So I take it you won't be telling your clients that your sources are not official, authenticated, or correct? When you are sued because your online source was not official will you tell your E&O carrier?

By the way, the county recorders and clerks are responsible for the accuracy of the records they keep. Most do a great job in upholding their feduciary duties to the taxpayers. This falls apart entirely when the clerk's job is turned over to IT vendors and this is why you see the disclaimers on the web sites and not posted on the courthouse walls.

As to your contention that the VA legislature has "dealt" with the Virginia Watchdog for doing what the Counties were doing, this "Stop BJ Ostergren Law" is not likely to withstand challenges in Federal court. This issue has already been decided publishing online what the counties were publishing online don't be so sure.

The fact is this law targeted the messenger instead of the agencies who were responsible. It violates Ostergren's First and Fourteenth amendment rights. Here's what the Virginia ACLU which is prepared to fight this on the behalf of Ostergren had to say "but the government can’t put the numbers online and then turn around prevent the public from using those numbers.”

“This is a grossly misplaced bill that attempts to mask the fact that Virginia’s lawmakers have failed to prevent Social Security Numbers from being placed online in the first place,” added Willis. “If Social Security Numbers were removed from public records when they are placed online, there would be no need for this bill.”

Similar cases have already been tried in Federal Court and the results are consistently the same. See The Florida Star v. B.J.F., 491 U.S. 524 (1989) and In a case more directly on point, a district court struck down a statute that prohibited the publication of the addresses, telephone numbers, and Social Security Numbers of law enforcement officers.  See Sheehan v. Gregoire, 272 F.Supp.2d 1135 (W.D. Wash. 2003).  The plaintiff in Sheehan had obtained such information from public records and posted it on a website advocating police accountability.  Relying on Florida Star, the court held that the statute was unconstitutionally overbroad.

Your legislature has done nothing to protect the citizens of Virginia and by this bill shown their intent is to shoot the messenger and allow the government to do even more harm to the people who trusted them  -- the Virginia public.

According to your posts, you are no longer a member of the Virginia public, only a subscriber to remote access of records that belong to the taxpayers of Virginia and you cannot be bothered with going to the courthouse for accurate official records. Neither can your counterparts in India, Pakistan and China.

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