1. Easy Access to Public Records: From Investigating Companies to the Dead! 2008 ORALL Annual Meeting Sue Altmeyer, JD, MLS Electronic Services Librarian Cleveland Marshall College of Law Library October 17, 2008

2. URL for this presentation Powerpoint: http://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/resourc es/lawpubs/publicrecords1/ documents/ORALLpubrectalk.ppt http://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/ Handouts: Will be available November 4 at http://www.law.csuohio.edu/lawlibrary/resource s/lawpubs/publicrecords1.html

3. What is available? Only public records. Ohio records: See ORC 149.43ORC 149.43 Some items excluded from definition of public records: ▪ medical records ▪ probation records ▪ adoption records ▪ confidential law enforcement investigatory records

4. What is available? Federal government will not disclose ▪ national defense information ▪ personal and medical information ▪ ongoing law enforcement investigations and confidential sources ▪ certain geological information ▪ information exempt under federal law See 5 USC 552(b)., (FOIA)5 USC 552(b).

5. Restrictions on Accessing Statutes limiting access to government records. Driver’s Privacy Protection Act, 18 USC 2721 18 USC 2721 Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 USC 1681 et seq. – applies when obtaining information from a seller of “consumer reports” Fair Credit Reporting Act

6. Restrictions on Accessing, Cont’d Social Security Number protection, for example: Ohio 127th GA SB 6 (R.C. 149.45(B)(1) and (2))SB 6 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, 42 U.S.C.A. § 405c(2)C(vi)(II)Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 Pending legislation: Social Security Number Misuse Prevention Act

7. Restrictions on Accessing Court policies limiting records available. See the Ohio Supreme Court’s Proposed Superintendence Rules 44-47Ohio Supreme Court’s Proposed Superintendence Rules 44-47 Public records may not be published or readily available – may have to do information request.

8. Is “free background check” on the Web possible?  Only to a certain extent.  Free materials available on-line are discrete bits of information. Pay databases retrieve information from many sources.  Not every court and government agency makes records available via a Web site.

9. For Fee Databases Westlaw & LexisNexis Accurint signup is free – you only pay for each search. Accurint Openonline has minimal set-up fee and annual cost, then you pay for each search. Openonline  Other reputable fee services include: Choicepoint, KnowX.com, 1800US Search.com, NetDetective.net, SearchSystems.com.

10. Important Tips Cross-check results among multiple databases or websites to ensure accuracy. Check the coverage of the database. How far does it go back ? What states or counties are included?

11. Doing the Search – Starting Points and Portals Comprehensive reports available from a fee service, such as Lexis, Accurint, Westlaw Cleveland Law Library’s Public Records FAQ Netronline SearchSystems.net PublicRecords.com

12. People Finders Public Libraries may offer Reference USA, Haines Criss+Cross, etc. Free People Finders on the web: pipl.com: Searches Deep Web. pipl.com Whitepages.com - Leading Provider Whitepages.com More: Cleveland Law Library’s People Finder FAQCleveland Law Library’s People Finder FAQ

13. Sneaky Ways to Find People Professional license databases Voting Records Driver’s License databases Return of Service in court cases Accident reports Find their relatives or neighbors

14. Example: Use portal and voter records to find an address Connect to searchsystems.netsearchsystems.net Search terms “voter registration Ohio” System lists online voter registration databases. To go further via searchsystems.net costs money. So, just google Franklin County Board of Elections. Franklin County Voter Inquiry

15. Accident Reports Accident reports – Mail request to Department of Public Safety in Columbus. Some accident reports online: Policereports.us. Policereports.us. Some States and cities do so too (eg, Arkansas) but usually have fee. Arkansas

16. Problem – Cell phone and Unlisted Numbers For-fee databases with credit header info. New Lexis database Alternate Phones Cell Phone Search; Intellius – name search for fee, reverse lookup is free. Cell Phone SearchIntellius Web Detective – cell & unlisted – for fee. Web Detective Mobile Phone Number.com – voluntary listings free. Mobile Phone Number.com National Cellular Directory – free, but must provide YOUR cellphone for the directory. National Cellular Directory

17. Finding Married/Divorced Women  Look at marriage licenses, divorce dockets, possibly probate court name change records to determine woman’s current name. See vital records section, below.

18. Neighbors, Friends & Relatives Neighbors County Auditor – Lucas County Auditor –Lucas County Auditor Infospace.com Relatives Peoplefinders.com ; Intelius; Spock Peoplefinders.comInteliusSpock Last name only search Friends/Associates MySpace ; Facebook; Friendster.com; LinkedIn; Xing; Ning MySpaceFacebookFriendster.comLinkedIn XingNing

19. Assets – Generally Pay Databases the easiest, most comprehensive Check recent divorce filings. Portico: real estate, aircraft, boats Portico

20. Assets – Real Estate Nationally- Portico for county recorders, Property Assessment Databases for auditors. Portico Property Assessment Databases Ohio - Butler County Clerk Statewide Property Search –recorders’ offices Statewide Real Estate Tax Search – county auditors' offices.Butler County Clerk Statewide Property Search Statewide Real Estate Tax Search

21. Assets – Real Estate Special Cuyahoga County Databases: Foreclosure Sales – Cuyahoga county. Foreclosure Sales Neo Cando – Property, tax and transfer information for Northeast Ohio. Neo Cando Cuyahoga Enterprise Geographic Information System (CEGIS) detailed information on houses and businesses Cuyahoga Enterprise Geographic Information System (CEGIS)

22. Assets – UCC & Airplanes UCC filings – Ohio Secretary of StateOhio Secretary of State National Association of Secretaries of State – Links to Secretary of State offices in all fifty states. National Association of Secretaries of State Searchsystems.net for UCC filings. Searchsystems.net UCC Article 9 filings may be with county recorder. Airplanes - LandingsLandings

23. Criminal Records  So-called "national" databases inaccessible to non-governmental users. See “National Criminal Background Checks: Myths, Realities & Resources” by Jackie Walters.National Criminal Background Checks: Myths, Realities & Resources”  Pay databases– LexisNexis, Westlaw, Openonline and Accurint may not pick up misdemeanors or all arrests. Examine scope of database before pay to search it.

