An incorrect Internet address was included in a front-page story published Friday. To view Westmoreland County's criminal court records, go to Pennsylvania's Unified Judicial System at: ujsportal.pacourts.us .
A new computer system designed to unify criminal court records throughout the state will provide less information than was previously available to the public in Westmoreland County.
Some information, such as a defendant's date of birth and address that provide two key avenues by which a person can be positively identified in the county's computer records, has been excluded from the new system.
And without that information, routine public business such as criminal background checks performed by private companies as part of hiring practices and case research by attorneys could be severely hindered.
"I'm not going to be able to identify people," said private investigator Dan Cox. "It makes my job 10 times harder. It will just take people longer to get hired."
Cox works for private companies that hire him to perform background and security checks of prospective employees. He is one of many private investigators who routinely go to the courthouse and use public access computers to review docket sheets and other case information.
In the past, Cox and other investigators would use the computer system both in the courthouse and through a fee-based service to access public records.
The old system provided personal information about a defendant such as date of birth, past and current addresses, and a telephone number. Case information through docket entries that detail court filings also was available.
Now, as part of a $38 million project to unify and computerize criminal court records statewide, personal information available to the public has been limited to just hair and eye color.
That means because inquiries based on a person's name could generate multiple replies, it will be more difficult to ensure that computer records correspond to the right defendant.
Each case file will have to be manually reviewed to find those identifiers to properly determine which computer record corresponds to a particular defendant.
And accurately finding those files also could prove difficult because without detailed personal information, researchers will have to review every file for similarly named defendants.
"This will eliminate one avenue as a way to get information," attorney Jeff Monzo said.
Defense attorneys routinely use public access computers in the Clerk of Courts Office not only to review their own client's records but also to investigate potential witnesses in a case.
"This will just make my life a lot more difficult. It's wasted time," attorney Emily Smarto said.
Only the public access computers at the courthouse and the state's new Web site will not list a defendant's personal information. Staffers in the Clerk of Courts Office as well as in other departments, such as the district attorney and the public defenders' offices, will have full access to all computerized criminal court records.
Judges and their staffs also have complete access to the new computer records, which include not only personal information but also more detail about each court filing.
The decision to exclude ages and addresses from the public was made by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, which designed the new computer system.
Agency spokesman Art Heinz said the system, which is still in the pilot project stage, is under review, but there are currently no plans to add any more information.
"The idea is to provide a sort of case information as opposed to individual information. This is case-oriented. The most appropriate place for rap sheets (criminal background checks) is the Pennsylvania State Police," Heinz said.
Like attorneys and investigators, the Tribune-Review also is handicapped by the new system. As part of its crime and court reporting, the newspaper on a daily basis reviews criminal court records at the courthouse.
Without identifying information, the newspaper will be unable to efficiently confirm criminal backgrounds of defendants.
"We rely on this kind of information to ensure readers we are accurate in our reporting. What will be available through the new system is basically useless and does not adequately satisfy the public's ability to review open court records," said Tribune-Review Editor Tom Stewart.
Teri Henning, the media law counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, said there will be a lobbying effort in an attempt to convince the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to change its policy on the public information being made available.
"The (agency's) new policy is a step backward in terms of access to public court records," Henning said.
Last month, Westmoreland County Clerk of Courts David Patterson sent a letter to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts asking that ages and addresses be restored to the computerized public records.
That request has gone unanswered.
Deputy Clerk Don Heagy said that information might still be added in the future and at some point might be provided outside of the state's new computer system.
"It's important to have a defendant's identification in the computer so we can maintain the same level of inquiries we had in the past. It reduces the amount of inquiries of the case files itself," Heagy said.
Launched Dec. 8, the new computer system has resulted in numerous problems and delays in docketing court filings. Cumberland County was put online last month.
Since it went online in Westmoreland County, public access at the courthouse has been limited. It took days for public computers to be installed, and Thursday they did not work properly.
Because the conversion to the state's new database has been a problem, the county made available to the public its old computer system, at least on a limited basis. Although no new court filings will be docketed on the old system, background searches will be possible because all personal information for defendants still is available.
Heagy said the old system will remain online through Jan. 5.
Meanwhile, few people came to the Clerk of Courts Office yesterday to do background searches.
Kelly Scott, the counter supervisor for the clerk of courts, said most people who tried to use the new system were disappointed.
"They come in and mess around with it a little, then leave," Scott said. "People just aren't coming in as much anymore. They used to wait in line to use the computers."
Additional Information:
