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Youngstown Municipal Court information available online
YOUNGSTOWN
Youngstown Municipal Court case information is available online to the public.
“It’s a major project for us, and we’re very proud of it,” said Elizabeth A. Kobly, the court’s administrative and presiding judge.
Court records, which went online for the first time Tuesday, can be accessed through links on www.youngstownmuniclerk.com and www.youngstownmunicipalcourt.org.
The online records, which go back about a decade, have obvious benefits for those charged with crimes, their attorneys and crime victims, Judge Kobly said.
But it also can be helpful for those wanting to conduct criminal background checks on potential employees or tenants, among other possibilities, she said.
The public access is a service provided by the city’s three municipal court judges and the clerk of courts.
The project’s start-up costs of $25,000 for software rights and annual computer services fees are paid from the court and clerk computerization funds, said George Denney, court administrator. Money for those funds comes from court costs collected from resolved cases.
The information available online includes criminal case history as well as when ongoing cases are scheduled, charges filed and which judges will hear cases.
The system doesn’t have documents such as court briefs that are filed by attorneys, but that will happen in the future, said Sarah Brown-Clark, the city’s clerk of courts.
“This is a starting point for many good things to come,” Judge Kobly said.
Also, clerks will be in each of the judges’ courtrooms to enter data about cases shortly after they conclude, Brown-Clark said.