BRB's Public Records Blog

Washington County Tennessee Consolidating Court Locations

2009-11-11T06:18:00-07:00

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.

Heads-up: Idaho Driver and Vehicle Record Fees to Increase

2009-11-09T06:16:00-07:00

Effective January 1, 2010, the fees for driver-related records and vehicle-related records from the Idaho Transportation Department will increase by $3.00 per record. This is regardless of access method.
We will present specifics next month.

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

2009-11-06T06:14:00-07:00

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

2009-11-05T06:11:00-07:00

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 Thus, since the switchover, new cases and updates to existing cases for Hamilton County are no longer updated on Doxpop.

Connecticut DPS Increases Record Fees

2009-11-04T18:11:41-07:00

Effective October 1, 2009, the Division of State Police, part of Connecticut's Department of Public Safety, doubled the fees for criminal record checks and accident reports.

The fee for a criminal record check increased from $25.00 to $50.00 per request, be it a name search or fingerprint search. Please note, the actual fingerprinting for the criminal record checks must be completed by a law enforcement agency. The fee for fingerprints taken by the DPS State Police Bureau of Identification DPS is an additional $15.00.

The fee for an Accident report increased from $8.00 to $16.00; add $1.00 for a certified record. Note, the agency web page does not use the words accident report or crash report and refers to these reports as State Police Reports.

The DPS home page is www.ct.gov/dps/site/default.asp.

Aviation Records

2009-10-07T14:15:41-07:00

Search Records on Airports

One of the best private sites to find detailed information for free about an airport, including ownership and management, is www.airnav.com. You can search by state or by U.S. Territory.

Another excellent resource is GCR & Associates. Visit www.gcr1.com and click on the Airport IQ link for airport master records and reports.

Aviation Associations

With well over 400,000 members, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) calls itself the largest, most-influential aviation association in the world. AOPA, 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, MD 21701, 301-695-2000, www.aopa.org.

The International Air Transportation Association (IATA) represents 250 airlines. Four U.S. offices and one Canadian office are found at their web page www.iata.org. While there is not a lot of public record related information, this association is a good venue to learn about airport planning and safety.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's book Public Record Reseach TIPS Book

Be Aware if Asset Lien Searching in Massachusetts

2009-10-04T21:52:33-07:00

Massachusetts has 4 counties but 21 recording offices. Berkshire and Bristol counties each have three recording offices. Essex, Middlesex, and Worcester counties each have two recording offices.
Also, know that cities/towns bearing the same name as a county are Barnstable, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth, and Worcester.

Note: This tip is from Michael Sankey's book Public Record Reseach TIPS Book

Sources for Finding Intellectual Property

2009-09-20T19:04:04-07:00

United States Patent and Trademark Office www.uspto.gov/main/patents.htm

This is the ultimate source. If you can spend some time learning to correctly search within the Web site, you will get the best results. Remember, when you are searching for a company, refer to it as assignee. Separately, search the assignee or the town, if small or unique, (skip New York and Los Angeles), and search for the inventor by last name. Other reliable sources include:

www.freepatentsonline.com -- Indexes the full page, but does not give the full results.
www.patentgenius.com -- Excellent search capabilities but, unfortunately, the results are limited.
www.google.com/patents -- Does not index the full page.

Note: This tip is from Cynthia Hetherington's book Business Background Investigations

2009-09-16T21:17:38-07:00

About Tribal Courts

Tribal Courts represent a unique legal system that works within the separate sovereignty of the Indian nations within the United States. The impact on using these courts in business investigations is considerable within the gaming industry. The key point here is that case information in tribal courts is NOT found in any level within the rest of the courts in the U.S.

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 - www.tribalresourcecenter.org
Tribal Court Clearinghouse - www.tribal-institute.org/index.htm
A listing of Tribal Courts is also provided by www.versuslaw.com

(This tip is from Cynthia Hetherington's book Business Background Investigations.)

Fee Increases for Alabama Vital Records

2009-09-10T10:03:00-07:00

Effective October 1, 2009, the fees for copies of vital records will increase from $12.00 to $16.00 per record and from $4.00 to $6.00 for a second copy. Also, the fee for expedited service will increase, from $10.00 to $15.00.