The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) has published an operational guidebook for courts – Preparing for a Pandemic: An Emergency Response Benchbook and Operational Guidebook for State Court Judges and Administrators – which advises both of the legal and procedural implications of operating during a widespread health emergency....

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has approved the sale of the National Archives facility in Seattle; the building and its 10-acre surrounding property. The contents of the archives, which is comprised of nearly 1 million boxes of documents and records, will be moved to National Archives storage...

A new report by the Norwegian Consumer Council found that 10 different personal and lifestyle apps – including OKCupid, Grindr, and Tinder – take the personal and sometimes intimate details of their users information and sell it in bulk to at least 135 identified, third-party companies. From NPR: “The...

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which became law on January 1st – but which won’t start being actively enforced until sometime in July – requires companies which generate $25 million in annual revenue, handle personal information of more than 50,000 people or devices, or earn more than half...

Similar to the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), the Washington State legislature is considering Senate Bill 6281 which, like the CCPA, would require companies whose business is strongly tied to the collection or sale of consumer data to both reveal the extent of the data they possess to any...

This past Wednesday the Metropolitan King County Council voted unanimously to allocate $600,000 in emergency funding to better secure the entrances and area surrounding the King County Courthouse in Downtown Seattle. However, this initial $600k will only cover six months of improvements; additional funding will have to be decided...

The King County Superior Court Clerk has issued a notice regarding a temporary entrance closure due to security concerns around the court house: “KING COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT CLERK’S OFFICE CONTACT:       paul.sherfey@kingcounty.gov   ISSUED BY:     Barbara Miner, Director and Superior Court Clerk ISSUE DATE:   December...

The Oregon Supreme Court recently ruled that Police Officers are not allowed to use the event of a traffic stop to make inquiries about matters that exceed the scope of the reason for the stop. Classically, Police have been able to make casual inquiries of drivers whom they pull...

The 6th Floor of the King County Courthouse will be closed on Friday, November 11th 2019 due to building maintenance. The 6th Floor is where  certain document access to records on Microfilm are made available, and the closure affects that access. From the King County Clerk’s Office: “KING COUNTY...

In a surprise revelation this week, the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) stated that when a case that was filed prior to November 13th, 2018 – when King County’s KCSCRIPT system went live – has new activity, the KCSCRIPT case record is updated but the case record is...

A ballot initiative has been submitted in California with the goal of reclassifying certain crimes under a new category, which is being dubbed a “Homeless Court”. From The Sacramento Bee: “ Gatto’s office says the initiative would “radically” change the state’s approach to homelessness. It would classify...

Does a simple curtain constitute a violation of the freedom of the press? Prison policies in the state of Virginia regarding the concealment of the more gruesome steps and ultimate outcomes of death penalty executions are violations of the First Amendment; so argue four media organizations in a recent...

In order to better inform our customers of the progress and status of their name and case number searches using CourtTrax, we have added some simple color-coded signifiers to indicate what is happening with a search. The Search – Status column on the Saved Searches panel now indicates by...

The new Search field allows CourtTrax users to query existing Titles on Saved Searches. The Search field is displayed at the bottom of Saved Searches located in Saved Searches>My Searches. Filtered Search CourtTrax users are now able to use different characters to filter an existing Title on Saved Searches....

With the benefit of Federal Grant money, the State Archives of North Carolina will soon be able to scan thousands of old court case files into its online database, with some records going back as far as 350 years! From WITN.com: “The State Archives of North Carolina is getting...

The Maryland State Court of Appeals has ruled that police officers violated a man’s Fourth Amendment rights when they conducted a warrantless search of his person, predicated on finding him in a car that smelled of marijuana. From NPR: “The decision stems from a case involving officers from the...

Police in Oregon have come under fire for digitally removing a man’s facial tattoos from his mugshot to better conform to the descriptions of a wanted bank robber. Tyrone Allen Lamont has been charged as being the “Foul Mouth Bandit,” who has been involved in robbery and attempted robbery...

The Washington State Board of Judicial Administration (BJA), via an Ad Hoc Committee, has submitted for review and comment several proposals for changes and revisions to the BJA rules and bylaws in order to “reflect current practices, provide clarification or simplify language, and to move items to the document...

