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Sunday, December 19, 2004

Indiana Courts - Access to court records clarified via court rule changes effective January 1

"Access to court records" was the heading to this ILB entry from Nov. 17, 2003 which reported, among other things, on a proposed new access rule for court records, "needed to respond to the growing use of electronic record keeping in the state's court system."

A Feb. 27, 2003 ILB entry reported "Indiana's proposed amendment to Administrative Rule 9 may be accessed here."

A March 1, 2003 ILB entry quotes from an Indianapolis Star story on the impact of the new rule. For example:

In an age when information is available at the click of a mouse, the Indiana Supreme Court is clamping down on court records that contain personal information regarding crime victims and witnesses.

In a rule adopted last week, the court is attempting to balance an individual's right to privacy with the public's right to know what happens in court. * * *

"It's been open for the public to see if they come down to the courthouse and get it or have it faxed to them," VanValer Shilts said. "But it's a completely different thing when the information is available on the Internet."

The new rule will take effect next Jan. 1 [2005], just before Marion County's criminal court records are expected to go online. Marion County is launching an electronic record-keeping system that will one day be the standard for all courts statewide.

The Supreme Court rule change means information now available in court records -- such as the birth dates of crime victims -- will be off-limits next year. * * *

The rule will allow members of the public to access the confidential records if they can prove an "extraordinary circumstance" or that the opening of the records serves the public interest. Anyone seeking access must notify the individuals whose information they are trying to get. The victims or witnesses will have 20 days to respond.

The March 1 ILB entry concludes:
Access the revised Rule 9 directly here. Recall that the amendment takes effect January 1, 2005. Of particular interest is (A)(5): "This rule applies to all court records; however clerks and courts need not redact or restrict information that was otherwise public in case records and administrative records created before January 1, 2005."
Today the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a story on Rule 9. A quote:
[B]eginning Jan. 1, the identifying numbers on new cases will be confidential under Indiana statute, and public documents cannot include them. Documents filed before Jan. 1 will not be subject to the law, so court officials will not go back through decades of paperwork to remove Social Security numbers.

“Within court documents, it’s usually been used because the numbers are unique, as a way to make sure records matched up, in addition to all the other information,” said Ronnie Miller, director of trial court management for the Indiana Division of State Court Administration.

But with the proliferation of the Internet, he said, people are concerned about privacy.

“There’s a lot more potential for abuse of that information and intrusion into people’s lives,” he said.

Which is why the Indiana Supreme Court amended Administrative Rule 9. The amendment consolidates the state’s confidentiality rules and declares that all Social Security numbers, as well as addresses and birthdates of victims, will be confidential.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 19, 2004 05:47 PM
Posted to Indiana Courts