The State Court's INFile Project is Significantly Delayed

Earlier in July, the State Court sent out a notice that their "INFile" project will be significantly delayed. Their specific wording was "We anticipated those changes would take effect this spring, but they will not be available soon."

We interpret this to mean a delay of at least 6 months, probably longer. What this means for E-Filing firm administrators is that you can simply take the INFile transition off of your 2026 "ToDo" list, and relax. 

When we see it appear on the horizon again, you can count on us to make sure you have plenty of advance warning. Of course, if you have any questions about our advanced E-Filing options and features, please reach out to our friendly support team for assistance.

The Long Odyssey: Doxpop's 4-year Quest Pays Off

Doxpop is now posting court cases from counties using the Odyssey case management system online. This means that several courts previously removed from Doxpop will be rejoining us and many new counties will add their court records. This is good news for our customers, our company, and—we believe—for the general public.

A significant development in Indiana court case public access has made this extension of public court case access possible, more than four years after the first court adopted the Odyssey case management system. On September 13, 2011, the Indiana Supreme Court issued an “Order Concerning the Bulk Distribution of and Remote Access to Court Records in the Electronic Form”, requiring that approved organizations like Doxpop be allowed to receive delivery of the cases. 

Back in October of 2007, anticipating the conversion of the Monroe County courts to Odyssey, Doxpop filed an initial request for access to the public information (in the case of Monroe County this would have allowed us to continue to post their courts’ records on Doxpop, which we had done since 2002). Each year since then we have renewed our request, but have never received access to this public information until a couple of weeks ago. “Better late than never”, we suppose, but four years was a long time to await this proper decision.

Doxpop receives no public money to support our service. Rather, it is supported entirely by service fees from voluntary subscribers. Because of this, we are always looking at the bottom line and working to keep our costs down. The bottom line on this particular data set is that it is very expensive, because in an unusual policy decision, a government agency has decided on its own to charge more than the cost of reproduction for public information.

During the past four years, the Administrative Division of the Indiana State Court has maintained a firm policy that private businesses like ours may not make a profit when providing the service of delivering court data in bulk. In an ironic twist, the Administrative Division has now decided that although private sector firms may not make a profit on this service, the Administrative Division may charge whatever they deem to be the "fair market value" of the information.

We are scratching our heads over how "market value" can be reasonably determined in the absence of a free market. Even more interesting is the notion of a government agency deciding to compete in a market that they also regulate. This is certainly not unheard of- In fact it has echoes in the ongoing national debate over health care. However, it is an unusual step for an agency to take without the sanction of a representative body such as the legislature. We hope that, as the branch of Indiana government charged with making fiscal policy, the Indiana legislature might provide the Administrative Division with some guidance on this policy in the future.

Regardless of the concerns we have with the policies lurking in the background, the Doxpop team is delighted to be able to enhance and extend our database by adding these courts, making Doxpop even more valuable to you. Keep watching for updates on Odyssey data!

Welcome Sullivan County--And a few other county announcements

We have a few county announcements to share with you today.

First of all, we are very excited to announce the addition of the Sullivan County Recorder to the Doxpop database. Information on mortgages, deeds, liens, and other documents filed from July 2004 and forward can be now be researched on Doxpop. A very special thanks goes out to Sullivan Recorder Shelly Parris and her staff for making this effort possible.

We also have a few announcements regarding the removal of records of two Doxpop county providers.

Doxpop is removing Allen Criminal cases from our system due to Allen County's recent conversion to the Odyssey Case Management system. We have maintained this historical data without updates since February 2011 to ease the transition as Allen migrates to their new case management system. To access current criminal case information for Allen County, go to http://mycase.in.gov. Non-probate civil cases for Allen County continue to be available and regularly updated on Doxpop.

We also must announce the removal of records from the Madison County Recorder's office. Madison County is currently migrating to Fidlar's "Laredo" system. On October 1st, 2011 the transition will be complete, and all recorded documents for Madison County will be available through Laredo and cease to be available via Doxpop. On October 1st, Madison County's records will become available on a pay-as-you-go basis via Tapestry (http://tapestry.fidlar.com) for lower-volume users.

We have enjoyed our partnership with Allen and Madison counties and wish them nothing but the best in their future endeavors.

Stay tuned for more announcements as we continue to add more county information providers to our services!

Jennings County Recorder Joins Doxpop

Doxpop would like to welcome the recorder's office of Jennings County, Indiana as Doxpop's newest information provider. Doxpop would like to offer a very special thank you to Lisa Jines and her staff for helping make Doxpop available in her county.

Jennings County records are available beginning in November of 1991. Scanned images of documents such as mortgages, deeds, and liens are also available for purchase beginning in November of 1991 as well.

Jennings County is the 18th county to join the Doxpop network.

