Articles

Public Access to Court Records

As with most things in life, finding a balance is the key to success.  Public access to court records is no exception.  The Indiana Supreme Court has attempted to strike a balance in maintaining the accessibility of court records while protecting individuals and their privacy.  Administrative Rule 9 (“Rule 9”) is the culmination of the Indiana Supreme Court’s efforts, and effective January 1, 2005, governs access to court records along with the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.

Rule 9 operates under the general premise that court records should be accessible.  Recognizing that not all information should be disclosed, however, Rule 9 excludes from public access information including the following:

• Information that is excluded from public access pursuant to federal or state law;
• Information excluded from public access by specific court order;
• Social Security numbers;
• Identifying information of persons who are witnesses or victims in sexual assault, juvenile, or civil protection proceedings;
• Places of residence of judicial officers, clerks and other employees of courts and clerks of courts;
• Account numbers of specific assets, liabilities, accounts, credit cards, and personal identification numbers;
• All orders of expungement entered in criminal or juvenile proceedings; and
• All personal notes, e-mail and deliberative materials of judges, jurors, court staff and judicial agencies.

Despite the exclusion, public access may be granted if the information is declared by a court to be essential to the resolution of the litigation or if the information is released by each person to whom such information pertains.  In addition, a verified written request may be submitted to obtain access to protected information if extraordinary circumstances exist, the public interest will be served by allowing access, access or dissemination of the information creates no significant risk of substantial harm to any person, and release of the information creates no prejudicial effect to on-going proceedings.

Just as permitting access to excluded court records is warranted in certain circumstances, prohibiting access to available court records may also be necessary.  Any person affected by the release of information may request that public access to such information be prohibited.  The request must demonstrate that the public interest will be substantially served by prohibiting access; access or dissemination of the information will create a significant risk of substantial harm to the requestor, other persons, or the general public; a substantial prejudicial effect to on-going proceedings cannot be avoided without prohibiting public access; or, the information should have been excluded from public access under the terms of Rule 9.

Rule 9 grants immunity from liability to any court, court agency, or such official or employee who unintentionally or unknowingly discloses confidential information.