How to Obtain a Kentucky Criminal History Background Check

This is a follow-up on yesterday's post. I am sure that many of you will need, at least at one point of your practice, the criminal background of a party, witness, or even a client.

Kentucky's Administrative Office of the Courts allows individuals, employers, non-profit agencies, licensing agencies, government agencies, youth leaders, and emergency management service agencies to request a criminal history background check on other individuals.

Go to this link at the AOC's website, which provides instructions on making a request, outlines the fee structure, and provides links to the appropriate request forms.

WARNING: Some of these requests are not anonymous. For example, if you are an individual or non-profit organization making a background request, you must provide, with your application form, a envelope addressed to the person whose background you are searching.

BlackBookOnline: Helping You Get the Dirt

Kudos to Tom Mighell of Inter Alia / Internet Legal Research Weekly fame for highlighting a website for those of you needing to find out background information (criminal record history, bankruptcy filings) on an individual: Black Book Online.

BBO, which is edited by Private Investigator Robert Scott, helps you find the appropriate resources to find the records for which you are searching.

You indicate what type of records (e.g., criminal records, bankruptcy filings) you want to search as well as where you want to search, and BBO guides you to the appropriate online resources (some of them are free, some of them are not) for those criteria.

I particularly liked the "Custom Search" link on BBO's home page which allows you to prepare a search for multiple types of records and jurisdictions.