24. Criminal Records  Cuyahoga County felony arrest records can be obtained at County Sheriff’s office. Cost = $6.00. Back to early 1970s. County Sheriff’s  www.buckeyesheriffs.org for other Sheriff’s offices www.buckeyesheriffs.org  Do docket search of individual courts.

25. Criminal Records Free Internet Databases: Criminalsearches.com: Searches across numerous states and counties. Does not include all courts/counties. Criminalsearches.com Federal Bureau of Prisons (Incarcerated 1982 Federal Bureau of Prisons to present. Minimal info.) Ohio Dept of Corrections Offenders sentenced to serve time in a STATE facility. Ohio Dept of Corrections Corrections.com – Links to other states’ databases. Corrections.com

26. Criminal Records Sex offender databases: o National Sex Offender Public Registry: Search for names of sex offenders in multiple state databases at once. National Sex Offender Public Registry o FBI's State Sex Offender Registries: Links to state sex offender databases. FBI's State Sex Offender Registries

27. More options for Criminal Records Ohio Attorney General’s Office WebCheck: For fee, need fingerprints and driver’s license. Arrests for felonies and escalating misdemeanors. WebCheck  Federal denied persons list Federal denied persons list  Newspapers, Court Dockets.  BMV records, if permissible purpose.

28. Bankruptcy and Court Records U.S. Party Case Name Index (PACER) Justia Federal District Court Dockets LLRX Court Rules & Dockets ; National Center for State Courts ; Butler County Statewide Court Records Seach – Links to dockets. LLRX Court Rules & Dockets National Center for State Courts Butler County Statewide Court Records Seach Know-X Civil Lawsuit Finder – Searches all states at once for $2.95. Know-X Civil Lawsuit Finder

29. Vital Records – Birth & Death Records National Center for Health Statistics Ohio Department of Health – order online or info on local offices’ Web sites. Ohio Department of Health Cleveland Necrology File Social Security Death Index Americas Obituaries and Death Notices Americas Obituaries and Death Notices Online Searchable Death Indexes

30. Vital Records – Marriage and Divorce Abstracts can be ordered from Ohio Dept of HealthOhio Dept of Health Copies of marriage licenses/ divorce decrees must be ordered from the probate court/domestic relations court Lexis has marriage and divorce records for 15 states, Westlaw has these for some states too.

31. Social Security Numbers In court documents (especially divorce and UCC filings), but recently courts enacted rules to redact this information. Most pay databases have removed social security numbers or mask last four digits, including LexisNexis, Westlaw, Openonline, Accurint and KnowX. LexisNexis, Openonline will provide authorized users with certain type of account that gives access to Social Security numbers.

32. Social Security Numbers Free verifiers: Social Security Number Validator Carnegie Mellon Social Security Number Watch The Social Security Death Index - for people who died since 1963Social Security Death Index

33. Professional Licenses Ohio License Center Ohio Medical Board Disciplinary Actions Ohio Medical Board Disciplinary Actions Ohio Supreme Court: Attorney Information Search Ohio Supreme Court Certified Financial Planner Look-up Cleveland Law Library’s Public Records FAQ Cleveland Law Library’s Public Records FAQ

34. Campaign Donations FECInfo: Donor look-up for federal campaign contributors. FECInfo Opensecrets.org: Donor name lookup for federal elections. Opensecrets.org Ohio Secretary of State Follow the Money.org: State political campaign donations. Follow the Money.org

35. Other Info about People Spock finds news articles about people. It searches networking sites and the Web. Spock Zoominfo - gathers information about people in their professional capacities and about companies. Zoominfo  Newspapers and General Internet Searches

36. Dead People To find heirs, try obituaries: Americas Obituaries and Death Notices (Newsbank) Americas Obituaries and Death Notices Online Searchable Death Indexes Cleveland Necrology File Cleveland News Index Try relative databases, discussed above

37. Company Information Company’s Website SEC’s Edgar for public companies SEC’s Edgar New IDEA database coming soon. See SEC's Press ReleasePress Release Searching SEC docs easier on SECInfo.com, Lexis, Westlaw, Mergent.SECInfo.com Cleveland Law Library Guide to Business Information lots more links. Cleveland Law Library Guide to Business Information

38. Information about Companies Check local public library for databases such as Mergent, Gale’s Business & Company Resource Center Secretary of State – Corporate charters, articles of incorporation, UCC The National Association of Secretaries of State Contact Roster The National Association of Secretaries of State Contact Roster

39. Company Information Most popular for-fee database - Dun & BradstreetDun & Bradstreet Nice free ones with public and private company info: Hoover's Online Forbes – America’s Largest Private Companies ThomasNet