Hamilton County Court Clerk Greg Hartmann: Wins Public Record/Internet Privacy Ruling

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- A federal appeals court in Ohio says local government officials can't be held liable when public records on the Internet are abused by crooks who steal someone's identity. The 6th Circuit U.S.Court of Appeals declared that information contained in public documents can trump a private citizens expectation of privacy and their property interests. Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann -- a Republican now running for a county commission seat -- was sued by a citizen who claimed personal identifying information was accessed from the clerk's public website. Cynthia Lambert said the personal data gathered by identity thieves included her Social Security number, which appeared on a 2003 traffic ticket for speeding posted on the court clerk's website.

In Ohio, the traffic ticket forms issued by police departments are uniform across the state. They include standard information like name and address, weight and height and a line for an SSN. County officials now redact SSN's from material before it goes onto the Web. Lambert wanted Hamilton County to create a credit-monitoring fund to limit the risk of financial injury from future identity theft incidents. The complete text of the 11-page ruling by the federal appeals court -- which was issued last week -- is available here (pdf). A three-judge panel said that stealing ID information from a government Web does not equate to the harm suffered by a rape victim who is publicly identified by a sheriff. It said the first is not actionable in court; the rape victim would have a claim for damages and invasion of privacy. Said the court:

"Lambert has provided no support for the proposition that the harm to her credit implicated a liberty interest that any court has recognized as fundamental, and her argument to the contrary is simply unpersuasive. Furthermore, she does not even begin to meet the hurdle required for recognition of a new fundamental right. The protection of a person's credit is a concept relating to one's finances and economic well-being, one that by its very nature bears no relationship to the kinds of interests that are 'implicit in the concept of ordered liberty.' . . . We therefore agree with the district court that Lambert's injuries are more properly described as financial in nature and not truly liberty interests at all.

"Although this court has never acknowledged a constitutional right to privacy based on the infringement of a property interest, Lambert urges us to recognize such a right in this case."

The three-judge panel said that "to constitutionalize a harm of the type Lambert has suffered would open a Pandora's box of claims under 42 U.S.C 1983, a step we are unwilling to take."

Hartmann, County Win Internet Identity-Theft Case

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The U.S. Constitution's "right to privacy" does not cover an Ohio woman who claimed she became the victim of identity-theft because Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Greg Hartmann's office routinely posted public records on the Internet in an effort to broaden access. A federal judge dismissed Cynthia Lambert's lawsuit last week and found that the government's interest in disseminating information can trump an individual's expectation of keeping it private.

The case appears to be the first of its kind decided in a federal court, and at this point is a victory for those who favor few restrictions on Internet access to public records and government documents. However, there is likely to be an appeal.

Hartmann was the Republican candidate for Ohio Secretary of State last year, and he had posted millions of records on his office Web site -- everything from divorces to traffic tickets and citations for unpaid taxes. The records are open to public inspection by law in Ohio. Hartmann's policy extended them to the Internet, which extended access to the entire world. At one time, he had about 6 million records posted on the Web. Access has been curtailed over the past year because of ID-theft abuses. Lambert was the first victim to sue the county for financial damages.

In September 2003, Lambert received a speeding ticket in Blue Ash, Ohio, a Cincinnati suburb, and the officer filled out the Ohio Uniform Traffic Ticket form, which included her name, signature, address, birth date, driver's license and Social Security numbers. The ticket was published on the county Web site.

About a year later, Lambert got calls from a Sam's Club store that somebody using her identity had bought $8,000 worth of electronics, and a Home Depot, where $12,000 was charged to a credit card in her name. Lambert learned that an ID thief used an Ohio driver's license to open the accounts. All identifying factors used by the crook matched Lambert except one -- the license number was a single digit different than her own. When Lambert checked the county Web site, she found the speeding ticket posted there was off by the same digit due to an error by the citing officer in Blue Ash.

In 2004 she filed suit in U.S. District Court claiming economic damages, harm to her reputation and credit rating and violation of her privacy rights. (Southern District of Ohio, 1:04-cv-837.)

U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson said he was sympathetic to Lambert, but added the issues she raised were not proper for a federal lawsuit. ''The court determines that plaintiff's alleged privacy interest in her name, signature, home address, birth date, driver's license number and Social Security number do not implicate either a fundamental right or one implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Plaintiff has only identified a risk of financial harm,'' Watson wrote.

Watson said Lambert could refile her lawsuit in the state court system to pursue any claims under Ohio law, including a right to be free from identity theft. ''The court finds that the issues presented are more appropriate for resolution by the state court system and therefore the court declines to exercise its supplemental jurisdiction,'' he said.