National News
One county online as Oklahoma works to put court records on Web
December 19, 2013 posted by Steve Brownstein
Oklahoma finally has something to show after eight years of paying $15 extra per court filing for a new electronic records system: One county is online.
Noble County is serving as the guinea pig for thOne county online as Oklahoma works to put court records on Web The public can now search online for case information and view related documents on court filings in Noble County, which previously used the On Demand Court Records system, or ODCR.
Many who live in counties served by Oklahoma State Courts Network, the state-run system known as OSCN, have had access to online documents for about two years, while those in ODCR-served counties still do not.
KellPro, the private company that manages the computerized court records in the remaining 63 counties serviced by ODCR, allows only Oklahoma Bar Association members to buy subscription access to online records through its website.
State Rep. Aaron Stiles, R-Norman, is an attorney, so in some counties in Oklahoma, he can access online records for free but must pay for access elsewhere. He said he's frustrated by the lack of uniformity in what court records are available online for free in various counties. "If a court clerk is going to offer documents to be available online, they should not charge for it," Stiles said. "The taxpayers have paid for this system, and now they're going pay again to see records from it? I think that's called a racket."
Since 2007, Oklahoma has been collecting $25 per court filing to pay for the new system. Prior to planning of the new system, it was $10 per case.
State finance records show the Administrative Office of the Courts currently has $29.2 million in the Oklahoma Court Information System Revolving Fund. Michael Evans, administrative director of the courts, could not be reached for comment. Evans has previously declined to give any timetable or final deadline for a statewide rollout of the Unified Case Management System, only stating that Pottawatomie County will begin the transition next.
Tulsa County Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith said no firm dates have been set for training or transition of her office's system. Originally, at least four counties were supposed to be using Oklahoma's new system by the end of 2012. That quickly changed to a single pilot program online by the end of 2013: Noble County, population just under 12,000, with the county seat in Perry.
Amy McCoy, the first deputy court clerk in Noble County, said the transition to the new Unified Case Management System had many delays, but it had gone smoothly in the end. "It's just like with any new computer program, you gotta keep up with the changes," she said. "It's more involved — which is good because it's more detailed."
Annually, the state pays more than $1.1 million to KellPro to manage the computerized records in the counties that use ODCR instead of the state system.
It bothers Rep. Mike Reynolds, R-Oklahoma City, that KellPro is allowed to charge taxpayers for access to public records on top of what they are paid by the state.
"They are public records, and years ago, we started paying the money through court fees to put those records online," he said. "These are absolutely public records — it should take almost no resources to put them on the Internet."
Now that Noble County is operational on the Unified Case Management System, Reynolds said he sees no excuse for why the process should drag on for the remaining 76 counties that will eventually move to the unified system.
"If they can do one county, they should be able to do all the other counties immediately," Reynolds said.