Public Records Research:

1. Public Records Research: Sources, Search Tips and Legal Basics

2. Workshop Web Site • www.virtualchase.com/wsu/ • Login: vchwsu • Password: whi1560 • Login/password is case sensitive • 0 in the password is a zero • Content expires before the start of next Web Search University

3. Workshop Objectives • Recognize public vs private information • Identify potential public sources of private information • Understand the limitations of electronic government records • Review major online public records research tools • Grasp the basics of how law affects access and use of personal information

4. Public vs. Private Information: Finding What You Want to Know, Legally

5. What’s the Difference? • Public records • Private information • Public information • Quasi-public information

6. What is Public Record? • Government records • Used to mean no access restrictions • Rapidly changing both online & offline • Redacted personal identifiers • Court, property records • Business filings (incorp’s, dba’s, UCCs) • Public co. filings (EDGAR) • Professional licenses • Many agency records (IP, inspections)

7. But … • Not all government records are public record • What is public record varies by jurisdiction • Rapsheets: public in PA, but not in NC • Marriage certificates: public in NC, but not in MD

8. Changes Affecting Public Access or Status • County recorder docs (deeds, tax liens, births, deaths) - mandatory or voluntary removal of SSNs • TX – AG op mandated removal of SSNs from all county court records; superseded by law (2007 HB 2061) • AR – redact personal info from all court records except the court transcript (court rule) • CO – court directive mandates removal of sensitive info from court docs (2005, amended in 2007)

9. Changes Affecting Public Access or Status • Several states, including MO, NY, CA, CO, AZ, OR, NM, VT pull UCC images from Web site (2007) • Plea agreements – removed from S.D.FL and E.D.PA • NY – removed crimes resulting in 15 days or less in jail from criminal histories provided by the NY Office of Court Adm • Oneida County, NY – gives online access to recorder docs only to certain groups

10. Impact on Research • More time & money for on-site research and retrieval • Greater skill • Knowledge of sources • Tenacious investigative skills • More than ever, online research supplements on-site research • Manage client/patron expectations

11. Keeping Up with Changes • Industry experts find it difficult • TVC Alert Research News • www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/ • BRB Public Records Blog • publicrecordsblog.typepad.com • PI Buzz • www.pibuzz.com

12. What Is Not Public Record? • FBI criminal records (NCIC) • Income tax records • Juvenile court records • Any government record where access is restricted by law. In some states… • Criminal histories (rapsheets) • Vital (birth, death) records • Vehicle ownership

13. What Is Private Information? • Personal or confidential • SSN or date of birth • Unpatented formulas • Undisclosed business practices • Medical and financial records • Bank account information • Credit reports

14. Private Information May Become Public When … • You volunteer it • Publicly listed telephone number • Product registration forms • Online résumés, blogs, forums • You disclose it in a public record • Assets in a divorce filing • Names of minor children in a bankruptcy filing • SSN in real estate documents • The public observes it • Where you work

15. What’s Quasi-Public? • Access restrictions & limited info released • Life insurance policies • www.mib.com • MIB’s Policy Locator Service • Military records • Select information only • Requires written request • Some state criminal repository records • May require fingerprints • May require signed release

16. Determining Public Status • Major federal privacy laws • FCRA & FACTA (consumer) • 15 USC §6802(e) • Gramm-Leach-Bliley (financial) • 15 USC §1681b • DPPA (driver) • 18 USC §2721 • State open access laws • Vary from state to state

17. BRB Publications Inc. • www.brbpub.com • Leading publisher of U.S. public records reference works • The Sourcebook, 8th ed. • Public Records Research System • Public Record Retriever Network (free) • Free government record sites

18. Public Record Research System • Annual subscription fee • Arranged by state/county • Gives public status of government records • Informs how to obtain records • Provides contact information and Web sites, when available

19. Test Your Understanding • True or false. If the information you seek is not public record, you cannot find it out – legally or ethically.

20. Public Records Research: It’s All About Sources

21. Facts About Online Records • 35% of public records are online • Many are incomplete or inaccurate • Lack identifying information (SSN, DOB) • Lack disposition (or up-to-date) data • Online verification is difficult • Many free government sources do not provide personal identifiers • Verify by requesting a copy of the original record • On-site copy may not contain identifiers • SSN Validator (www.ssnvalidator.com)

23. Primary Sources • Who/what generates the data? • Who/what is responsible for its collection, maintenance or use?

24. Finding SSNs & DOBs • Online if you are lucky • Filing forms changing to stop requesting SSNs • Tax liens, UCCs • Deeds, mortgage documents • Bankruptcy filings • Vehicle accident reports • Divorce, custody filings, probate records • Property foreclosures (court records) • Death certificates

25. Finding Information About Private Companies • Identify regulating agencies • Restaurants, food handlers (Health depts.) • Human tissue, donor services (FDA, Health depts.) • Manufacturing (EPA, OSHA) • Licenses and permits • Business organization • Special (liquor, gambling) • Professional (insurance, doctor, dentist) • Background check the owners

26. Major Online Sources • U.S. Party/Case Index • pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov • EDGAR • www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml • Excluded Parties List System • epls.arnet.gov • LexisONE • www.lexisone.com