The ‘Clean Slate’ law, passed in Pennsylvania in June of 2018, will see its first massive impact on Pennsylvania criminal court records over the next year. From The Morning Call: “Aimed at reducing the stigma that people with criminal records face while looking for jobs, education and housing, Pennsylvania’s...

After a recent vote by the Judges of the King County Superior Court, a number of local rules amendments are set to go into effect as of September 1st, 2019. The King County Superior Court Clerk’s Office has alerted that perhaps the most significant of these changes was made...

CourtTrax Corporation is pleased to announce that we have expanded our services to now include electronic access to the District, County, Probate and Justice Courts in Galveston County, Texas! Coverage Serving a population of over 300,000 people, the Galveston Courts makes publicly available Civil, Criminal, Family, Probate and Tax...

CourtTrax has upgraded its services to now make available to our users the new ‘Case Type Zero’ from King County, Washington. The transition to the new KCSCRIPT system in King County last year brought with it several changes to how the county files its cases, including the creation of...

A quirk of California State Law has led California’s 3rd District Court of Appeal to declare that it is not illegal for people who are incarcerated from having marijuana in their possession, but it remains illegal to consume it. From The Mercury News: “The reason? The authors of California...

The right to one’s privacy on their persons and in their houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures is one of our most fundamental rights. But a question that has consistently challenged that right is: when does one’s discarded property cease being protected by privacy expectations? That...

A unanimous decision from a federal appeals court has enforced ‘sanctuary city’ laws in California, rejecting a complaint made by the Trump Administration. The core issue in question was the law in California that prohibits local police and sheriff’s offices from notifying federal authorities of the release dates of...

While the Federal Courts require unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases, such a policy is left up to the individual States as to whether to follow suit or not. Most states require unanimous jury verdicts in the majority of their cases. Until very recently, Louisiana was one of only...

A Federal Judge has struck down the cash bail system in San Francisco for suspects arrested but not yet arraigned in criminal cases. From CBS San Francisco: “U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said a bail schedule set by San Francisco Superior Court “bears no relation to the government’s...

The United States Supreme Court as overruled the Idaho Supreme Court regarding a defendant’s right to appeal on the basis of ineffective counsel, thus further refining what constitutes a claim of ineffective counsel. From The Idaho Statesman: “The case, Garza v. Idaho, centered on the right to appeal. In...

Into each life a little change must come, and it is no different for the team here at CourtTrax. Over the weekend of February 22nd we will be relocating just a bit up the hill from where we are now. On February 25th you will be able to find...

On February 7th, the survivors and victims families of the 2015 Ride the Ducks crash that killed five and injured over sixty others were awarded nearly $123 million dollars by a King County jury. From the Seattle Times: “The jury determined after a four-month civil trial that Ride the...

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has upheld a U.S. law that makes it illegal for Undocumented Immigrants to own or possess firearms. The case stemmed from the arrest of a man who had crossed into the US illegally in 2005, and later in 2014 was...

The King County Superior Court, which recently moved off of the State’s legacy case management system, SCOMIS, in favor of a platform from Journal Technologies called KC-JAMS, has made a name change! Due to a potential lawsuit from another entity called JAMS, King County decided to switch to the...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s child protection law does not extend to fetuses or the unborn; consequently, they are excluded from being considered victims of parental neglect. From the The Morning Call: “The Supreme Court’s main opinion said the law’s definition of a child does...

Pacific Gas & Electric’s alleged liability in starting a disastrous wildfire that ravaged California in late 2018 may be exacerbated by a previous criminal sentence. PG&E was placed on five years of probation in 2017 after a criminal conviction stemming from the 2010 explosion of one of its natural...

The Washington State legislature passed Senate Bill 6037, a revision of The Uniform Parentage Act, in early 2018 and which will go into effect on January 1st, 2019. The revision of the law “necessitates changes to King County family law procedures and the creation of new case types. The...

The Supreme Court of Florida has ruled that in addition to established police self-defense laws, Law Enforcement Officers can now as well rely on the immunity from prosecution protections of the ‘Stand Your Ground’ doctrine that had previously only been available to civilians. In a 7-0 decision, the Justices...

The Oregon Supreme Court affirmed an earlier ruling which found that interview and interrogation techniques used to elicit murder confessions from a mentally-ill suspect undermine the credibility of the confessions, thus making them inadmissible. From Oregon Public Broadcasting: “Homer Lee Jackson is charged with 12 counts of aggravated murder....