Stay tuned for more announcements in the very near future. Make sure to visit http://www.doxpop.com to start using our service today!

Directory of Indiana local government information now available.

Last week on this blog, we introduced a comprehensive and growing set of links to local government information in Indiana. You can find it by following the link in the right sidebar of this blog.

This is a community effort- We invite all of you to pass along any links we've missed or let us know of corrections.

Thanks to Tina Gunter in the title division at Doyle Legal, who jumped in right away to add several important links to information from Marion County!

Edgewood Town Court Records Now Available on Doxpop

Doxpop is pleased to announce the addition of Edgewood Town Courts as the newest local government information provider in the Doxpop community. Edgewood records can be found by searching for court records in Madison County, Indiana. Edgewood Town Court joins two other municipal courts from Madison County--Anderson and Pendleton.

Doxpop would like to offer a very special thank you to Debbie in the court office for her patient work with our technical staff. Edgewood records beginning in 1995 are available via Doxpop. Stay tuned for more county data sources expected to join our service in the near future.

Madison and Allen County Information Removed From Doxpop

Two counties and a municipal court that formerly worked with Doxpop have recently moved to the Odyssey system run by the Indiana State Judiciary rather than the local court system.

Because the State Court Administration has refused our request to provide regular access to public court information, we will be removing these courts from our system the week of January 31, 2011. They include the courts of Madison and Allen Counties and the Gas City municipal court.

If you would like to see these courts return to Doxpop, please let your state legislators know of the problems we are encountering in our mission to provide access to public information for professional users. Your voice is important.

Important Note: This county's data was restored to the Doxpop system in November, 2011. Read the details here: http://blog.doxpop.com/2011/11/long-odyssey-doxpops-4-year-quest-pays.html

Vermillion County Recorder Joins Doxpop

The Vermillion County Recorder, Lori Porter, has just become the 14th Indiana Recorder to make recorded document index and image information available on the web via Doxpop. Lori is also providing the Doxpop Property Watch Service to her community. Both services are provided on the web without the need to dip into the pockets of taxpayers, proving once again that county government in Indiana can still teach our state a few lessons about efficiency and accountability.

Local property owners who wish to receive email notification when documents referencing their property are filed by the Recorder may go to watch.doxpop.com to register. It costs nothing to use this free service.

Access to detailed index and image information is provided at www.doxpop.com as a subscription service designed to serve businesses. Fees collected for the subscription service allow Doxpop and the Recorder's Office to provide these services with no public funding. The recorded document index information for Vermillion County dates back to August of 1994. Scanned images of documents begin in December of 1997. Vermillion County indexes over 69,000 documents, with images provided for 44,000. In all, Doxpop now provides index information for 5.1 million Indiana recorded documents and images for 4.1 million documents.

Vermillion County's Court Records have been available online at Doxpop since 2009 thanks to the efforts of Clerk Florinda Pruitt and Judge Bruce Stengel. Doxpop provides similar public access services to several other counties in the region including Vigo, Sullivan, Clay, Putnam, Montgomery, and Fountain.

Hancock County, Indiana joins Doxpop Fine Payment

Doxpop is pleased to announce that the Hancock County Clerk is now using the Doxpop Online Fine Payment Service.

The Hancock County Courts in Greenfield, Indiana handle many citations for drivers in Greenfield and other surrounding areas. Interstate 70 runs through Hancock County, and the Mount Comfort Road exit feeds traffic traveling through McCordsville using Olio Road to get to other areas such as Fishers and Noblesville. Doxpop Fine Payment helps these drivers pay their tickets on-line without the need to travel to the county courthouse with cash or a certified check in hand.

Doxpop understands that it's no fun to pay a traffic ticket, but we are doing what we can to help by simplifying the payment process and allowing drivers to focus instead on avoiding future citations.

Franklin County, Indiana joins Doxpop Fine Payment

Doxpop is pleased to welcome Franklin County, Indiana as the newest county to join Doxpop's Fine Payment service. Franklin is the seventh county to provide drivers with the option to pay their traffic fines on-line with a credit or debit card.

Truckers who have received traffic citations on I-74 while traveling through the southern part of the state may pay their fines conveniently in their homes in other states. Local residents, or those vacationing around Brookville Lake, can save a trip to the courthouse by paying their fines on-line.

People wishing to pay citations on-line may visit http://payment.doxpop.com

Yorktown Town Court Records Now Available

Doxpop is pleased to announce the addition of Yorktown Town Court as the newest local government information provider in the Doxpop community. Yorktown records can be found by searching for court records in Delaware County, Indiana.

Doxpop would like to offer a very special thank you to Judge Patricia Zeabart for her help in making Yorktown records available on Doxpop. She started this effort in 2004 and we are pleased to finally be able to reward her patient encouragement. Doxpop plans to add many more municipal courts in the next year. We recognize the value that these locally focused and locally accountable courts add to the judicial system in Indiana.

