Ought to Courts Restrict Access to Electric Documents?
From the Winter 2001 issue on the News Media & The Law, site 17.
Legal courts around the country are deals space software developing and acquiring the technology to provide Net or electric access to court public records. It can make records searches faster and more economical for the press and members of the public. Yet privacy interests are forcing some process of law to dilemma whether to permit such broad access to courthouse data files.
A number of declares are considering new rules regarding electronic entry to court records. A lot of of proposals limit electronic use of specific types of records, including criminal case files. These types of reports are more very sensitive and present more potential to get privacy problems than municipal case documents. Other proposals are more extensive and will allow the general public to see most documents, but with restrictions on particular data factors or kinds of information including social reliability numbers or medical reports.
The judiciary is seeking public commentary on these kinds of proposals. In case you are interested in the problem, you should contact a state’s legislators and ask those to support changes to convey open documents laws that permit wide access to all of the court records, regardless of their type. You should also inspire attorneys to contact their elected officials and urge them to are at odds of any proposals that limit access to electronic records.