27. The U.S. Party/Case Index • Federal civil and criminal lawsuits • Bankruptcies • Register w/PACER to access • Check “Courts Not On Index” • Lastname, firstname • Searching middle initials • Sometimes indexed, sometimes not • For everything, search without

28. EDGAR • 2 search options • Header data only • Full-text for past 4 years • Full-text option: Find mention of people or private companies within documents • Supports Boolean or Natural Language • Operators must be capitalized (AND, OR, NOT)

29. More on EDGAR • Conceptual search engine • Search for chocolate might retrieve cocoa • Case sensitive searching • But recent queries suggest no difference between Donald Trump and donald trump • Supports proximity (NEARn) • Supports wildcard (*) truncation • Undocumented – supports nesting

30. Excluded Parties List System • Contract or financial assistance debarments or suspensions • Separate search for past exclusions • Supports wildcards (green* or anders?n; differs from partial search) • Verification necessary for persons • No identifiers (SSN, dob) online • No street address for persons • Street address provides for companies

31. LexisONE • Free case law • Federal • U.S. Supreme Court (all opinions) • Appellate courts (current 5 years) • No district (trial level) courts • No special (tax, military) courts • State • Mostly appellate level; sometimes only high court • Current 5 years • Fee access to public records and verdicts & settlements

32. Finding Tools – General • BRB Free Resource Center • www.brbpub.com/pubrecsites.asp?h=1 • Black Book Online • www.blackbookonline.info • The Virtual Chase • www.virtualchase.com/topics/ • Database of Sources

33. Finding Tools – Specific • Legal Dockets Online • www.legaldockets.com • Business Filings Online • tinyurl.com/qp3xd • Portico Personal Property • tinyurl.com/r3y3y • Criminal Records • www.virtualchase.com/topics/criminal_records.shtml

34. Commercial Vendors • AutoTrackXP (CPO), Accurint (LN), Merlin • Mix private & public information • Access requires permissible use • Contract details permissible uses • Statutory restrictions (GLB, DPPA) • Many commercial vendors disallow use for FCRA-regulated activities

35. Public Records Research: Legal Issues

36. Major Federal Privacy Laws • Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) • 15 USC §6802(e) • Financial records • Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) • 15 USC §1681b • Consumer reports • Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) • 18 USC §2721 • Driver records

37. Permissible (Legal) Uses • Each law has its own exceptions • Business reasons • Litigation and other legal reasons • Employment reasons • Other (signed written permission, court order)

38. Permissible Uses Generally • Fraud prevention or detection • Legal or beneficial interest • Compliance with another law • Fiduciary on behalf of consumer • Current litigation or arbitration • Service of process • Pre-trial investigations • Enforcement of judgments

39. Permissible Uses—FCRA • Consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) • People or entities that perform outside research for employment or other FCRA regulated purpose (15 USC §1681b(a)) • Special obligations to the research subject might conflict with duty to client • Inside researcher (e.g., employer) is not a CRA

40. Example FCRA Regulated Activities • Pre-employment & employment • Exceptions under FACTA • Insurance underwriting • Consumer credit transaction • Determining eligibility for a license issued by a government agency

41. FCRA Is Complex • You (the outside researcher) cannot run a criminal background check on a client’s prospective employee without the interviewee’s consent (and fulfilling other obligations). • But the employer can run a criminal check w/o consent and disclosure if he does the research himself.

42. FTC Interpretive Guidance • FTC Staff Opinion Letter • http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fcra/sum.htm • Haynes-Sum, 15 September 1999 • Law firms could be CRAs under the Act • FCRA covers any information used for a regulated purpose, including public records

43. Interesting Case Law • Remsburg v. Docusearch, 816 A.2d 1001 (NH, 2003) • tinyurl.com/kpd7w • Researchers owe a duty to exercise reasonable care not to subject the research subject to an unreasonable risk of harm

44. Test Your Understanding • Do you need a permissible use (legal reason) to access public records?

45. Open Access Laws and Privacy Issues: Keeping Up with the Changes

46. Professional Reading • BRB Public Records Blog • publicrecordsblog.typepad.com • PI Buzz • pibuzz.com • Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press • www.rcfp.org • TVC Alert Research News • www.virtualchase.com/tvcalert/

47. Public Records Research: Company Research and Business People

48. Finding Personal Identifiers • Becoming increasingly difficult • Commercial vendors (LN/Accurint, CPO/AutoTrackXP, Merlin) • Disclosed in public records • General Web searching • Online résumés, personal Web sites (blogs, MySpace), discussion forums, Martindale-Hubbell, Who’s Who, bios

49. Common Name Searching • Need personal identifiers for verification • Full name, SSN or date of birth • Helpful in combination w/a name • Profession, occupation or industry • Hobbies, interests • Residence, place of work • Memberships, affiliations • Difficult for both manual research and online searching

50. Professional licenses + disciplinary data** Business filings Court records (including bankruptcies and liens) Case law News stories Campaign donations Intellectual property Authored works Congressional testimony Agency comment letters EDGAR, SEC “litigation” Web site Internet Archive Researching Business People **Often includes telephone research