Public Records...
Unfortunately the events of September 11th have had a direct
effect on your Westlaw and Lexis subscriptions. In the past you were able to
access certain areas of the Public Information, Records, and Filings portion of
the databases. You no longer are able to use the majority of these services. In
fact, Westlaw and Lexis have agreed to report subscribers who show interest in
certain high-profile officials. What you should keep in mind is that when you
are in practice these databases will be invaluable to you. Note the scope of
information you will have available to you as seen below.
Note that you still have access to the obituary section of Westlaw. This
database is invaluable in determining if people you are investigating within the
scope of this class are still alive. For example, using the search term Fletcher
/3 Prouty, I found that L. Fletcher Prouty died last year. Prouty is best known
as the US officer obsessed by the conspiracy theory of President Kennedy's
assassination. Most of you know Prouty as the mysterious Colonel X, played by
Donald Sutherland, in Oliver Stone's film JFK.
The examples above happened to be from Westlaw. Lexis provides the same
services so be aware that whichever service you use, you will probably have
access to these databases, depending upon your subscription.