When the King County Superior Court’s court records system  switched from Washington State’s legacy SCOMIS system to the King-County-only JAMS system, the switch effectively terminated all new King County case data from being entered into the statewide SCOMIS Names Index. CourtTrax provides access to this Names Index using the...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a man who was diagnosed with cancer, which he claims resulted from his years of working as a firefighter. The ruling places the burden of proof on his former employer to show that the cancer was not the result of...

The New Jersey Supreme Court has found that 20,667 breathalyzer tests conducted from 2008 – 2016 are inadmissible, and consequently an equal number of drunk driving convictions are at risk of being overturned as a result. From the Tampa Bay Times: “The unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court stems...

CourtTrax Corporation is excited to announce that we have expanded our services into the State of Pennsylvania! For our users needing Pennsylvania court information, we now provide electronic access to Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, and Montgomery County court records! CourtTrax users now have the ability to conduct Name and Case...

In a case that was being watched as a potential point of precedent in our social media dominated world, the Florida Supreme Court has ruled that lawyers being associated with judges via social media platforms such as Facebook does not constitute a conflict of interest in and of itself,...

The Arizona Court of Appeals Division II has ruled that a search warrant is still valid even if it does not contain the correct address of the location to be searched. In the appeal of Arizona v. Lohse, it was argued in part that since a search warrant obtained...

The 2018 National Federation of Paralegal Association Convention, held this year at the Seattle Airport Hilton, was both fun and productive! We enjoyed meeting and speaking with everyone who stopped by our booth to find out more about CourtTrax and our extensive experience in the aggregation of court data...

Our users in California may find this interesting. The State of California has decided to delay the implementation of its own recently passed Net Neutrality legislation in order to allow a final decision to be reached in a federal lawsuit against the Trump Administration. Oral arguments are scheduled for...

Our Alaskan users might find this interesting. The Alaska Superior Court has found that a Kenai Peninsula Borough’s policy on holding religious invocations at their assembly meetings violated the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. From KTUU 2: “The policy said invocations could only be delivered by chaplains serving...

In a 4-3 decision, the Justices of the Florida Supreme Court overturned a ruling by the 4th District Court of Appeals, and reinstated an $8 million verdict awarded in an asbestos lawsuit. The court found that the standard by which expert witness testimony is weighed in Florida – the...

In a five-justice majority opinion, and the four other justices concurring, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the Death Penalty is unfairly imposed “in an arbitrary and racially biased manner.” Consequently, given what they cited as the flawed nature of State laws permitting death as a punishment...

The Washington State 2nd Division Court of Appeals has affirmed a fine of $319,281 against an anti-GMO group, saying that a lack of intent does not constitute a defense for withholding the public disclosure of donor names. From CapitalPress.com : “In a 2-1 ruling, the court rejected Food Democracy...

A Federal Judge has ruled that Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have evolved to become commodities by definition, and are thus subject to oversight and regulation by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The ruling stems from a case involving “My Big Coin,” a platform that claimed to manage a legitimate cryptocurrency,...

The latest and likely final pair of Washington State counties to transition their court records management to the Odyssey System is coming later this fall. Of the 39 counties in Washington State, only four have not yet made the transition to Odyssey from the state’s legacy system, SCOMIS: King,...

  With the rising ubiquity of part-time rental bike and scooter services, a different category of motor vehicles is occupying the streets and sidewalks, bringing to their operators all the same responsibilities of driving an automobile. Accordingly, Los Angeles has had its very first ‘Scooter DUI’ conviction. From Bloomberg:...

The Idaho State Judiciary will be completing the transition of their county courts to the new Odyssey system on October 9th, 2018. Once this transition is complete, the new counties will be available immediately on CourtTrax for name and case number searches. The counties that will be available in...

  CourtTrax is Coming to the NFPA Annual Convention! We are excited to be attending the 2018 National Federation of Paralegal Association’s Annual Convention and Policy Meeting at the Seattle Airport Hilton on October 25-26! We will be showcasing our products and services, as well as giving our visitors...

The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled to keep confidential the name of a doctor scheduled to attend an upcoming lethal injection execution. The lawsuit, brought by three pharmaceutical companies whose drugs are to be used in the execution, actually welcomed the ruling though it went against them. From ABC...

