OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma judges are warning that proposed budget cuts could close a popular website that allows the public easy access to court records.
The free Internet site, www.oscn.net , is viewed more than 500,000 times a day and provides information about civil, criminal probate, small claims and divorce cases at 18 courthouses, as well as appeals at the Capitol, The Oklahoman (https://bit.ly/1EUGmuF ) reported.
Judges predict the website could shut down at times during the next fiscal year and possibly for good the year after that. They say the impact that would be major for those who often use it.
“It’s not just lawyers. It’s not just judges,” said Douglas Combs, vice chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. “It’s everybody that uses that system - the media, businesses that use it for record checks and background checks on individuals, landlords. The list goes on and on.”
The website is funded by a $25 fee assessed in all civil cases. Those fees brought in almost $15 million in fiscal year 2014 and helped pay for all of the judiciary’s information technology.
A proposal that’s now before the House would allocate $22 million of the $23 million left in the information technology fund to other court operations.
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Information from: The Oklahoman, https://www.newsok.com
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