Yesterday a friend sent me a link to a WI govt webpage, no security, no registration required, that allows you to search for the name of an individual or business, and find whether that party has interacted with the legal system in any way for the last 5-6 years. This includes all (or most) criminal and civil charges brought by or against the party in the state of Wisconsin.
So I look up some names, including my own employer, family members, coworkers, etc., and find some big surprises. The guy who sent the link suggested I look up another guy who was formerly our boss. Lo and behold, the boss was busted for pot smoking in June.
Anyway, this is clearly one of those two-edged swords, with real potential for abuse as well a possibly useful tool when making financial decisions. Rather than post the link and invite others to find and post similar links from other jurisdictions, I thought it better to discuss the concept first.
I would email a moderator or administrator and ask them privately, as the administration has recommended in cases like this. It’s hard for them to make a determination in such a situation unless they can actually see the link in question. If you email it to them and explain what you wish to post, they can better make a determination of suitability.
It sounds like they don’t post information you couldn’t get from the state anyway.
However, if you can just do a search for all the bad mojo associated with a name, that sounds … just a little off - although I can’t defend this position.
Does it just show charges, are does it show judgements? Charges without judgements could be very misleading.
It is a state government website. I believe that posting the link doesn’t violate any SDMB rules, I’m just not sure whether it is a good or a bad idea.
Yes, it shows the resolution of the case as well, but in some instances shows that cases as still being “open”, unresolved.