SALT LAKE CITY — All of Utah will now have much easier access to the state's court system than ever before. With a few clicks and a $5 fee, anyone can now learn the truth about someone’s criminal history or lack thereof.
Xchange is something FOX 13 News has been using for quite some time to check court records. But now, anyone can log in discover whether those they're dealing with have criminal histories.
The access launched quietly last weekend, but it’s now up and running.
The sponsor of the legislation that made this happen says he did it in part due to the proliferation of online dating, and that it’s only fair for people to know if the individual they were conversing with in cyberspace is telling the truth in their social media profile.
“I know that this was passed specifically, really, with domestic violence in mind," said Tania Mashburn with the Utah State Courts. "If someone is going on a date with somebody else, you can easily now get online and check and see if they have a criminal history, if they could be violent, if they have any convictions for domestic violence, that kind of thing.
"It really just gives everybody more access to do their own background checks.”
The small fee establishes the account and allows anyone to look up a person to see if they do indeed have convictions or even allegations. It’s $.20 for each search, and then $.50 if you want to pull and print certain documents.
Officials say the $5 fee will go towards maintaining the website because they know more people will be accessing the system. And it will also pay for customer service because they also know people are going to have questions.
