When hiring someone to do a home repair or addition, sometimes it is not enough to check references. After all, references can be friends or acquaintances who might praise their work either knowingly or unknowingly that the builder or handyman plans to swindle their next customer.

Whether you are going to spend less than a thousand dollars or a few thousand dollars, before hiring, it is best you check court records to determine whether the person has swindled others. Because court records are public records as identified by the Alabama Open Records Law (Ala. Code § 36-12-40), Cullman County residents and the citizens of Alabama have the right to inspect public records maintained by Alabama Circuit courts and Probate Courts. While certain records are understandably exempt, such as juvenile records, sealed records and several other types, a judgement against an unscrupulous swindler is not exempt.

You can determine whether a court judgement has been made against a person without having to pay for a printed copy of the record. Small Claims Court records are kept on file at the Clerk’s Office of a County Circuit Court when the judgment was made and at the County Probate Office if a Certificate of Judgment is filed.

The Cullman County Probate Office maintains Certificate of Judgement records that can be obtained online via their website  https://ingprobate.com/cullman_probate/  or by calling or visiting their office at 256-775-4652. You do not have to pay for a record unless you want a printed copy.

To access records online:

— Visit their website and select “Look up Land Records” button.

— The “Recording Login” page is the next screen to appear. If you have an account, login. Otherwise, create an account by selecting the “Account Signup” button.  All that is required is an email address and creating a password.

— After you login the “Recording Search” page is the next screen that appears. Assuming you know and are going to search by the person’s name, the “Search Type” remains “Name”, and in the open field you type in the person’s last name then their first name (no commas between last and first names), then select the “Search” button.  If the person you are searching for is not found then either they do not have a judgement against them, or possibly, a Certificate of Judgment was not filed at the Probate Office.

If the person you are searching for is found, then proceed with the following steps.

— The “Recording List” page is the next screen that appears. Select the blue button titled “Select Pages.”

— A Certificate of Judgement filed at the Probate Office is the next screen that appears. The judgment identifies the amount to be recovered by the plaintiff (judgement creditor) and the name of the defendant (judgement debtor) which is the name you searched.

The Certificate of Judgement also identifies the Alabama County where the judgement was ruled by a court. If you are interested in learning more about the judgement, then you have to contact or visit the Office of the Circuit Clerk where the judgment was filed.

Staff working at the Probate Office and the Circuit Clerk Office are courteous, knowledgeable and professional. They exhibit an interest in helping protect the citizens of Cullman County and the state of Alabama from swindlers. The next time you are going to hire a carpenter or handy man, or enter into a written or verbal contract, you should consider checking whether a court judgment exists against the person.

Curtis Watkins is a resident of Double Springs.