Should one's civil, traffic, and/or criminal activity be made public?

I look on the court's docket everyday to see who in my community is getting charged. It tells everything (usually). Everything from the police report to the final sentencing.

When I mentioned to a girl at work that I found out about her (she was a drug addict and a thief) she went off! She said it was unfair for the average public to have so much information about someone's court/jail activity. She had everyone believing she was a Christian. Now, her cover was blown.

Some will call me nosey, I'm sure. But, having this knowledge has helped to keep some bad people from pretending to be my friend, when all they want to do is steal from me or bring me down to their life of crime (or at least - life of misbehaving).
Answer:
yeah, its the old hall of shame...but you really gave it to that co-worker..good for you..he he he..just you don't screw up as this could happen to you..??? he he he

---

Sure. These are crimes against the public, they have a right to know who is being charged for what crime. Our courts are open and public for these reasons.

---

I think they should be made public too. We need to know what and who we are around in our daily lives. When we moved to a new town, I read the published police reports to see what areas had the most reports so we would know what area to buy a house...or where not to buy it.