According to a recent press release from the California Office of the Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger has mandated increased transparency within his office by requiring the online publication of personal financial disclosure and travel disclosure filings for his senior staff and department heads.
Read MoreA Growing Profession: Digital Archivists
Also known as digital asset managers or digital preservation officers, these people adapt all types of documents and written materials for use in computer databases, making the information readily accessible for future researchers.
Read MoreTwenty Million Page Download of Court Documents Leads to Debate About PACER
A PACER trial at several libraries nationwide allowed unlimited access to court records last fall. Open-government activist Carl Malamud recruited others to download documents from the free servers to publish for free on the Internet, sparking a debate about practical obscurity.
Read MorePfizer Announces They Will Disclose Payments to Doctors
Pfizer has announced it will soon report payments totaling $500 or more to healthcare providers, clinical trial investigators and institutions where clinical trials take place.
Read MoreBackgrounding Expert Witnesses
In preparing for an upcoming trial, it is crucial to know the background of any expert witness you are going to cross-examine. Reviewing their previous work and past statements will provide insight into any biases they may possess, and give you the foresight necessary for a stronger case.
Read MoreCourt Restricts Access to Coroner Reports Involved in Criminal Investigations
Following a recent court ruling by the Sacramento Third District Court of Appeal, coroner reports related to criminal investigations are no longer released as public records.
Read MoreIntegrating Expert Knowledge and Public Records for Fact Verification
Despite the ready availability of public records that could help publishers perform simple fact checks on the manuscripts and personalities they handle, few do - making literary and media deception fairly simple to pull off.
Read MoreUsing Public Records to Research Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Facilities
The decision to place a loved one in a nursing home or assisted living facility is never easy. With more than 17,000 nursing home facilities and 33,000 assisted living facilities operating in the United States, picking the right facility could seem like an impossible task. However, public records can provide the information you need to make a well-informed decision.
Read MoreMadoff Scandal: A Good Example of How Records Become Public Indirectly
Client lists, client contact information and how much a person owes their creditors are typically held privately. The bankruptcy case related to Bernard Madoff's firm, however, provides a good example of how once private records become public in bankruptcy proceedings.
Read MoreCalifornia Hospital Mortality Rates Publicly Available Online
The California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) recently released mortality rates for eight different procedures treated by 400 hospitals throughout California. Compiled for public review for the first time, prospective patients can review the death rates when picking a hospital for treatment.
Read MoreFlight Plans
Flight plans are among the lesser-known public records. Often confused with flight manifests, these seemingly random assortments of numbers and letters contain extensive information that could be useful in litigation or in verifying an individual's claimed whereabouts.
Read MoreJustice Scalia on Using Public Records to Prepare for a Court Case
In their recent book, Making Your Case: The Art of Persuading Judges, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and attorney Bryan A. Garner advise that in preparing for a trial, conducting public records research on its participants can be invaluable to winning the case.
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