A post at Simple Justice alerted me to the fact that there is a website out there now that offers free searches of people’s criminal history. There are indications that the searches do not catch everything or everybody, but it has worked accurately on several examples that I have tried.

This type of criminal history voyeurism, which surely will have people checking on their friends, neighbors and co-workers, brings a new importance to the world of criminal defense. Namely, people cannot be solely concerned with their liberty when they are charged with a crime, but also with their reputation. I predict that employers, among others, will not only be googling the names or prospective employees, but they will be using this website.

You can visit the website here.

– John H. Bryan, West Virginia Attorney.