When I was in high school, I got my first speeding ticket in Bluffton, Indiana. I was traveling from Decatur to Jay County after a summer league basketball game. My biggest fear was that my parents would find out. I paid the ticket the next week and thought I had covered things up. A week later, I was busted: someone had read the blotter in the paper and told my parents about the ticket.
Twenty-five years ago, traffic tickets and criminal arrests were published in the paper but were not on-line. Once the weekend newspaper was thrown away, there was little risk of anyone finding out about a past transgression. Today, all criminal records are posted in on-line dockets with a summary of the court proceedings. Anyone can look up your criminal history and read all about it.
