California state courts: Budget cuts will worsen California court delays, judicial officials warn

"Californians will soon face longer lines in courthouses, delays in finalizing divorces, prolonged custody battles and extended waits for lawsuits to go to trial as a result of deep budget cuts approved by state lawmakers.

California Judicial Branch leaders will meet Friday to vote on how to allocate the courts' shrinking budget, which will be slashed $350 million from a total of $3.5 billion. The cut, aimed at helping close the state's budget deficit, means the courts have seen more than a 30% reduction in state general funds over the last three years.

San Francisco Superior Court is expected to be one of the hardest hit in the state. Part of the reason for the crisis there is that the court chose to use unpaid furloughs and money from its reserve, rather than layoffs, to make budget cuts in the past. Now, it is struggling to keep its doors open."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Michigan law makes it easier for people to clear records

"A new law, signed last month by Gov. Rick Snyder, gives judges more latitude to erase criminal records for those convicted of more than one minor crime.

Under the previous law, a judge could not clear a person’s criminal record if it contained more than one offense. Under the new law, which took effect immediately, a judge can expunge a criminal record if it has up to three minor offenses.

Many already are arguing that the law does not go far enough, because it applies only to those who committed crimes at a young age, including Reed."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Encinitas spent $25K on public records lawsuit

"Encinitas spent nearly $25,000 unsuccessfully defending itself in a lawsuit over whether to release a draft report of its road conditions that it said wasn’t subject to public review.

The city has also been billed an additional $40,000 by the attorney who won the case. That attorney, Dennis Winston, said he has not received a response from the city and could seek a court order for the money if need be.

A judge ruled in May that the city must release the draft report under the California Public Records Act after a group led by resident Kevin Cummins sued to see it. Encinitas appealed the ruling, but the state appellate court declined to hear the case. The Encinitas City Council unanimously voted July 13 not to take it any further to the California Supreme Court."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Many city agencies flout law by withholding public info from press

"The public’s “right to know” has become the public’s right to wait — and in some cases, getting information from government agencies is a process that can drag on for months without a reliable response.

New York’s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) guarantees citizens access to government documents, but an amNewYork survey of the nearly four-decade-old law found city agencies failing to reply in a timely manner and even ignoring requests outright.

Unions, advocacy groups and journalists told amNewYork they’re frustrated by how time-consuming and challenging getting information can be under the Bloomberg administration.

The New York Times was so fed up that, in December, it sued the NYPD for what it called “a pattern and practice of violating FOIL.”"

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Maricopa County sued by law firm over access to records

"A law firm embroiled in a lawsuit and other disputes with Maricopa County filed a special action against the county, claiming officials refused to properly respond to numerous requests for information sought under the state's public records law.

An attorney representing the firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak and Stewart P.C. filed the special action July 11 in Maricopa County Superior Court, specifically naming county Clerk of the Board Fran McCarroll and county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick.

The suit claims the McCarroll and Gerchick either delayed or did not fully comply with requests for public information about financial matters and communications among county officials and others. The firm claims that the county is attempting to impair the firm's representation in a separate but related lawsuit."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Iowa's top court rules in favor of online records

"Online court records must be maintained for defendants who have been acquitted of a crime or had charges against them dismissed, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court said district courts in Linn and Polk counties acted illegally when they ordered cases be removed from online court records when charges were dismissed or defendants were found not guilty. By contrast, convicted defendants who receive deferred judgments and successfully complete probation may have their cases removed from the public record."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Florida Gov. Hardline Approach On Public Records Requests

"Gov. Rick Scott's combative relationship with Florida's media includes a hardline approach to providing public records.

Under Scott's rules, it costs more to provide access to 1,100 emails from the governor's communications director than it cost reporters to access 24,000 pages of emails from another controversial former governor, Sarah Palin of Alaska, according to one analysis.

Scott's public records policy, while technically adhering to state law, contrasts sharply to former Gov. Charlie Crist and other current state executives, who have more promptly provided records and have imposed fewer fees."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Iowa court records in dismissals, acquittals will remain online

"Online court records must be maintained for defendants who have been acquitted of a crime or had charges against them dismissed, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday.

The court said district courts in Linn and Polk counties acted illegally when they ordered cases be removed from online court records when charges were dismissed or defendants were found not guilty. By contrast, convicted defendants who receive deferred judgments and successfully complete probation may have their cases removed from the public record."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Archives Wants to Put 1940 Census Online

"The National Archives is seeking industry input on a plan to create a searchable database of 1940 U.S. census information when it becomes publicly available in 2012.

By law all census information must become public 72 years after it is collected. This time, instead of simply making images of the census available for checkout on microfilm, the Archives plans to also make scans of the census schedules and maps searchable online and available for download, according to a request for information from the agency."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Funding for victim notification system ends

"A system that keeps victims informed about inmates in the Socorro County Detention Center has run out of federal funding, and county commissioners will soon have to decide whether or not to pay to keep it running.

Victim Information and Notification Everyday was established to help victims of crimes to keep track of the status of inmates, and went online in Socorro County last March. However, the system was set up using a federal grant, which has since run out, and the state has decided not to pay for the system.

'If we could just pay our fair share into the software, we could continue the program for another 10 months,' County Manager Delilah Walsh said at the July 12 county commission meeting."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Court orders officials to release government cell phone info

"New Jersey officials who use taxpayer funded cell phones cannot keep information on the destination of outgoing calls secret, a state appellate court ruled earlier this week.

