A library card will be all you need to gain free access to Oregon court documents with new program at Redmond Library.
In the past, short of going to the downtown courthouse in Bend; Deschutes County residents had no access to their court documents.
That all changed March 1. Recognizing that geographic distance plays a part in barriers to justice in rural areas, the Deschutes County Access to Justice program worked to create a pilot program to provide easy access to court documents. Starting March 1, all it takes is a library card to have free public access to view and print case documents out of the Redmond County library branch. Non members pay $1 fee to use the internet. Library Staff members log users into the Oregon Judicial Court Information Network so they can look up filings in criminal and civil cases. Residents will be able to print legal papers and track recent developments in their cases.
The Deschutes County Access to Justice Committee, is made up of representatives of the local legal community. Each year, the committee surveys users of Deschutes County Circuit Court to identify legal needs in the community. “Easy Access to court records is one of the top three needs consistently identified, along with the need for attorneys and the need for general court information,” says David Rosen, Bend Injury Attorney.
At the time of the article, this program had been expanded to include the Deschutes County Library branches in La Pine and Sun River. Redmond, Marion, Washington and Clackamas county libraries also offer this service. Think Out Loud covers expansion of Access to Justice program.
