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The governor of Alabama signed an executive order that creates an online database of all state government spending and legislators’ relationships with lobbyists. This will go online later this year, but many other states have already made available government spending, salary and revenue databases, often in a site dedicated to issues of transparency in government.

Review the Nevada state budget by general revenue, expenditures, departments or function at Nevada Open Government. Also, lookup vendors with state contracts.

Open Georgia includes a searchable database of state employees and their salaries.

South Carolina gathers together links to their various online databases including, state expenditures and salaries.

Similar sites have been assembled by Kentucky, Rhode Island (also see, Transparency Train) and South Dakota.

Transparency rankings and states with spending online are listed at Sunshine Review.

Track transparency in government spending issues reported by independent organizations in Colorado and Illinois.

Legislation, citizen activism and current news on state government transparency can be found at the Center for Fiscal Accountability.

Northwestern University hosts this searchable database of homicides in Chicago that occurred between 1870 and 1930. The mandatory search field is street name, but many other criteria can be added.

Read the description of this massive project, transferring handwritten records to a digital format.

The Chicago Historical Homicide Project began with the discovery of the availability of a rich log of more than 11,000 homicides maintained consistently and without interruption by the Chicago Police Department over the course of 60 years, from 1870 to 1930.

A search by street name returns a list of records with a short case summary. This image is about half of the data from one of those records.

Public records researchers will appreciate the pop up window of sources for related original documents.

The one change to the database I would wish for is to be able to search by name, but the option to download the data in an Excel file should remedy that limitation.

Review the professional and disciplinary background of 44,000 physicians and surgeons licensed to practice in Illinois. Search the database by doctor’s partial first name, partial last name, city, specialty keyword or hospital affiliation. Select a physician’s name to see specialty certifications, legal and disciplinary actions for the past 5 years, and resume details. Disciplinary listings may point to licenses issued in other states, malpractice judgments and claim settlement amounts.

The announcement of the database was issued by Gov. Blagojevich:

Over 85 percent of all licensed physicians and surgeons have provided the information necessary to create their profile in categories that include: the location and scope of practice, the type of insurance the physician accepts, specialties and certifications, legal and disciplinary actions taken against the physician, his or her educational background and any professional activities or honors the physician would like to add. Physicians’ licenses are subject to renewal in July 2008. Before a license is renewed, physicians must provide the information for their profiles.

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?

I guess the sex offender registries have been a sufficiently popular idea that states are continuing to create boutique criminal records databases. Baltimore, Maryland recently approved legislation that would create a public Gun Offenders Registry, requiring those convicted of gun related offenses register their name, address, and photograph with the police department. As yet, a Web database is not available.

California could become the first state to have a Domestic Violence Offenders Registry.

Minnesota, Tennessee and Illinois have Methamphetamine Offenders Registries. Montana includes convicted meth manufacturers in its Sexual and Violent Offender Registry. Oklahoma lists the offenses that require registration in its Sex and Violent Crime Offender Registry. Georgia, Kansas Kentucky and Connecticut briefly considered adding a violent offender registry to their roster of convicted criminal databases. Similar legislation is still alive in Hawaii.

The Illinois State Police maintains the Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry.

The flush of interest in drug dealer registration faded in Maine, New Mexico and Illinois last year, but is still alive in New York. New Mexico has a DWI Offender Database.

Find out if a Michigan drivers license is valid or has been suspended or revoked by searching the Repeat Offender Inquiry.

And, on the meth makers theme, the DEA National Clandestine Laboratory Register, “contains addresses of some locations where law enforcement agencies reported they found chemicals or other items that indicated the presence of either clandestine drug laboratories or dumpsites.”

Bill Clutter’s work as an Illinois private investigator has helped to free two men and is a perfect example of the how investigators in the private sector are an asset to the public.

Bill is also the director of investigations for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

“Most of the evidence was uncovered in the spring of 1992,” Clutter said, “It shouldn’t take this long to exonerate an individual. … The justice system did fail.”

On Tuesday, Herb Whitlock walked out of jail for the first time in nearly 21 years. A judge approved the prosecutors’ motion to drop charges against him in the slaying of a newlywed couple.

Whitlock’s release from an Edgar County Jail came 3½ years after prosecutors freed his onetime co-defendant, Gordon “Randy” Steidl, who had been convicted on much the same evidence but was able to file more timely appeals.

A Chicago Tribune article highlights the details of this case and feature’s Bill’s work as the main reason for the release of both men. My congratulations to Bill for a job well done and helping to further build the reputation of our profession.

Town registrars in Massachusetts publish an annual “street list” of local resident names, dates of birth, occupations, veteran status and nationality, which has been a public record. A state Senate bill would change that status, from one of a public record, to one that is only available for federal, state and local governmental use. [Story: Public listings could go private, Matt Murphy, Eagle Boston Bureau]

The common practice of treating search warrants as public records comports with the law, according to an Opinion issued by the Illinois Attorney General. Once the warrants have been returned to the court they are part of the court record and must be available for public inspection.The Sangamon County State’s Attorney backed the Circuit Clerk, who was apparently one of the few court clerks denying the public access to the executed search warrants. As one of this story’s commentators noted, “at some point they have to be made public because it is the public’s dollars which finance them. Making it clear that every search warrant will eventually become public keeps those issuing them honest. We do want judges issuing them and police seeking them kept honest don’t we?”

A Washington State school district narrowly won support from the state Supreme Court in a decision that pitted the Public Records Act against attorney-client privilege for government agencies. Perhaps most damaging to open government, noted in the Justices’ dissent, is the aspect of the ruling allows agencies to seek a judicial determination as to whether a requested public record must be disclosed.

If all goes according to current plans, by January 2008 Cook County, Illinois will become one of the first counties in the country to digitize vital records and make them available online. The birth, death and marriage records to be made available are not for recent events. The genealogical records include birth certificates that are at least 75 years old, marriage certificates more than 50 years old, and death certificates more than 20 years old.

A recommendation by the Nevada Supreme Court Commission on Preservation, Access and Sealing of Court Records would tighten the regulations on sealing court records. The current standard allows judges to seal records upon request. The commission policy would require a compelling reason for sealing court records and would authorize any member of the public to request a sealed record be opened. Reported in the Las Vegas Sun

Judges in Oklahoma counties are holding closed proceedings of special drug and mental health courts, even though they are not required to be closed. Judges are citing federal law which mandates health records be kept confidential.

The Colorado Supreme Court has instituted a new rule that delays the fulfillment of court record requests for up to 3 days, ostensibly to redact personal information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank account numbers and other personal-identification numbers, such as those on passports or student IDs. This is another instance of the current trend in government to give supremacy to personal privacy over the public’s right to know the activities of its government.

The Delaware Attorney General cannot oppose state agencies which decline public records requests, even when they do so in violation of the law. The News Journal sought salary information for employees of the Delaware Psychiatric Center. The Department of Health and Social Services denied the request, then the newspaper appealed to the Attorney General, who declined to take enforcement action.

The Delaware Psychiatric Center is an agency of state government and so the Department of Justice is precluded by statute from investigating any violations of the Freedom of Information Act alleged to have been committed by the Delaware Psychiatric Center.

The State of Connecticut Judicial Branch is reviewing family law cases that were sealed before 2003 to determine which are eligible for a change in status, then publishing the list of cases. The court outlines its objective.

The plan calls for a review to determine: (1) whether the cases were properly designated as sealed; (2) whether the docket sheets, which set forth the chronology of the case, may be displayed on the Judicial Branch website; and (3) whether the motions and orders to seal the file may be made publicly available. At this point, there are approximately 500 of these cases statewide. Certain cases that have unique issues, including files that are unavailable pursuant to Practice Book Section 7-10, are not included in this phase of the review process, but those files will be addressed in a subsequent phase.

Teacher disciplinary actions finalized in 2007 are now at the Web site for the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Professional Practices.

An Illinois appeals court ruled that employment contracts of state employees are public records.
Read the story
Read the case opinion, Jerry Reppert And The Gazette Democrat V. Southern Illinois University And Walter V. Wendler.

A Monterey County, California advocacy organization has appealed a ruling by a county judge who supported Monterey County’s denial of a public records request related to pending litigation. The organization wants to know how much money the county spending on land use litigation.

You can now add the Illinois Methamphetamine Manufacturer Database to the few other state online databases of meth makers. Search by partial last name, limiter by county is optional. Search returns the full name, AKA, date of birth, county of conviction and date of conviction.

Illinois has unveiled its Illinois Child Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry.

Search by name, city, zip code, county or offender status. Perhaps the kinks aren’t worked out, but I couldn’t get search results by any criteria. You can also map offenders, but only if you know the street address and zip code. Here’s what the database covers.

The CMVOY registry contains individuals convicted of specific crimes in which the victim was a minor, but the crime was not sexually motivated. The crimes – as defined by HB 4193, signed by Governor Blagojevich on June 27, 2006 – include kidnapping, aggravated kidnapping, unlawful restraint, aggravated unlawful restraint, and any attempt to commit any of these offenses when the victim is under 18 years of age and when the defendant is not a parent of the victim. Other offenses include forcible detention, child abduction or murder when the victim was a person under 18 years of age and the defendant was at least 17 years of age.

A Santa Clara County, California Superior Court judged has ordered the county to make its GIS property parcel mapping database available to the public at minimal cost. The California First Amendment Coalition took the county to court, upending the government’s myriad excuses for keeping the map data out of public reach. Reported by AP

A new Texas Administrative Rule institutes a prohibition in the recording of personal information by notary publics.

There’s been much debate in legislatures and government administration about which public records should be sealed. The Texas legislature is considering whether to withhold search warrant affidavits for 60 days from public view. The Nevada Legislature failed to set guidelines or restrict judges from sealing court records and now the state Supreme Court may establish its own requirements.

Iowa State regulatory boards that license professionals such as doctors, nurses, dentists and psychologists will be required to release the record of formal charges against medical professionals that stem from patient complaints.

Many police departments are incorporating online crime and traffic maps into their public safety efforts. Some enterprising folks (New York, Chicago, Boston, and more) gather the data from public agencies and post their own mapping program. Here are a few new additions:

The Tulsa, Oklahoma, Police Department displays current accidents on a map, and lists live calls for service, including address.

The Manteca Police Department, in California, has just put a crime
mapping program online, which provides a visual display of crime activity by general neighborhood. No specific address or name searching is available.

I previously wrote about a site that attempts to collect links to all the agencies with online crime mapping.

A Non-Computer Lawyer’s Guide to Investigation on the Internet, a portal to investigator guides and useful links, particularly for criminal defense investigators, is hosted by a Massachusetts Public Defender. Some of the material is limited and there are dead links, but much of the information leads to valuable resources. Forensics materials include, New York State Department of Health, Guidelines for Determining Brain Death.

The Eyewitness Identification Research Laboratory, at the University of Texas, produced a 2006 study, in conjunction with various Illinois law enforcement agencies, Report to the Legislature of the State Of Illinois: The Illinois Pilot Program On Seqential Double-Blind Identification Procedures.

Find hospitals by state, town or name.

The most far reaching “identity theft” legislation, potentially criminalizing the act of information gathering, has been signed into law, codified in the Illinois criminal code as Public Act 094-1008. An exception is included for private investigators, who may still use subterfuge but may not portray him or herself as the individual whose personal identifying information he or she seeks. Personal identifying information includes name, address, telephone number, date of birth and employer.

Sec. 16G-15. Identity theft.
(a) A person commits the offense of identity theft when he or she knowingly:

(6) uses any personal identification information or personal identification document of another to portray himself or herself as that person, or otherwise, for the purpose of gaining access to any personal identification information or personal identification document of that person, without the prior express permission of that
person, or
(7) uses any personal identification information or personal identification document of another for the purpose of gaining access to any record of the actions
taken, communications made or received, or other activities or transactions of that person, without the prior express permission of that person.

The exemptions, please:

Sec. 16G-40. Exemptions, relation to other laws.

(a) This Article does not:

(1) prohibit the capture or transmission of personal identifying information in the ordinary and lawful course
of business;

(2) apply to a peace officer of this State, or of the federal government, or the officer’s agent, while in the lawful performance of the officer’s duties;
(3) prohibit a licensed private detective or licensed private detective agency from representing himself, herself, or itself as any another person, provided that he, she, or it may not portray himself, herself, or itself as the person whose information he, she, or it is seeking except as provided under this Article;

Portraying oneself as the person whose information is sought will negate its use in court.

(e) Except for criminal and civil actions provided for by this Article, or for disciplinary or licensure-related proceedings involving the violation of this Article, no information acquired by, or as a result of, any violation of Section 16G-15 or 16G-20 shall be discoverable or admissible in any court or other proceeding, or otherwise subject to disclosure without the express permission of any person or persons identified in that information.

States are on a course of assigning a value to particular crimes by segmenting them into boutique registries of sex offenders, methamphetamine manufacturers, domestic violence perpetrators and now a proposed registry for those convicted of violent non-sexual offenses against youth. There is also the Victim Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) service, to which 40 states now contribute names and personal information on those who are incarcerated, searchable in a free Web database.

The domestic violence and the violent offender registries are both proposed by the Illinois legislature. HB 4193, Violence Against Youth, is awaiting the governor’s signature.

I wrote about the Illinois meth manufacturers database, which will be hosted at the state police site.

Oddly, criminal records with the personal information of the offenders, is being posted by states at the same time that county courts are removing their criminal record indices from remote electronic access. Why don’t states just post rap sheets rather than creating a hierarchy of offensive acts in selective registries, which are more stigmatizing and of little or no greater advantage to protecting citizens?

UPDATE on HB 4193: June 26: AP reports, “Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday signed into law a measure making Illinois the only state to have such a list, experts say.”

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has filed that state’s third lawsuit against databrokers for allegedly using fraud to obtain Illinois consumers’ cell phone records. The current action names Advanced Research Inc. of New Jersey. Read more

The Illinois legislature has approved a measure to establish a Methamphetamine Manufacturer Database that will be accessible through the Illinois State Police website. SB 2915, the Methamphetamine Manufacturer Registry Act, is outlined in the bill summary.

…identifying methamphetamine manufacturers and making that information available to law enforcement and the general public. Provides that the Department of State Police must make the information contained in the Statewide Methamphetamine Manufacturer Database accessible on the Internet by means of a hyperlink labeled “Methamphetamine Manufacturer Information” on the Department’s World Wide Web home page.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Illinois governor is proposing that the state enact a far-reaching law which would “crackdown on the unauthorized release or sale of phone records and other private information by brokers and phone companies. ” Under the current legislation the release of any personal identifying information or the account holders’ records would be subject to civil and criminal penalties.

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