OSWEGO COUNTY -- A lawsuit against the Oswego County Clerk over access to criminal records has been dismissed.
State Supreme Court Judge Norman Seiter threw out the suit which named Oswego County Clerk George Williams. As reported by CNY Central last year, the suit was brought by Aaron Smith, the owner of APS Information Systems.
For the past 16 years, Smith has conducted criminal background checks for area businesses and school districts. Smith had hoped to force the Oswego County Clerk to provide the same open access to court records as in surrounding counties where the public is able to do background checks on computers for free.
The Oswego County Clerk has an employee do the records search for a fee.
In announcing that the suit had been dismissed, Oswego County Clerk George Williams issued a statement. "I am pleased with Justice Seiter's decision to dismiss the lawsuit, and I am relieved that this matter has been resolved."
Aaron Smith told CNY Central's Jim Kenyon, "I haven't seen the order yet. As far as I know, he didn't rule on anything and is just kicking the can down the road."
Smith said he and his attorney, "don't see the justification in any way, shape or form."
