The state of New York has gone a step further in keeping child pornography off the Internet. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has created a database that flags child pornography and keeps it from getting on social networks such as MySpace and Facebook.
The hash values of more than 8,000 known child-porn images are already stored in the database. If a photograph is uploaded, it will be checked against the database. Any photos that match will be prohibited from being uploaded. Police will also have access to the database.The database will be managed jointly by Cuomo’s office and the New York Division of Criminal Justice Services.
http://news.cnet.com/politics-and-law/8300-13578_3-38.html?keyword=sex+offenders
Ohio police will now have access to the Ohio Courts Network, an online system that allows them to check a person’s criminal history without having to check every county and court. The agreement may also work in reverse, giving judges and attorneys quicker access to police criminal records.
Only 71 of Ohio’s 340 county and local courts are connected to the network. But state Supreme Court officials say it has written agreements with 240 other Ohio courts which could soon start providing records for the network.
http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2010/07/agreement_could_mean_quicker_a.html
Many people rely on criminal background checks to help them learn about a person’s past. However, criminal court records may not tell the entire story. That was the case with Gregory Tyson Below. He was charged with attacking several women in the Wisconsin area. And even though he had just two misdemeanor convictions, the civil records told a different story.
In a restraining order filed in 1995, a woman said Below ‘had sex without consent strangled me until I threw up on myself, took a knife to me, tried to burn me with a frying pan.’ Eight other women made similar complaints about Below over an 18-year time period from 1992 to 2009.
Below now faces charges of sexual assault, battery, kidnapping and stalking of sever different women. Officials who work with victims say that those civil cases should be examined to look for criminal conduct to get the entire history of an offender.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/98177914.html
Riverside County California residents now have to pay for accessing court records. The new policy began July 1 and requires those who want to search online court records to have a credit card listed. The cost for criminal case searches is $1 and for civil cases it’s $7.50.
The money raised is expected to be put in the state coffers, said a spokesperson for the court’s executive office. The state experienced deep budget cuts due to the recession. The expansion of the records system is also costing more, officials said.
You can buy searches in bulk to save money. For $250 a month you can search the court database as much as you want.
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100704/NEWS0802/100704005/Online-court-records-no-longer-free
Vendors for one Wisconsin festival want to know why they have to under a criminal background check. Officials with the Pardeeville Watermelon Festival said there will no exceptions to the rule even though some vendors have complained.
Some say the requirement will scare away vendors and take money away from the festival. The cost of a background check is $25. Others say that since the festival is an open air event that checks will do little to protect the public.
The festival will be held September 11.
http://www.wiscnews.com/portagedailyregister/news/article_c4db32d8-78ff-11df-b46e-001cc4c002e0.html
Like other states, Rhode Island has yet to comply with a federal law requiring changes in state sex offender registries. States have until July 2011 to comply with the law.
Rhode Island lawmakers say implementing the law, known as the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, has proven to be expensive in other states. The law is currently on hold in the state legistlature.
Lawmakers are concerned about a provision that would require sex offenders as young as 14 to register for the rest of their lives. On attorney said that requirement could have “catastrophic consequences” for the offenders and their families.
http://newsblog.projo.com/2010/06/a-bill-that-would-have.html
A new pilot program in Iowa requires attorneys to file their petitions online. The system is being tested in Plymouth County. Story County is expected to begin the pilot program in September.
Attorneys upload documents to a website where it is approved by clerk of court for approval. The system should reduce the number of trips to the courthouse for attorneys. The general public can only see the documents at a terminal in the courthouse and no confidential records are included.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100607/NEWS/6070325/-1/GETPUBLISHED03SCRIPTS/More-online-court-filings-seen-for-Iowa
A Florida law that takes effect August 1 requires stricter background checks for those who care with the mentally and physically disabled, children and the elderly. The was passed earlier this year and signed by Gov. Charlie Chris after a Florida newspaper investigation revealed that felons were working in jobs at day care centers, assisted living facilities and home health care agencies. Some of them had been convicted of rape, child abuse and murder.
The laws allowed many employees to begin working before the background check was completed. The new law does away with any exemptions and bars sex offenders from working as caregivers.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/fl-background-screening-law-20100531,0,6147729.story
The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would require federal contracts to be online. This would inform the public of the relationship between the government and these contractors. Supporters of the bill say it will bring transparency to Washington.
Opponents say the bill could lead to sensitive information getting online. A House version of the bill has different language.
The 2010 Public Online Information Act was proposed by Sen. Jon Tester of Montana. He was the first Senator to post his schedule online and is known as an advocate for open records.
http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100506_3514.php?oref=topstory
Missouri’s State Judicial Records committee is considering limiting the amount of information released in online court records. The new rules propose that the records would only show the cities, states and ZIP codes for criminal defendants and anyone involved in a civil lawsuit. And any cases where the charges or dismissed or the defendant is found not guilty will be blocked.
Committee members say they are trying to balance the public’s right to know with the individual’s right to privacy. The Missouri Press Association is opposing the changes which must be approved by the state’s Supreme Court.
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/04/18/1886046/missouri-might-tighten-clamps.html#ixzz0mvXNn3OJ
