Texas clerks look to derail web-based public access to court records

Texas court clerks are resisting a state proposal they say would strip them of their constitutional authority by making court documents available online for easy public access.

The statewide database, re:SearchTX, holds records from all 254 counties and is backed by the state’s Supreme Court. It currently is used by judges and soon will be available to attorneys and the public — who could search for civil court records and review them, all from the comfort of home.

Clerks say surrendering these records to a privately operated database would violate their role as custodians; the other side says this is an overstatement, and that taxpayers, not clerks, own the records. Clerks also say their departments will lose money with the public no longer having to head to a courthouse and pay printing fees of up to $1 a page. However, their opponents point out that the new system is set up so clerks would benefit from online users.

The clerks hope the Legislature will stop the new system through a bill introduced recently by state Rep. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches, who contends that clerks and commissioners courts should decide whether their counties participate in the service. Clardy said the plan is fraught with problems, including maintaining privacy for documents that contain sensitive material such as Social Security numbers and record expungements.

Read more: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/texas-clerks-look-derail-web-based-public-access-court-records/pnNpmqoQlwe4s8xfBUZYbJ/