Identity theft from litigants through New York Family Courts? You don't tell...

Whenever a litigant comes to Family Court in the State of New York, the litigant is required to fill out a sign-in sheet where s/he is required to put in his or her:

1. full name
2. employment address
3. home address AND
4. Social Security number

S/he then hands the sheet in to the court attendant - and it is an identity theft waiting to happen.  I doubt that anybody keeps those sign-in sheets under lock and key, or that there is any significant oversight over who has access to this information.

In fact, identity theft using people's Social Security numbers is on the rise - and even led to creation of a federal President's Theft Task Force in 2006.

Of course, when you go to the links that are supposed to lead to recommendation of that Theft Task Force, you get this:

But the 2008 report of the Theft Task Force is available elsewhere.

The report, back in 2008, recommended to various federal agencies to reduce the use of Social Security numbers, which the report calls "the most valuable commodity for identity thieves".

Apparently, administrators of New York State Family Courts are too busy to be bothered with such trifles as exposure of Family Court litigants to identity theft - through requirements of disclosure of Social Security numbers in the court sign-in sheets.

I remember the timidity of litigants who fill out those sheets as if they are criminals.

I remember the insistence of security guards who take in the filled-out sheets that the sheet is filled out in full, that no "required" information would be missed.

I understand the reluctance of litigants to do anything or say anything against the way they are required to act, for fear that their insistence on non-disclosure of certain personal information may affect their case, which can be from child support to child custody to child neglect to family offense proceedings, and can have drastic consequences for the litigant if the case is decided against him or her.

But, New York Courts that, under its new Chief Judge DiFiore are now pledging to aim for "excellence" (I will run a separate blog about this "excellence" plan) should at least start with not exposing people who come to Family Court, sometimes on their own, sometimes sued by others, to identity theft coming from within the court system.

Statistics of such identity theft is, of course, not known, and, I bet, is unavailable through FOIL.

I will try a FOIL request on this subject, but I predict the answer will be - "there are no records responsive to your FOIL request".  

That does not mean that identity theft does not happen because of loose - or no - oversight of who and how handles litigants' information on sign-in sheets.

I am sure all people working in Family Courts, from clerks to judges to security officers, know what I am talking about.

They know for years.

They know how wrong, how dangerous for litigants this little rule is, also for years.

And they do nothing to change it, also for years.

Yet, I am sure they will keep their own Social Security numbers intact and will not disclose it every time they come to the courthouse.

And the same rule should exist for litigants.

What is the sign-in sheet for?

Why should the Family Court litigant (not the Supreme or County court litigant) disclose all that information, every time the litigant comes to court?

There is no such requirement in the Family Court Act.

There is no such requirement in the court rules.

This "sign-in sh*t" rule is completely illegal - and is going on for years in New York Family Court.

Maybe, eliminating this rule will start New York court system on its long and unlikely road to excellence?