Allen County Converts to New Case Management System

Important Note: This county's data was restored to the Doxpop system in November, 2011. Read the details here: http://blog.doxpop.com/2011/11/long-odyssey-doxpops-4-year-quest-pays.html

The courts of Allen County, Indiana, are in the midst of a major conversion from an electronic case management system that they have used for many years to a new one being distributed by the Indiana Supreme Court, and called Odyssey. This change is affecting the availability of Allen County cases on the Doxpop online access service.

With regard to criminal and citation cases:

1. New criminal and citation cases (infraction, ordinance violation, misdemeanor, and felony) filed in the Allen County courts will not be accessible on Doxpop.
2. Criminal and citation cases included in the Doxpop database before September 7, 2010 will continue to be available on Doxpop for approximately one week until the migration of those cases to the Odyssey system is complete.
3. Those cases mentioned in #2 will NOT receive any new entries or updates from the Allen County courts.
4. Eventually all historical cases will also be converted to the new case management system.
5. As soon as the conversion of all cases to the new system is complete, Doxpop will remove those cases from our database and they will no longer be accessible on Doxpop.
6. Allen County criminal and citation cases can be sought at the state web site for online access, http://mycase.in.gov.
7. Until we remove Allen County criminal and citation cases from Doxpop altogether, it might be wise for searchers to provide a double layer of security by searching both Doxpop and mycase.in.gov for case information to prevent something “slipping through the cracks”.

With regard to civil cases:

1. Doxpop continues to display all disposed and open civil cases for Allen County. We also continue to show all newly-filed cases and updates to existing cases, with updates occurring daily.
2. At some future point, Allen County will move these cases, also, to the Odyssey system. At that point Doxpop will cease to display them on line. We will provide clear notice about that next step in this conversion as soon as we know dates and details.


Additional Background and Explanation

Doxpop has enjoyed a very positive relationship with the Allen County courts and Clerk of Circuit Court for several years. Under the rules of the Indiana Supreme Court the local courts and clerk could elect to publish all criminal, civil, and citation cases on line via the Internet for remote access. The decision to provide this convenience service in partnership with Doxpop was the prerogative of the local officials, with the approval of the administrative division of the Indiana Supreme Court.

Court case information is sent to Doxpop through secure, automated, and regular updates from our partner courts. Doxpop retains an exact image of the case information sent to our servers by partner courts, an image that we never edit, abridge or change in any way.

Allen County has chosen to adopt and install a new case management system named Odyssey, which has been developed using public funds and is being distributed to Indiana courts by the Judicial Automation and Technology Committee (JTAC) of the Indiana Supreme Court. The Doxpop team has known for some time that Allen County was engaged in this process, although there has been prolonged uncertainty about when the actual transfer of case data to the new system would occur. Doxpop received notice of the effective date of the data transfer only when it was actually in process.

The Indiana Supreme Court takes the position that cases filed and maintained on the Odyssey system are no longer under the discretionary control of the local courts and clerk with regard to public access under the applicable Trial Rule 77(k) and Administrative Rule 9. Decisions about online publication of court case records now, consequently, are entirely within the purview of the Indiana Supreme Court.

Doxpop filed a request with the Court three years ago to receive records from the Odyssey system so that we could continue to provide advanced access, search, and management tools for our customers who use court records in Odyssey counties. The Court has not chosen yet to grant Doxpop access to the data.


Important Note: This county's data was restored to the Doxpop system in November, 2011. Read the details here: http://blog.doxpop.com/2011/11/long-odyssey-doxpops-4-year-quest-pays.html

Doxpop In the News

The growth of Doxpop's Fine Payment service has recently been reported by several Indiana newspapers and television stations as well as the Associated Press. Six counties participate in the service that allows those who need to pay traffic tickets to do so online with a credit card.

In an interview with The (Richmond) Palladium Item, Wayne County Clerk Jo Ann Stewart said the service is "especially useful for out-of-town motorists."

A recent broadcast on WTHI-TV in Terre Haute featured an interview with Sullivan County Clerk Shelly Hiatt Parris. She believes that Fine Payment is "so simple more people may be willing to pay their ticket in a timely fashion."

Franklin County, Indiana joins Doxpop Property Watch

Doxpop is pleased to announce that Franklin County has been added to the growing list of Indiana Counties now using Doxpop Property Watch.

Doxpop Property Watch is a free service that helps prevent fraud by notifying people when documents are filed that affect their property. Early warning when unexpected or suspicious documents are filed provides property owners with a powerful tool to stop fraud in the early stages. Doxpop Property Watch sets watches both on a property owner's name and on properties.

Doxpop Property Watch helps property owners prevent and detect property fraud and identity theft.

Go to http://watch.doxpop.com or call your Recorder today to see if your county is included.

