The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania is formulating new policies regarding public access to court case files. The Notice from the court highlights the proposed removal of Social Security numbers and bank account numbers from future court files. The public can submit comments by email, which are due by May 28, 2008.

The New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Public Access to Court Records recently solicited comments on its proposed policy changes. Read the submitted comments and the report on policy changes.

An Opinion issued by the North Dakota Attorney General confirms that email messages from government employees “acting within the scope of their public positions” are public records “regardless of whether it is located at their private homes or businesses.”

Last year, I wrote about a similar determination by the Idaho Supreme Court and the Arkansas Supreme Court. The courts, not the government entity, must determine whether public employees’ emails are private, according to the Arizona Supreme Court.

Read a recent round-up of other state court decisions: Are public employee e-mails secret?, The Des Moines Register, March 18, 2008.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press tracks public records news. Subscribe by email or RSS.

Selected Laws Governing the Disclosure of
Customer Phone Records by Telecommunications
Carriers, a recently released Congressional Research Service report, summarizes the laws, legislation and congressional actions related to telephone call log records. The Federation of American Scientists has a database of some of these CRS reports, which are selectively released by members of Congress.

While some people may endeavor to scrub their online reputation, most people aren’t concerned about personal information on the Internet. Investigators make use of formally and unintentional, detrimental and laudatory personal information that’s posted online to check the background of witnesses, jurors, plaintiffs, defendants, insurance claimants, potential business associates or employees and anyone whose reputation and activities must be known. That’s a deep pool, and the Internet can offer a lot that isn’t otherwise easily accessible.

Government agencies that regulate professional licenses are increasingly putting violations by licensees on their Web sites. But don’t overlook private associations of professionals that discipline their members, because they may have descriptions of alleged wrongdoing that go beyond that on the government Web site. Take a look at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) disciplinary action for a David J. Burton (use your “find” tool). Now look at the State of Illinois, Division of Professional Regulation entry. He was charged with a violation of the code of ethics of AICPA, but the government site doesn’t have a record of this.

Generally, you find citations and enforcement actions at the Web site of the agency that regulates the specific profession. Select the profession in the drop-down menu at the Colorado State site for a list of license violations. This is a badly designed site, without a search by name mechanism. I have the same complaint about the North Carolina Real Estate Commission disciplinary actions, but those can be uncovered with a search engine query.

Here are some other government sites listing professional license disciplinary actions:

California Chiropractic Examiners (Search names in all disciplinary reports with a search engine query.)

California Court Reporters

California Physical Therapy Board, Citations and Disciplinary Actions

Ohio State Board of Emergency Medical Services, Disciplinary Actions (Search at Google example: kavanaugh intitle:”disciplinary actions” site:ems.ohio.gov/)

Accountants

Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy

Ohio Accountancy Board Disciplinary Hearings

Educators

Pennsylvania Department of Education, Professional Standards and Practices Commission

Vermont Department of Education

Do you have a favorite site of professional license disciplinary actions?

Search by name or partial name to find disciplinary actions by the California Department of Corporations against employees of escrow agents. Results provide full name, date of action and the restriction imposed.

This database contains listing of individuals that, from January 1, 1991 to the present, have been censured, suspended, or barred by the California Department of Corporations pursuant to Financial Code section 17423 of the Escrow Law.

Find companies and loans they’ve acquired through the Small Business Administration business loans approved database. Search by approval year and state to get a list of all companies receiving SBA loans, with the loan amount, approval date and city where the company is based. Or, to search across all years for which data is supplied and to get other SBA documents on a company, try this search query.

Also, search the database of the Small Business Administration certifications of businesses that are women, minority or veteran owned. Then go to USA Spending to search for any contracts the company has been awarded by government agencies and the dollar amount.

Find accrediting agencies and accredited institutions of higher learning at the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education Web site. Search by region, state, school, accrediting agency, institution, address or city. The list of search results includes address, phone number, Web site, name of accrediting institution and original date of accreditation.

The Council for Higher Education Accreditation charts accrediting organizations recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the U.S. Department of Education. Search the CHEA database for accredited schools by name, state or accrediting institution.

Individual states also record unaccredited institutions. The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs lists unaccredited degree granting institutions which have civil enforcement lawsuits in Hawaii, with links to the Complaints and Judgments.

Schools that once participated in the federal student aid program but have since closed can be searched by name, city or state.

State agencies that regulate postsecondary private schools may assist with finding the records of closed schools.

Read more about agencies granting diplomas which are either fraudulent or fail to meet established standards:
Avoid Fake-Degree Burns By Researching Academic Credentials

Important Questions About Accreditation,
Degree Mills And Accreditation Mills

Diploma Mills & Fake Degrees