents. The reality is to obtain case documents one must go on-site.

3. Learn the Index and What Data is Viewable

All indices are different. For example, some of the questions you need to ask and to be answered are: How far back does the index go? Are all cases online? How current is the index - real time? With 24 hours? With 7 days? What identifiers are needed to search and are shown on results? Is the search countywide, or do other courts in the county need to be searched?

Most civil courts index records by both plaintiffs and defendants, but some courts only index by the defendant name. A plaintiff search can be useful to determine if someone is especially litigious.

4. Understand the Search Mechanics

Look for any help screens that may offer advice, such as the use of wildcards. If the search lets you input a partial name this will help you find records that may have name spelling variances. For civil cases, the usual reasonable requirement is a defendant (or plaintiff) name – full name if it is a common name – and the time frame to search – e.g., 2002-2017. For criminal cases, the court may require more identification, such as date of birth (DOB), to ascertain the correct individual.

5. Be Aware of Restricted Records

Courts have types of case records, such as juvenile and adoptions, which are not released without a court order. Records may also be sealed form view or expunged. The presiding judge often makes a determination of whether a particular record type is available to the public. Some criminal court records include the arresting officer’s report. In some locations this information is regarded as public record, while in other locations the police report may be sealed.

6. Watch for Multiple Courts as Same Location

Do not assume a search is countywide. When the general jurisdiction and limited jurisdiction courts are in the same building and use the same support staff, yes...chances are the record databases are combined as well. But that does not necessarily mean you will receive a search of both databases. Check it out as you may need to do two searches.

7. Watch for Overlapping Jurisdictions on Civil Limits

In many states, the general jurisdiction court and the limited jurisdiction court have overlapping dollar amount limits for civil cases. That means cases filed within a certain dollar (such as between $15,000 and $25,000) can be filed in either court. Check both courts; never assume.

8. Look for the Lag Time

Depending on the level of due diligence needed, a good searcher needs to know what the time delay is for posting records. Is it a week or more or 24 hours, or in real time? This is important if the search is conducted in connection with high due diligence such as with litigation or hiring matters.

 

This article is taken from The Manual to Online Public Records 4th Edition by Mike Sankey and Cynthia Hetherington. For more information on this publication, please visit The BRB Bookstore.

 

Update: Washington's (State) New Court Record Online System

The Washington Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is in the midst of replacing its case management system (SCOMIS) with Odyssey software supplied by Tyler Technologies. The Odyssey system is now providing a two-tiered access system to case dockets from nine counties. See the Odyssey section below for details.

For many years the AOC's Judicial Information System's subscription service called JIS-Link has provided access to detailed case docket data for all counties and court levels. One may search a single county or statewide for criminal searches. Searching for civil records is a single county only search.

JIS-Link will continue to provide data on all counties, even as counties migrate to the new Odyssey system. As counties move to the new Odyssey system, data will still continue to be live and searchable for any county even if the county is sending information to Odyssey.

About JIS-Link
The throughput date for JIS is from 1994 or 1995 forward. The dates vary from 1979 to 1993 for SCOMIS. The subscription fees include a one-time $100.00 per site, a transaction fee of $.65. There is a $6.00 per month minimum charge. Visit www.courts.wa.gov/jislink or call 360-357-3365. The JIS subscription includes access to SCOMIS (the case management system) and ACORDS (appellate courts data). SCOMIS enables the superior court to record parties and legal instruments filed in superior court cases, to set cases on court calendars, and to enter case judgments and final dispositions. It is important to note that when a SCOMIS case number is found in the JIS application, detail level of the case may need to be viewed within the appropriate SCOMIS court display.

About Odyssey and its Record Access Portal
AOC implemented the Odyssey system with a SC-CMS Pilot site for Lewis County in June 2015. Since then eight more counties are now participating (Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Snohomish, Thurston, Whitman, and Yakima). Six more counties are scheduled to be added in May 2017. The statewide rollout is expected to be complete by 2018. At this time King and Pierce counties are not planning to connect to the Record Access Portal of Odyssey.

