BRB's Public Records Blog

Decentralization of Small Claims In CT

Effective Monday, October 16, 2017, the Centralized Small Claims Office located at 80 Washington Street, Hartford, CT 06106 will be closed. Any new small claims cases filed on or after Friday, September 1, 2017, either paper or electronically, will have an answer date after October 16, 2017, and will be transferred to the small claims docket at the appropriate judicial district or housing session location.

Judge Rules that Colorado' Sex Offender Registry Law is Unconstitutional

On August 31, 2017, the U.S. District Court in Colorado ruled that Colorado's sex offender registry law is cruel and unusual punishment. Per U.S. District Court Judge Richard Matsch's ruling, the Colorado's sex-offender registry violated the Constitutional rights of three sex offenders who sued regarding the way the public has access to the list.

Per the ruling, Judge Matsch found that Colorado's registration act poses a "serious threat of retaliation, violence, ostracism, shaming, and other unfair and irrational treatment from the public" for sex offenders and their families.

While there are similar cases in other states challenging sex-offender registries, this case only involves the three plaintiffs. But this ruling could have far reaching implications should the Colorado Attorney General's Office appeal the ruling to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeal and lose, and/or if an appeal eventually reaches the U, S. Supreme Court.

The ruling may be viewed at PACER - Case 1:13-cv-02406-RPM Document 106 Filed 08/31/17 USDC Colorado.

About the New Courthouse in Litchfield County, CT

The new Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse at 50 Field St. in Torrington was open for business, effective Monday, Aug. 28, with the transfer of cases from three different courthouses being phased in as follows:

• Effective August 26, 2017, the Litchfield Judicial District Courthouse at 15 West Street, Litchfield was permanently closed. At that time, all matters new and pending in that facility were transferred to the new Torrington Superior Courthouse.
• Effective September 8, 2017, the Superior Court for Juvenile Matters at 410 Winsted Road, Torrington was permanently closed. At that time, all matters new and pending in that facility were transferred to the new Torrington Superior Courthouse.
• Effective at the end of business on September 15, 2017, the Geographical Area 18 Courthouse, 80 Doyle Road, Bantam, will permanently close. At that time, all matters new and pending at that facility will be transferred to the new Torrington Superior Courthouse.

BRB Publications Launches Free Online Portal for Searching Public Records

BRB Publications, the nation's premier publisher of references and websites used for locating public records, is pleased to announce the launch of BRB Search, a free online portal for searching public records.

The new portal is an easy search approach to view contact information and links to free online look-ups for over 20,000 government agencies.  The new portal represents an alternative to the existing look-up method which is more of a drill down approach. BRB Search also includes contact information for county court and recording offices, 20 core state agencies per state, occupational licensing boards, federal courts, members of the Public Record Retriever Network (PRRN) by county, plus there is an adjoining county search feature.

“The new online experience from BRB Publications will help improve productivity and efficiency for our prospective customers as well as give them immediate tools they need to make relevant decisions based on access of public record data”, says CEO of BRB Publications, Michael Sankey.

BRB Publications continues to implement innovative technologies and modernize its processes to better serve its client base and those who depend on the free information displayed at the BRB Publication website. The new cyber portal is among a number of steps BRB Publications is taking to set standards for industry innovation. 

To access BRB Search, please visit https://www.brbpublications.com/gen/brbsearch.aspx.

 

Maverick Criminal Record Provider Reportedly Operating in New Hampshire

According to a PRRN member, there is a record vendor conducting criminal records name checks in New Hampshire without paying court fees and advertising a turnaround time of 24 hours.  This is impossible since local courts will not provide name searches and there are no public access terminals available at the courthouses.  Record searchers must use the Judiciary's centralized record search process for all trial court name searches (including civil), as explained below. The normal turnaround time by the Judiciary is 2 to 3 days. See the status of record requests at https://www.courts.state.nh.us/recordcheck.  

Normal Record Search Procedure 

One must complete a Record Search Request Form for each individual court. Multiple names can be placed on the form.  The form and a check made payable to NHJB Central Processing can be mailed or hand delivered (different addresses). Results are then emailed or mailed, usually within 72 hours.  The fee must accompany the request form (see below). The fee structure, set by the New Hampshire Supreme Court, is $20.00 per name for up to 5 names, then $5.00 each add'l name in that request. For example 3 names = $60.00; 5 names = $100; 25 names = $200.00. This is on a per-court basis.  The normal turnaround time by the Judiciary is 2 to 3 days. See the status of record requests at https://www.courts.state.nh.us/recordcheck. Note that local courts will pull files or provide file copies if a case number or case summary is presented.

So how can a vendor provide 24 hour service with no clerk fee? There is an electronic system available, but it limited to use only by attorneys and data cannot be accessed for resell purposes. The NH Judiciary has been informed of the situation and is very concerned if an attorney account is being used illegally.

We advise to use caution if you are receiving criminal record checks for FCRA purposes from a vendor in 24 hours and not paying clerk fees. 

Arizona Courts Raising Filing, Search and Certification Fees 8-9-2017

Effective August 9, 2017, numerous Superior and Justice Court fees will increase in Arizona. The Clerk's record search fee at the Superior Court will increase from $27.00 to $28.00. The same increase also takes place for a record certification - from $27.00 to $28.00. Similar fee increases will also occur at the Justice Court level with the search and certification fees both increasing from $25.00 to $26.00.

