There may exist a confusion of terms regarding who does and doesn't permit
inspection of public records, and what records are actually expected to be
protected and guarded against casual treatment regarding the general public;
It is not a matter of entitlement for the general citizenry, common sense
dictates the coverage in some cases that others may consider within the
"public domain."   Consider the following description of just one area of
responsibility:
The person responsible within the organization, the county clerk, is held
accountable for all records on file.  A physical inventory of all documented
material is reassigned at the time of change of authortiy, the installation
of a newly elected clerk, holding that person now accountable for all
documented materials.
Considering this who is going to issue and act upon a simple request to
anyone merely concerned about lineage?  Not most assistant clerks; nor most
sheriffs; nor most county commissioners, surely, but especially not the
person held accountable for the particular document.
If a request is accompanied by a certification, endorsed by a recognized
legal authority, denoting a legal requirement whereby your desired record(s)
will be accounted for responsibly, returned in a timely fashion that is a
different can 'o worms - a request that possibly can be granted, records
transmitted and so forth.
In other words, have your attorney go down to the court house and sign out
for the stuff you need.  He's recognized as accountable, legally.
It would be a brief span of time before these records would pass on into the
mist were they not controlled as they are currently.....the payroll required
to duplicate, further process requests for documents would be too costly for
those departments to justify.....hence, the problems encountered....
Jim Sullivan

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