After intense lobbying by open government organizations the New Jersey attorney general will now recommend a task force withdraw restrictive changes to the Public Records Act that were scheduled to go into effect in September. Instead of specifically stating which...
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State agencies that manage vital records, driver licenses and other documents with personal identifiers are starting to implement new procedures for handling and releasing these documents, in accordance with the requirements of S. 2845, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention...
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The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has sent the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) an addendum to their earlier request that the FTC investigate information brokers who are selling telephone toll records through the Internet. The new and refreshing element in...
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Criminal defense investigators have much to be critical of in the approach to interviewing advocated in “the Reid method”, the basis for police interrogations. But all interviewers may find some valuable techniques in their monthly investigative...
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The Contra Costa Times (free registration – use: bugmenot.com) provides a simple rundown of the steps to follow when making a California Public Records Act Request. They also refer the reader to a few of my favorite First Amendment organizations....
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The FBI will check fingerprints for matches in their crime information database, a national source for criminal histories. Some states now require nursing homes to submit fingerprints of new hires to the FBI for a criminal background check. Could this...
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Not many of us have need to obtain police reports from Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio but maybe this town will become a trend setter! The Hamilton Police Department website provides online access to a database of reports, searchable by individual...
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Jackson County, Missouri is suing the state over a new law about to take affect that would be so costly to implement that the county would have to remove all public records from its website. The new law prohibits governments...
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The Missouri Attorney General has a charities lookup on its website. The details are skimpy and not nearly as extensive as the California AG site for finding federally approved, state registered charities and charity fundraisers. California also provides the pdf...
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Mug shots of defendants in federal cases are public records, not just available through discovery, according to the Sixth Circuit, refuting the directive issued to the U.S. Marshals Service by its general counsel to release photos only to aid capture...
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