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson has filed a lawsuit against Richard Hosang, a former stock broker with known connections with the mafia, regarding a series of websites that falsely associate themselves with legitimate charitable organizations. From The Office of the Washington State Attorney General: “Hosang created six nonprofit...

Lawyers and legislators in Oregon are arguing that the state’s sentencing guidelines regarding juveniles convicted of murder are in violation of the Constitution. From NPR: “Attorneys and lawmakers in Oregon say the state is violating the U.S. Constitution because of laws that require juveniles convicted of murder to be...

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill into law that, beginning in October 2019, will eliminate bail for suspects awaiting trial. Each county will be responsible for creating their own procedures to determine who will and will not be released ahead of trial. Supporters of the new law...

A group of young activists filed a lawsuit to force Washington state to reduce greenhouse emissions has been dismissed. King County Superior Court Judge Michael Scott sided with the state in the matter, writing that while climate change is a legitimate concern, it should be addressed through legislative action,...

What constitutes a conflict of interest in the digital age? That is the question currently before the Florida Supreme Court in a case where a social media connection raises a concern over how much weight a ‘Facebook friend’ has in relation to a ‘real life friend’. From the National...

The Attorneys General of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia have all asked a U.S. appeals court to reinstate Net Neutrality. Net Neutrality...

The North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that tracking sex offenders for indefinite time periods via GPS ankle monitors amounts to an unreasonable search and is a violation of the Fourth Amendment. From WSPA.COM : “A 2015 United States Supreme Court ruling in Grady v. North Carolina considered the question...

The National Center for State Courts recently made available their “Judicial Salary Tracker”, which allows the public to find out the salaries of their Local and State justices: “The Survey of Judicial Salaries, published for over 40 years by the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) with the support...

The 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida’s Juvenile Court has created the GRACE Court (Growth Renewed through Acceptance, Change and Empowerment) to address the needs of young survivors of human-trafficking. From 2007 – 2017 there were 2,940 cases of human trafficking reported in Florida. Human-trafficking is described by the National...

Effective July 1st, 2018, a new Virginia law gives the public broad access to Virginia criminal records. From The Daily Press: “The law allows people to make requests for bulk data to the Office of the Executive Secretary, which has to fulfill the request in 30 days. Names, birthdays...

The New Jersey State Judiciary has released a report which finds that the Municipal court Judges, who draw their income from the courts coffers, often abuse the application of punishments of fines and fees for personal gain. From NJ.com : “ found that abuse of laws allowing local...

This summer has seen the spread of a friendly competition between police departments all across the country: who can create the best lip-synch performance of them all? It began with the Bexar County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office in June posting a video of an Officer giving his take on “Fuiste...

Since April of this year, the State of Idaho has acknowledged that ever since the release of the Idaho “iCourt” Portal, the system has experienced multiple slowdowns, errors, and outages that the CourtTrax team has promptly and reliably alerted our customers to. “If you have attempted to search the...

  We are excited to announce that access to Harris County, Texas District Court has been restored! Registered CourtTrax users can resume conducting name and case number searches in Harris County. Additionally, access to electronic document images has also been added to the CourtTrax interface! Users can now purchase...

Since 2010, the California court system has paid out $348,750 to settle five sexual discrimination claims, and $296,660 to settle sexual harassment claims. The California court system additionally paid out $160,000 to settle three claims that did not involve either sexual harassment or discrimination, but rather dealt with the...

On June 26th, 2018, The National Center for State Courts (NCSC) announced a partnership with Measures for Justice – a non-partisan nonprofit with a mission to bring transparency to local criminal justice systems – to work towards creating an extensive set of standards for state and local court data....

Several changes took place in the Los Angeles Superior Court in the springtime; changes which are still causing issues in knowing exactly where to file certain documents. On April 16th, 2018, the Spring Street Courthouse became home to the Complex Litigation Program which was previously located at the Central...

The seventh phase of the transitions of the Washington State Superior Courts data to the new Odyssey system continues on Monday, June 4th as twelve more Superior Courts make the move. They are: Adams Benton Chelan Douglas Ferry Grant Kittitas Lincoln Okanogan Pend Oreille Stevens Walla Walla That will...