Montgomery County Recorder Now Providing On-Line Access Via Doxpop

Doxpop is pleased to welcome the Montgomery County Recorder to the Doxpop network. Montgomery County is the 13th Indiana Recorder's Office to offer on-line access to documents such as mortgages, deeds, and liens via the Doxpop website. In addition to providing on-line access to recorded documents, Montgomery County is also the 10th Indiana county to participate in Doxpop's Property Watch service. Read more about Doxpop Property Watch here.

The Montgomery County document index extends back to 1995, while scanned images are available beginning in July of 2000. Doxpop currently provides access to over 12.5 million court case records and over 4.9 million recorded documents. Doxpop would like to offer a very special thank you to Recorder Kathy Traughber for helping to make this service available in her county.

Doxpop's Fine Payment Service Now Available in Fayette County, Indiana

Doxpop is pleased to announce our newest addition to the Doxpop Fine Payment network, Fayette County. Those with traffic citations in Fayette County now have the convenience of being able to pay these fines online. Many thanks to Clerk Ann Frost for all her hard work in helping to make this service available in her county. Connersville is the county seat of Fayette County. Major highways located in Fayette County include IN 1, IN 44, and IN 121.

Save yourself a trip to the courthouse by paying your Fayette County citations online at http://payment.doxpop.com. This service is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.

Pendleton Town Court Records Now Available

Doxpop is pleased to announce the addition of the Pendleton Town Court as the newest local government information provider in the Doxpop community. Pendleton records can be found by searching for court records in Madison County, Indiana.

The information available for Pendleton Municipal Court includes all court cases filed beginning in January 2004. Tax warrants and foreign judgments are only available in county courts, and therefore are not available in Pendleton Town Court records. Doxpop would like to offer a special thank you to Court Administrator Deena Watkins and Judge George Gasparovic for their patient support. Additional thanks to all of the folks at Boyce/Key-Court software for their willingness to try out new ideas to serve their customers better.

Doxpop has been providing public access to Indiana court records since 2002 and Indiana recorded documents since 2005. The Doxpop network currently provides access to over 12.4 million court case records and over 4.9 million recorded documents.

Doxpop Fine Payment Now Available in Sullivan County, Indiana

Sullivan County is the latest county to be added to Doxpop's Fine Payment service. Drivers with traffic citations filed in Sullivan County now have the capabilities of paying these fines on-line. Sullivan is now the fourth county to take advantage of this convenient feature with many more Indiana counties expected to follow suit in the near future. The Doxpop staff would like to offer a very special thank you to Clerk Shelly Hiatt Parris for helping to make Doxpop Fine Payment available in her county. If you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being stopped on US 41 or US 150, in towns such as Sullivan or Carlisle, make sure you save a trip to the courthouse by paying your traffic fines online at http://payment.doxpop.com/

Bartholomew County, Indiana adds on-line ticket payment using http://payment.doxpop.com

Earlier today the Bartholomew County Commissioners, and Clerk Tami Hines, took action to make an unpleasant task easier. Drivers receiving traffic citations in Bartholomew County may now pay their fees and fines on-line at http://payment.doxpop.com/. Truckers who received a speeding ticket while passing through Bartholomew County on I-65 may pay after they've returned to their homes in other states. Local residents may opt to save a trip to the courthouse in Columbus by paying on-line. This new service will reduce workload at the clerk's office, allowing staff members to focus on helping the public with more complex court matters.

People wishing to pay citations on-line may go to http://payment.doxpop.com/.

Local economic development leaders would not comment on whether plans are underway to open a new Citation Outlet Store in Edinburgh.

Doxpop Announces New Fine Payment Service

Doxpop Announces New Fine Payment Service: Fees for Traffic Citations May Now Be Paid Online in Wabash County and Wayne County, Indiana.

Doxpop is pleased to announce that traffic fines can now be easily paid online in Wabash and Wayne County. This will eliminate the time and difficulty that the public would otherwise experience in traveling to the courthouse to pay fines. Doxpop provides the convenience of paying such fines with one's credit or debit card from the comfort of home or office.

When traffic offenders are ready to pay their fine, they may simply go online and enter the link for Doxpop Fine Payment at http://payment.doxpop.com/. From here, one can quickly search for their infraction by name, ticket number, or other basic information. Doxpop, through the Wabash County Clerk's Office, will display any open traffic citations. Simply select and view the tickets that match one's results, and check the due dates and total amount due. The total payment, including the credit card online transaction fee, will be calculated and displayed prior to the completion of your transaction. The fines are sent to the clerk and notifications will be sent via email when the payment is accepted, usually within 30 minutes.

This service, like all Doxpop services, is provided without any use of public funding or tax money. Use of Doxpop Fine Payment is available to anyone, and does not require one to be a subscriber of other Doxpop products or services.