August 10, 2009 | Texas Lawyer Blog
"It's there for the world to see on the same day. Anybody can look at that petition, and on the same day you can print a copy of the petition," says Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson. Jackson says his office has been working for months to set up the same-day online access to new civil filings, but U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon's July 20 order pushed up the launch date to July 24. "Because of this preliminary injunction, we had to act quickly," says Jackson, who took office in 2008.
Courthouse News, a legal newswire headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., sued Jackson and chief deputy clerk Wes McCoy, alleging they were violating the U.S. Constitution by making it difficult for its Houston reporter to gain immediate access to civil court filings. In a July 20 order, Harmon disagreed with the defendants' argument that a "slight delay" in allowing the reporter access to the pleadings is reasonable and that providing the reporter with same-day access interferes with its objective of "getting online and not in line." In the Opinion and Order of Preliminary Injunction, Harmon found that the 24-to 72-hour delay in access is unconstitutional. John K. Edwards, a partner in Jackson Walker in Houston who represents Courthouse News in the suit, says access for the Courthouse News reporter has improved since Harmon���s order, but there are a few issues, such as the large watermark across each page of the newly filed suits.
"We are optimistic we are going to be able to work something out with them, without having to go to trial, but the devil is in the details," Edwards says. Jackson announced today a new criminal case online search feature: The public can view documents for free and purchase uncertified copies for 10 cents per page.
- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
Harris County Boosts Public Online Access to Filings
The public now can go online to see most new civil suits filed with the Harris County District Clerk's Office on the same day they are filed and print an unverified copy of them free that day (after that, standard fees apply). The new online service, available on the district clerk office's Web site, launched in late July, after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction that gives a reporter for Courthouse News Service same-day access to new civil suits filed in the Harris County district courts."It's there for the world to see on the same day. Anybody can look at that petition, and on the same day you can print a copy of the petition," says Harris County District Clerk Loren Jackson. Jackson says his office has been working for months to set up the same-day online access to new civil filings, but U.S. District Judge Melinda Harmon's July 20 order pushed up the launch date to July 24. "Because of this preliminary injunction, we had to act quickly," says Jackson, who took office in 2008.
Courthouse News, a legal newswire headquartered in Pasadena, Calif., sued Jackson and chief deputy clerk Wes McCoy, alleging they were violating the U.S. Constitution by making it difficult for its Houston reporter to gain immediate access to civil court filings. In a July 20 order, Harmon disagreed with the defendants' argument that a "slight delay" in allowing the reporter access to the pleadings is reasonable and that providing the reporter with same-day access interferes with its objective of "getting online and not in line." In the Opinion and Order of Preliminary Injunction, Harmon found that the 24-to 72-hour delay in access is unconstitutional. John K. Edwards, a partner in Jackson Walker in Houston who represents Courthouse News in the suit, says access for the Courthouse News reporter has improved since Harmon���s order, but there are a few issues, such as the large watermark across each page of the newly filed suits.
"We are optimistic we are going to be able to work something out with them, without having to go to trial, but the devil is in the details," Edwards says. Jackson announced today a new criminal case online search feature: The public can view documents for free and purchase uncertified copies for 10 cents per page.
- Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
Pol. Adv. Paid for by the Loren Jackson Campaign, Brad Beers, Treasurer. Copyright © 2009 Loren Jackson. All rights reserved.
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