An unregistered public user may access the Odyssey Portal at https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal. This access will not require any credentials and is meant to replace the free limited look-up of docket information at http://dw.courts.wa.gov/. Case documents are not available. Note that public users will have access to more case information, as well as public available documents, onsite at the Clerk's Office lobby terminal. So this free system is not considered to be online/onsite equivalent.

Registered users on the Portal may access public court case documents. All document access fees are paid directly to the County Clerk of the county, so fees vary by county. At present, if a user wishes to register in multiple counties, a unique email address is needed for each county. This is expected to change sometime later in 2017.

For questions regarding Odyssey you can email [email protected] or view the portal site above. 

Update: Washington's (State) New Court Record Online System

The Washington Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is in the midst of replacing its case management system (SCOMIS) with Odyssey software supplied by Tyler Technologies. The Odyssey system is now providing a two-tiered access system to case dockets from nine counties. See the Odyssey section below for details.

For many years the AOC's Judicial Information System's subscription service called JIS-Link has provided access to detailed case docket data for all counties and court levels. One may search a single county or statewide for criminal searches. Searching for civil records is a single county only search.

JIS-Link will continue to provide data on all counties, even as counties migrate to the new Odyssey system. As counties move to the new Odyssey system, data will still continue to be live and searchable for any county even if the county is sending information to Odyssey.

 

About JIS-Link

The throughput date for JIS is from 1994 or 1995 forward. The dates vary from 1979 to 1993 for SCOMIS. The subscription fees include a one-time $100.00 per site, a transaction fee of $.065. There is a $6.00 per month minimum charge. Visit www.courts.wa.gov/jislink or call 360-357-3365. The JIS subscription includes access to SCOMIS (the case management system) and ACORDS (appellate courts data). SCOMIS enables the superior court to record parties and legal instruments filed in superior court cases, to set cases on court calendars, and to enter case judgments and final dispositions. It is important to note that when a SCOMIS case number is found in the JIS application, detail level of the case may need to be viewed within the appropriate SCOMIS court display.

 

About Odyssey and its Record Access Portal

AOC implemented the Odyssey system with a SC-CMS Pilot site for Lewis County in June 2015. Since then eight more counties are now participating (Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Snohomish, Thurston, Whitman, and Yakima). Six more counties are scheduled to be added in May 2017. The statewide rollout is expected to be complete by 2018. At this time King and Pierce counties are not planning to connect to the Record Access Portal of Odyssey.

 

An unregistered public user may access the Odyssey Portal at https://odysseyportal.courts.wa.gov/odyportal. This access will not require any credentials and is meant to replace the free limited look-up of docket information at http://dw.courts.wa.gov/. Case documents are not available. Note that public users will have access to more case information, as well as public available documents, onsite at the Clerk's Office lobby terminal. So this free system is not considered to be online/onsite equivalent.

 

Registered users on the Portal may access public court case documents. All document access fees are paid directly to the County Clerk of the county, so fees vary by county. At present, if a user wishes to register in multiple counties, a unique email address is needed for each county. This is expected to change sometime later in 2017.

For questions regarding Odyssey you can email [email protected] or view the portal site above. 

Circuit Court Filings - Cook County, IL

Effective January 1, 2017, use of the no fee filing drop boxes will be discontinued. All court document will need to be filed at the Clerk's Office public counter or through the Clerk's Office e-File System.https://efile.cookcountyuscourts.com/

Document Recording Fee Increase in Colorado for 2017

In Colorado, the recording fee for the first page of each document recorded on or after January 1, 2017 in Colorado will increase by $2.00.  This means the fee will be $13.00 for the first page and $5.00 for each additional page of each recorded document on or after January 1, 2017. 

This fee increase is per passage of Senate Bill 115, viewable at http://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/115_signed.pdf.