In Livecchia v. Borough of Mount Arlington, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, ruled on Wednesday that the public interest in information on the city and state of the location of cell phone calls outweighed the privacy interests of state officials. It also rejected an effort by the state to absolutely bar such information from becoming public."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Court rules wife can use GPS to track cheating husband

"A New Jersey appellate court panel ruled that using GPS to track a cheating spouse was not invasion of privacy.

There is a criminal case currently being considered by the Delaware Supreme Court on the use of GPS tracking that we have been following. Friday's ruling comes from just up the road in Gloucester County, New Jersey based on the battle of a divorcing couple.

The plaintiff, who was a law enforcement officer, initially sued his wife for invasion of privacy as well as a private investigator hired by his now ex-wife. The wife put a GPS tracking device in the glove compartment of vehicle which they both owned but was primarily driven by husband. The information from the GPS tracking device was used by the private investigator to catch the cheating husband with another woman."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: New Mexico Court rules complaints against police officers are public record

"The New Mexico Supreme Court order says citizen complaints filed against police officers are public records and must be released upon demand.
The court’s ruling ends a five-year battle by the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to withhold such records from Charles Cox, a former State Police captain.

Cox’s attorney Cindi Pearlman applauded the outcome."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Ohio Supreme Court rules on records case

"If you demand a public record from a local government and find out it’s been improperly destroyed, you may be in line for some cash, but only if you really wanted that document. That’s the ruling Thursday from the Ohio Supreme Court in an unusual case."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: What's behind GOP attack on product-safety database?

"Whatever the reason, the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee has approved a spending bill that not only slashes the budget of the Consumer Product Safety Commission but also cuts off all funding for a recently launched database of product-safety complaints.

The online database is one of the most important consumer tools to emerge from Washington in years. It enables people to report potentially faulty or harmful products, as well as to research goods before making a purchase.

'If this bill passes, it will destroy the database,' said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety for the Consumer Federation of America. 'They're trying to pull the plug on a vital consumer resource.'"

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Ohio lawmakers limit fines for destroying public records, opponents fear no longer deterrent

"The Ohio Legislature has significantly reduced the civil penalties for improperly destroying public records, drawing fire from newspaper publishers and others who say the change effectively does away with a deterrent that prevented local governments from ridding shelves of controversial items.

A measure signed into law by Gov. John Kasich last week places a $10,000 limit per case on fines an agency can be ordered to pay when sued for destroying records. It also limits attorney fees to $10,000 and requires suits to be brought within five years of a record's destruction.

There were no such limits previously."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Ventura Judge sides with gun rights group on concealed-weapon records

"In response to a lawsuit filed by a gun rights organization, a Ventura County Superior Court judge has issued a preliminary ruling ordering the county to release information about concealed-weapon permits and licenses.

The Calguns Foundation Inc. filed a lawsuit in October after the Ventura County Sheriff's Department refused to release all the records the group requested under the California Public Records Act.

The department provided much of the data but did not release documents on why concealed-weapon permits were approved or denied."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator Research Links - June 2011

• Figures of Speech Served Fresh
  

• State and Local Government Search Engine
  

• 101 Best Websites for 2011 for discovering and sharing your family history
  

• Digital Journalist's Legal Guide
  

• U S Commodity Futures Trading Commission - Reparations Sanctions in Effect 1984 - Present
  

• US Commodity Futures Trading Commission - Administrative Sanctions in Effect 1975 - Present
  

• SEC Trading Suspensions
  

• Search Historical SEC EDGAR Archives
  

• Securities and Exchange Commission Forms List
  

• SEC Investment Company Act Notices and Orders
  

• Municipal Securities Disclosures

• NASAA - North American Securities Administration Association
  

• SEC Investment Adviser Search

• Compliance Reporter

• Securities Investor Protection Corporation

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Private Investigator Research Links - May 2011

• FDA Inspection Classification Database Search
  

• Lawyer investigation of juror internet and social networking postings during conduct of trial.
  

• Waterborne Transportation Lines of the United States
  

• UK Death Index
  

• FINRA Disciplinary Actions Online
  

• Social Media and the Vanishing Points of Ethical and Constitutional Boundaries
  

• Florida Court Directory and Websites
  

• Online newspapers in the world, translate with one click

  
  

The rest of my favorite links are here.

Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

California bill would require warrant to search cell phone

"California legislators are nearing a final vote on a cell phone privacy bill that could force Gov. Jerry Brown to choose sides between civil liberties advocates and police.

SB914 by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, would overturn a state Supreme Court ruling in January that allowed officers, without a warrant, to search the contents of a cell phone they take from anyone they arrest."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: FBI must say if it has documents sought by inmate

"A U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday that the federal Freedom of Information Act requires the FBI to disclose to an attorney representing a Texas death row inmate whether it has records that could corroborate his client’s claims of innocence."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: NH Gov. signs law protecting annulled record reports

"New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch has signed a law adding protections for journalists from civil and criminal penalties if they report on criminal records that have been annulled.

The new law, which took effect Tuesday, also protects journalists who report about a record they're unaware has been annulled."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Illinois governor signs law barring public release of names of gun-permit holders

"Gov. Pat Quinn on Saturday signed into law a measure barring the public from knowing who holds a firearm owner identification card in Illinois.

The bill, passed overwhelmingly by Illinois lawmakers in May, was a victory for gun owners who say they have a right to privacy over open-government advocates who say such records should not be secret.

Quinn, who has said he agreed that the information should remain confidential, offered no immediate public comment Saturday, quietly announcing the bill signing by email to news outlets."

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Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator