Don’t mess with Louisiana private-eye Stephanie Ware. She received a ticket in the mail with the phrase “official government business” on the envelope. After further investigation she determined that the company who sent this notice was a non-governmental entity. This raised red flags for Stephanie and also for the US Postal Service. It is possible that this company may have violated a statute prohibiting mail that implies a false connection with the federal government as (39 USC Section 3001).

As a result of Stephanies complaint, it is being reported that the United States Postal Inspection Service is now collecting evidence to determine whether a photo enforcement vendor violated mail fraud statutes.

The Louisiana State Board of Private Investigator Examiners is also currently investigating whether Redflex has violated a state law requiring a private investigator licenses for anyone in the business of providing photographic evidence for use in court cases.

If you have been the victim of a similar notice by this company you can join the fight by visiting ReportRedflex.com

It doesn’t do researchers much good when we discover that personal information databases are taken off the Internet, as recently occurred with the Colorado Marriage and Divorce Index, reported at LegalDockets Online. Especially if there aren’t good alternatives. The Colorado State Archive has a limited statewide marriage and divorce index at the Archives, only through 1939.

The Jefferson County, Colorado Sheriff Crime Mapping database retrieves crime incidents over the past year for the unincorporated areas. Search by parcel number or address.

You never know when a marginal public records database, such as Virginia Freshwater Fish Citations, may break a case, right? Search by name and find where the guy was and the date of the catch.

The statewide New Jersey Property Owner Search at the Asbury Park Press has been updated.

Caddo Parrish, Louisiana Prisoners In Jail database, with case information and booking photos, is online. View in IE.

This isn’t a free divorce index, but for those who are subscribers to VitalSearch you can now search the Nevada Divorce Index, covering 1967-2005.

The Department of Education Web sites for Alaska, Indiana, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Tennessee and West Virginia are a few that have a searchable database of certified public school teachers. These databases can mostly be searched by partial name, a convenient tool to obtain a teacher’s full name, verify her certification or how long she’s been teaching. States that don’t have educator certifications online - such as Mississippi - but whose teachers are nationally certified are in the database of the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Search by state, city, district or name.

If you want to identify states that have online teacher certification records go to the specific state Department of Education Web site. Not everything can be found in a search engine! As an additional measure, you can formulate a Google query. One way you might look for the Massachusetts teacher licensing:

Massachusetts “teacher certification ” “department of education” -site:.com

Some states may refer to this as an “educator certification”.

South Carolina requires the last 5 digits of the teacher’s Social Security number to verify a credential - making the site unusable for the general public. California teacher lookup is at the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing site, which won’t come up if you’re using the phrase “teacher certification”.

The California Department of Labor Standards Enforcement has 5 different personal information databases, including a studio teachers certification database. Search other State Labor Department Web sites.

I previously wrote about some school finder resources and other state educator certification lookups.

Reports written by private investigators for their government clients may be a public record, was the message in a ruling by the California 3rd Appellate District in BRV, Inc. v. Siskiyou County Superior Court. The court determined that the report California investigator Diane Davis prepared for her client, Dunsmuir Joint Union High School District must be released to the petitioner.

The petition for extraordinary writ is granted.
The District shall release to BRV the Davis report in its entirety, subject first to redacting the names of students, parents, staff, and faculty other than Morris or elected members of the District’s Board. Costs and reasonable attorney fees in this proceeding are awarded to petitioner. (cite)
Except as may othewise be ordered by the California Supreme Court, the writ shall become effective, and release of the report is required, 30 days following issuance by this court of the remittitur.

The Ohio Supreme Court wrestled with the question of whether a private agency that is substantially supported by government funds is subject to the public records law. The court majority in the 4-3 split decision ruled against open records, a blow to government transparency. Read the AP story

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff has updated their Web site, listing all active warrants in real time. Once the warrant is withdrawn it is removed from the site.

The Louisiana governor signed HB 1103, a motor vehicle and driver license personal information opt-out for law enforcement. The law, which goes into effect August 2006, offers the option to law enforcement, court officers, their family members and other adults living in their home to withhold the release of personal information on drivers license and motor vehicle to to a third party.

The Louisiana legislature is considering SB 731, Prohibits the release of certain criminal information to the general public, which would remove the narrative portion of police reports from public access. This is the substance of the report, which describes the incident and offense.

The Louisiana Private Investigators Association (LPIA) is opposing this measure, along with HB 673 which would remove access to driver license information.