Access denied

Last month, a reporter discovered that the computer terminals in the Hillsborough County Probate Court allowed people to look up limited information on all sorts of court cases all over the state.

When the enthused reporter asked court officials about it, however, the terminals were promptly disabled, by the simple and effective step of removing the keyboards.

Apparently, officials were unaware of the extent of access allowed by their new Odyssey case management system. Court spokeswoman Laura Kiernan said the terminals would be shut down for a short time while they looked into the matter.

Tick-tock.

More than a month later, the computers still lack keyboards, and the public still lacks access.