The Allegheny County Sheriff's Office is investigating a former court employee suspected of illicitly running people's names through a law enforcement database and tipping off a relative to a pending arrest.

Court officials on April 28 suspended Nia Calvert without pay, and she resigned two days later.

Ms. Calvert, 31, of Wilkinsburg, served as a roving tipstaff to judges. She had authorized access to JNET, the state's Justice Network, and was supposed to use it for tasks such as entering sentencing information about defendants on behalf of judges.

However, investigators believe Ms. Calvert might have used JNET in an improper way, including for running the names of former classmates from Fox Chapel Area High School through the database.

Such use is forbidden and could result in criminal charges.

Investigators have also been looking into allegations that Ms. Calvert alerted a relative to a bench warrant for him.

Following that incident, criminal division Administrative Judge Judge Jeffrey A. Manning issued an order April 2 prohibiting criminal division courthouse employees from publicly divulging any information about bench or arrest warrants.

Ms. Calvert is also believed to have run the names of former classmates from Fox Chapel Area High School through the system.

Such use is forbidden and could result in criminal charges.

Ms. Calvert could not be reached for comment. Her attorney said he would have no comment unless criminal charges are filed against his client.

Ms. Calvert began work in the courthouse in November 2004. She served as a pool tipstaff for an annual salary of nearly $35,000.

The sheriff's office investigation is complex and involves tracing the history of Ms. Calvert's use of JNET, which is logged. Users leave unique electronic trails that can be tracked.

Any information Ms. Calvert sought about individuals must be cross-referenced with the judge for whom she was working at the time so investigators can determine if the use was legitimate.

JNET contains a wide array of data, including mug shots, driver's license information, investigative tools, juvenile records and adult criminal history.

There are more than 34,000 registered users in Pennsylvania, including 4,600 people in Allegheny County. Of those, 644 authorized users are in the county court system. JNET is administered by the state Office for Information Technology.

All criminal division roaming tipstaffs have access to JNET.

They are authorized to use it to perform a variety of tasks, such as looking up a criminal record upon request by the judge they are serving.

They also enter sentences into JNET to compile data for the Pennsylvania Sentencing Commission.

All employees who have access to JNET undergo background checks and training about permitted uses. They must sign an agreement indicating they understand and will abide by the rules and regulations governing the system.

One of the 21 user terms and conditions reads: "Only disseminate information within your own agency on a 'Need to Know' or 'Right to Know' basis for legitimate and 'official purposes' consistent with all federal state and local laws."

There are an average of two to three investigations per month of JNET misuse statewide, according to JNET Executive Director Dave Naisby.