Overall, there are over 115 fees that will increase at the Superior Court level. A good resource with printable lists of both the old and new fee schedules is available from Maricopa County at www.clerkofcourt.maricopa.gov/fees.asp.

Coconino County has a display of the new Justice Court fees at www.coconino.az.gov/DocumentCenter/View/17485.

The states' current base fees are authorized by A.R.S. § 12-284, the Arizona Code of Judicial Administration Section 3-404, Supreme Court Administrative Order 2017-44 plus additional fees determined by Statute, Supreme Court Administrative Order or Board of Supervisor's Resolution. Note a county Board of Supervisors may add local fees per A.R.S. 11-251.08.

Louisiana Parish Recorders Modifying Fees 8-1-2017

Senate Bill 236, which became Act 173 was signed by the Governor on June 12, 2017. This Act makes some extensive changes for filing and recording documents, including certification of records charged by the Clerks of the District Court as ex officio recorders. Changes are effective as of August 1, 2017.

Certification Fee

The certification fee for a recorded document is increasing from $5.00 to $10.00. Note that although Act 173 is very specific that the changes apply only to recorded documents, a number of District Court Clerks have indicated to us that they are also raising the court record certification fee from $5.00 to $10.00. If you would like a list of these courts, please email [email protected].

Filing and Recording Fees

The fee for filing and recording document changes from:

• $25.00 per book for the first page and $10.00 for each subsequent page per book up to ten pages or $8.00 per page if exceeding 10 pages

To the following:

• For one to five page documents, one hundred dollars.
• For six to twenty-five page documents, two hundred dollars.
• For twenty-six to fifty page documents, three hundred dollars.
• For documents in excess of fifty pages, three hundred dollars for first 26 fifty pages and five dollars for each subsequent page.

This includes up to 10 names indexed, a certified copy, and the LCRAA Portal Fee. For indexing of all documents filed for record for each name after the tenth name that is required to be indexed, five dollars per name.

West Virginia Fee Increases for Driving Records

Effective August 1, 2017, the fee for an electronic driving record (obtained using WV.Gov, an NIC Affiliate) will increase from $11.50 to $12.50.

Previously the electronic driving record had increased from $9.00 to $11.50 effective July 1st. Also effective July 1st, West Virginia increased the fee for a manually obtained driving record from $6.00 to $7.50 if the name and DL number are presented. If the DL is not presented, the fee is one dollar higher at $8.50. There is no longer a $1.00 fee added for certification. The fee for a driver to obtain his or her own record online increased from $9.00 to $13.50.

Many thanks to Ms. Kim Bishop at HireRight for clarifying the status of the electronic fees, as the folks at WV.gov refused to respond to any of our fee questions.

Oregon Proposing Significant Fee Increases to Court Data Online System

The Oregon Judicial Case Information Network (OJCIN) is proposing a new, higher fee schedule that categorizes seven different types of subscribers with seven different monthly fee schedules. Four of the seven categories deal with the size of a law firm with monthly fees ranging for $40 to $90. The fifth category deals with title companies and collection companies and has a $215 monthly fee.

The sixth category, called Data Resellers, has proposed a $1,500 monthly fee and monthly bulk downloads for $575. A Reseller is defined as a subscriber who:

"...accesses the OJCIN system through an automated or programmatic data/retrieval/collection interface (screen scraper, bot, etc.) or who uses OJCIN data either through a bulk data download or real-time online data as part of a commercial integration, bi-directional data exchange, reporting solution, data aggregation, data mining solution, third-party API or web service offering, or multi-jurisdictional and/or national database solution."

The last category is "all other individual or organizations" and has a set fee of $40.00 per month plus $50.00 per month for document image access.

OJCIN Sent Initial Notices Classifying Many Entities as Resellers

Do not be alarmed if you are a current subscriber who pulls minimal records and received a notice that your firm is classified as a Reseller. OJCIN has limited information on file for each subscriber and is doing a best guess effort on the initial classification. If you feel you have been wrongly classified, send a letter and explain your situation.  OJCIN is concerned about properly classifying current subscribers before the final classification determinations are sent to subscribers in August. 

 

Public May Submit Comments on Revised Fees 

The Oregon Judicial Department opened a public comment period on the OJCIN revised fees. Comments on the proposed fee schedule must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on July 31, 2017.

 

To view the Preliminary Order including all proposed fees, see:

www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Documents/OJCIN/CJO%2017-037.pdf.

For the Procedure on Providing Comments, see:

www.courts.oregon.gov/services/online/Documents/OJCIN/CJO%2017-036.pdf.

Details on Tennessee's Switch to New Online Access for Driver and Vehicle Records

The access for commercial online record services in Tennessee switched to a new online access system effective April 1, 2017.  The processing of records is now under the Department of Finance & Administration and requesters must open an account at TN.gov.

New requesters must still be approved by the Department of Safety, complete a Network Registration Agreement, and be authorized per DPPA. The fee for a three-year driving record is $7.50, an increase of $.50. Subscribers may also verify driver license status (name, DOB, address and DL expire date) for $1.25 per search, plus if approved, requesters may obtain vehicle title and registration records for $2.00 per search.

The information about the new service is somewhat hard to find on the Tennessee web page, plus content regarding the former system is still showing live on web pages. For questions or more information on the new system, see https://apps.tn.gov/paams/, or call 888-890-8183, or email [email protected].