Public Record Update Newsletter © November 2010

The online system for the Arkansas Circuit Courts that is managed by the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts has plans to add three more counties to their free online access program to court docket information. The three county Circuit Courts to be added, perhaps as early as today, include Faulkner, Searcy, and Van Buren. The three current participating county Circuit Courts are Garland, Hot Spring, and Pulaski counties. More counties will be added over time.

One may search the Circuit Court Docket Index, including judgments, by name or case number. There are several cautionary points to consider:

• The system contains no records from the county's District Court - the lower court.
• The search allows one to search by name with DL or DOB, but results do not show a DOB or DL. So if a DOB or DL is not known, there can be a problem with the true identification of a subject.

See https://arep2.aoc.arkansas.gov/cconnect/PROD/public/ck_public_qry_main.cp_main_idx

The Nevada Office of Vital Records announced a fee increase effective December 1, 2010 for optioning copies of vital records. The fee for a certified copy of a birth or death will increase from $13.00 to $20.00. The fee for a verification only or for a no record found request will increase from $8.00 to $10.00.

Note that Marriage records are found at county recorder office of issue, divorce records with the county clerk of issuance. However, the state office will verify a record exists for these vital records since 1968. The fee for this service increases from $8.00 to $10.00. The fee increase apparently will not affect record fees at the county level.

See http://health.nv.gov/VS.htm.

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) is the copyright holder and publisher of the AAMVA Code Dictionary (ACD). The ACD Code System is used to exchange conviction and withdrawal information between the states' driver licensing authorities. The ACD Codes enable the states to use the Commercial Driver's License Information System (CDLIS) and the  the Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) to exchange convictions and withdrawals. As a result, many states use the ACD to indicate out-of-state convictions on driving records. Some states have even incorporated the ACD Codes within their own conviction and action tables. For example, Alaska has converted their conviction table to the ACD Code system as their primary conviction code table. Therefore, the knowledge of what a specific ACD Code means can be a very helpful indication when deciphering the meaning of a conviction or withdrawal action.

Effective November 8, 2010, a number of changes were instituted to the Code by AAMVA through the Release 3.2.0. Below is a quick summary of some of the additions and revision. There are other clarifications that included in 3.2.0, but are not shown below.

·    Additions

-   A91 'Administrative Per Se for BAC at _ _ (detail field required)' to mirror the existing A11

·    Revisions

-          Modified the definition of A11 [Driving under the influence of alcohol with BAC at _ _ (detail field required)] to indicate it is the exact BAC reported

-          Modified the definitions of alcohol-related codes A04 and A94 to include the specific BAC ranges to which the codes apply

·    Clarifications

-          Added clarifications that the B27 is used when the B19 is inappropriate (for violations of out-of-service  orders)

-          Further clarified that Admin Per Se convictions and withdrawals (those based solely on an administrative  action) must be reported with the A90, A91, A94, and A98 codes; A04 - A26 must be used for convictions and withdrawals based on court-adjudicated offenses.

Clarified that all 'W00' [Withdrawal, Non-ACD violation] withdrawals must be retained for at least 3 years

Again, this is a partial list. With the permission of AAMVA, a copy of the ACD Codes with descriptions and abbreviates appears in the printed and online versions of the MVR Access and Decoder Digest. The product also includes the driving record conviction tables for each state. See www.mvrdecoder.com. For more information about AAMVA see www.aamva.org.

Winnebago County, IL recently replaced their very old, antiquated public access system with a new enhanced program. Criminal case files are available from 1980, civil cases from 1988. Traffic citations, DUIs, and ordinance violations are available for 1996. Court calendars are also available.

The web page offers an excellent User's Guide that fully explains how to use the system. The access site is found at www.cc.co.winnebago.il.us/caseinfo.asp?P=I.

New Resource for CRAs - The State Rules Register

The CRAHelpdeck.com has released a new online, interactive guide that details the state laws which impact Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) and their employment and tenant screening clients. Quite simply, the Register is designed for those needing an uncomplicated explanation in plain English of what is reportable to the client, what is usable by the client, and what steps the client must take to be in compliance with state laws.

There are three different searchable state reports available, including the ability to create a customized state comparison matrix, and seven Resource Tabs with detailed coverage of related topics. Subscribers also receive Email Alerts of state statutory and regulatory changes. The Register is written by practicing attorney Larry Henry whose background is employment law. Mr. Henry is nationally recognized as an expert of the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

See www.crahelpdesk.com for details and a demo. 

Follow-up on Diploma Mills and Fake Degrees

Also, the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board has an excellent web page that includes a list of evaluation questions to help determine if an institution is a Mill; see http://eab.state.wi.us/resources/diplomamills.asp

To Our Readers...