TOOLS FOR CASE DEVELOPMENT AND

INVESTIGATION ON THE INTERNET

Virtually everything is online

• Personal information

• Property information

• Business information

• Criminal information

• Court information

• Legal resources

We Are Your Guide Through . . . The Final Frontier

The Catch-All Sites

• www.google.com– If you want to know what’s out there about

someone, “google” them

• www.virtualgumshoe.com/resources– A directory that links you to free and fee-

based websites, organized by subject matter

• data.tennessean.com/– A wealth of obscure but potentially useful

information

GOOGLE

Personal Information

• www.pipl.com– Search engine for people, even if you only

have partial information

• www.namefromphone.com– Allows you to find out to whom a phone

number belongs

• www.ssnvalidator.com– Provides information about known SS number

PIPL

Property Websites

• 170.190.30.53/WebproNashville/default.asp– Davidson County Tax Assessor website– Property ownership, tax delinquency, property

values

• www.googlemaps.com– Get directions, maps, birds-eye views, and

street level view

Webpro

Google Maps

Bill’s House from the Air

Bill’s House from the Street

Down the Street from Bill’s

Business Information

• http://www.state.tn.us/sos/– TN Dept. of State: corporation rules and regs,

as well as regulated entities• tnbear.tn.gov/Ecommerce/FilingSearch.aspx

– TN Secretary of State: search for business information

• www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/websuers.htm– SEC filings, including tender offers, insider trading

reports, proxy statements, bankruptcy

Criminal Information

• ccc.nashville.gov/portal/page/portal/ccc/home/– Criminal Court Clerk’s website

• www.nashville-sheriff.net– Davidson County Sheriff’s website

• www.state.tn.us/correction– TN Dept. of Correction’s website

• www.ticic.state.tn.us/sorinternet/sosearch.aspx– TN Sex Offender Registry

The Case of Clifford Garretson

A Real Life Example

Appt’d to the case . . . Check it Out.

Run Client’s Name . . .

What else here?

• Look for criminal histories for alleged victim and all witnesses

• Find out if client on probation in Nashville

• Get all sorts of forms (continuance, expungement)

Is Client on State Probation, Parole or in Prison?

Is Your Client in Local Jail?

Legal Resources

• www.tsc.state.tn.us– AOC’s Website: TN judicial opinions, TCA in

searchable format, Court rules and forms• pacer.psc.uscourts.gov/

– Federal court opinions, filings, case information, briefs, etc.

• www.tncrimlaw.com/TPI_Crim/index.htm– Annotated pattern criminal jury instructions

• www.jurispro.com– Expert witness search engine

• The Standard stuff: Westlaw, LexisNexis

AOC’s website

Federal Court -- PACER

The Real Fun . . . .

Social networking sites

Scott Beaten v. Wes Pounder

An Example of How Internet Social Sites are Useful

Meet Plaintiff, Scott -- Before

• Tulane Law Student• While in Nashville,

went for dinner with friends at the Tin Roof

• While there, he encountered Wes, a “bouncer” and equity owner for Tin Roof

• They had a misunderstanding . . .

Scott – After Encounter

• Scott was severely beaten by Wes

• Wes’ actions were completely unjustified beating (says Scott’s lawyer)

• Scott suffered permanent brain damage

What’s on Wes’ Myspace page???