Investigative News & Resources
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Proposed budget sets aside $10 million for legal records database
Associated Press March 18, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio - More than $10 million has been set aside in Gov. Ted Strickland's proposed two-year budget for the Ohio Supreme Court to develop an online database where law enforcement, government officials and the public could conveniently access legal records from courts statewide.
Millions of pages of court documents become public records in Ohio each year in 385 courts around the state. Some courts in Ohio's 88 counties use sophisticated technology and regularly post records online, while others don't do any electronic filing at all.
"Ohio cannot afford not to do this," said Chris Davey, spokesman for Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. "Under the current system, a person could commit domestic violence in Cuyahoga County and move to Medina County, and the courts would not have 100 percent ability to know about that previous offense."
The site, dubbed the Ohio Courts Network, has been discussed since 2003 with little progress. An Internet database would allow judges, attorneys and the public to easily reference criminal and civil cases, but putting vast amounts of paperwork online also creates security and privacy concerns.
While groups representing probate and municipal court judges and the Ohio Clerk of Courts Association support the program, juvenile and domestic court judges have remained silent because of concerns about privacy.
Since the public would have access, courts would have to sort through prickly issues of how to ensure that private information, such as Social Security numbers, isn't posted online.
"There are some downsides, one being standards for privacy issues," said retired Judge Mark Schweikert, executive director of the Ohio Judicial Conference, which supports the network.
"You have to think about putting things on the Internet as publishing" as well as an access tool, he said.
Officials also would have to figure out how to coordinate between courts that use different formats for their records.
"The logistics will be difficult," said Keith Hurley, chief deputy of the Cuyahoga County clerk of courts. "I think it makes perfect sense to do it, but I think there will be a lot of issues to figure out because every one of us has a different case management system."
While Strickland's budget proposal allotted $10.5 million for the project, that amount could change as the details of the final budget are hammered out with legislators.
The Supreme Court would use the money to hire a contractor to develop the Web site during the next three months, said Robert Stuart, the court's director of information technology. By the end of the year, the court wants to launch a pilot program with 15 to 20 courts and a handful of state agencies, such as the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, feeding information into the network.
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Useful Investigative Links
Ohio Sunshine Laws / Public Records Act
Downloaded a PDF version from the bottom of this page
You can also follow this link: Ohio Attorney General WebSite
to download a copy.
Ohio Business Filing Search
Follow this link: Ohio Secretary of State WebSite
to search for an Ohio company.
Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles
Follow this link: www.dps.state.oh.us/atps/titleinq.asp?mode=t
for boat and vehicle title searches.
State of Ohio eLicense Center
Follow this link: license.ohio.gov/default.asp
to verify many types of professional licenses.
Ohio Sex Offender Registration & Notification
Follow this link to: www.esorn.ag.state.oh.us/Secured/p1.aspx
to search for sex offenders statewide.
Ohio Prison Inmate Locator
Follow this link to: www.drc.state.oh.us/cfdocs/inmate/search.htm
to search for a current inmate in the state prison system.
Ohio General Assembly
Follow this link: http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/
to obtain Ohio legislative information.
Ohio Revised Code
Follow this link: Ohio Revised Code
to search Ohio laws.
Ohio Attorney General's Concealed Handgun License Information
Follow this link to: www.ag.state.oh.us/web_applications/concealcarry/About.asp
to obtain information, including certified instructors.
WayBack Machine / Internet Archive
Follow this link: Internet Archive
to search for old websites.
Phone Finder
Follow this link: Fone Finder
to search for origins of phone numbers.
The Memory Hole
Follow this link: www.TheMemoryHole.org
for locating obscure/suppressed information.
Babel Fish
Follow this link to: Babel Fish
to translate e-mails / websites etc.
Search Systems
Follow this link to: www.searchsystems.net
to locate public record repositories.
Telephone & Criss-Cross Lookup Site
Locating Military Personnel
Follow this link to: www.militaryusa.com/index.html
to find military personnel.
Ohio Municipal League
Follow this link to: www.omunileague.org/
for connection to Ohio's cities and villages.
County Commissioners Association of Ohio
Follow this link to: http://www.ccao.org/
for access to Ohio's county government.
Supreme Court of Ohio
Follow this link to: www.sconet.state.oh.us/
for Ohio judicial and court information, including attorney licensing.
Federal Bankruptcy Court - VCIS
Voice Case Information System
WebSite Info
State Library of Ohio
Follow this link to: winslo.state.oh.us/
for a reference library portal.
Ohio Newspapers
Follow this link to: newslink.org/ohnews.html
for Ohio newspapers.
State of Ohio Web Portal
Follow this link to: www.ohio.gov
for the State's site.
U.S. Government Web Portal
Follow this link to: www.firstgov.gov/
to obtain federal information.
Directory of World cities
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/
Workplace Violence Information
Follow this link to:
The National Institute For The Prevention Of Workplace Violence
Criminal Justice Systems of the World
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/wfcj.htm
World Clock Time Zones
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/
Earth Calendar of Holidays and Celebrations
http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php'
Freedom of Information around the world
http://www.freedominfo.org/survey.htm
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Misc.
Ohio Licensed Attorneys
PI Magazine
National Security Archive
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Investigative Reporters & Editors
