ABSTRACT
CONTENTS 6.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 89 6.2 Th e Legal Principle of Open Judicial Records ...................................................................91 6.3 Th e Federal Approach ...................................................................................................... 92 6.4 State Electronic Access Policies ......................................................................................... 93 6.5 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 97 End Notes ................................................................................................................................. 98
6.1 Introduction Th e ubiquity of the Internet, and the ease with which judicial records can be accessed through e-governance systems, has state courts throughout the nation considering the proper role of online access to court records. While the personal computer off ers great promise as a democratizing force, making judicial records as easy to access as any other governmental records, that ease of use gives rise to heightened concerns over the management of personal data contained in judicial records
once fi led away in musty fi les accessed largely by legal elites. Rising public sensitivity over identity theft and informational privacy adds a new dimension to policymaking, as court administrators begin the diffi cult task of balancing access with the proper controls to protect certain exempted classes of information.
