Here at CourtReference, we’ve quite familiar with the court systems in every state. Unless you have business with courts in many different states, you may not be aware of how different court systems can be from state to state.
The basic structure is not so different; each state usually has a trial court in which the parties argue both the facts and the law in front of a judge or jury. The judge decides how to apply the law, and the judge or jury decides which facts are true and which are not – in other words, which party … Read More
Every state court system has an administrative branch that manages the court system’s internal operations. It is most often named the Administrative Office of the Courts (as in Washington), but may also be called the Office of Judicial Administration (as in Kansas), Office of the State Court Administrator (as in Colorado , the Chief Court Administrator (as in Connecticut), the Division of State Court Administration (as in Indiana), the Director of State Courts (as in Wisconsin), and even the Office of the Executive Secretary (as in Virginia).
These administrative offices are usually under the … Read More
In our earlier post about court calendars, we discussed various types of court calendars and dockets. When using CourtReference to find court calendars and dockets, remember that these are are usually a detailed list of upcoming hearings, with information about the time and location of the hearing and the name of the case or parties; here’s an example from McLean County, IL. Dockets and calendars often include additional details about the case, such as this one from Dane County, WI with a link to each judge’s weekly calendar; each case on the calendar includes a linked case number … Read More
Last month we discussed judges (Justices of the Peace and Magistrates) who are not required to have law degrees, and whose courts have jurisdiction over areas larger than a city or town. Judges of city, town, village, and other municipal courts in many states are also not required to have law degrees or be practicing lawyers. These judges only have geographical jurisdiction over their own municipality, and in many states their subject-matter jurisdiction is limited to violations of the municipality’s ordinances.
In an article entitled “Halt to Development in Flood Plains Sought” in The Seattle Times, dated March 28, 2012, by Phuong Le, The Associated Press, the National Wildlife Federation asked a Seattle federal judge to issue an injunction to stop the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) from issuing flood-insurance for certain flood-prone areas in Washington’s Puget Sound area. An injunction would temporarily block new development in various habitat areas around the Puget Sound area.
The Federation alleges that FEMA’s flood-insurance program encourages construction in floodplains where endangered species are being harmed. However, according to FEMA, the Federation hasn’t shown that … Read More
Among the many types of public information available on our “Free Public Records Search Directory” you can access the salaries of various federal, state, and county employees. Some of the databases are maintained by newspapers from around the country. Others are maintained by State agencies. Some of the sites provide an accounting of federal or state expenditures, while others allow a salary search of individual employees or positions.
Using the “Federal Employees” website, you can search salaries by name, agency or job title. You can also access the salaries of “U.S. Postal Service” employees by name … Read More
Here at CourtReference, we are always on the look-out for new resources to help our users search for court records. These days, many courts provide online access to a whole range of records, from criminal cases to probate estates to divorce proceedings. What about records that are sealed from public view, though? Searching for information about sealed records can be endlessly frustrating unless you know where to look. Recently, we came across a link in Wisconsin regarding adoption record searches that we hope will prove useful to you.
The first thing to know about searching for adoption records is … Read More
Courts designed to help non-violent offenders who have substance abuse or mental health problems have been around for several years. See our blog posts about Mental Illness Case Information from April 2008 and Drug Courts from October 2008. The idea behind these courts is that incarceration is not likely to fix substance abuse or mental illness, but that people with these problems can be successfully treated and kept out of the criminal justice system. Treatment is significantly cheaper than incarceration and has a better chance of reducing recidivism.
Aside from their special focus, these courts don’t use the same adversarial … Read More
If a government job appeals to you, this information should make your search much easier. Many states offer government job searches by location.
The State of Texas has a great website for employers and employees called “Work in Texas.” The section for employees can be searched by occupation, by hiring agency, by job type and by location such as zip code or region. The website allows job seekers to register in order to take advantage of other free services such as email notifications, resume building and other career tools.
The section for employers allows potential employers to post … Read More