NEWS RELEASE

The National Center for State Courts
300 Newport Avenue · Williamsburg, Virginia  23185

Contacts:       Martha Steketee, report author              Alan Carlson, report author   

Research Associate                                  President                                           

National Center for State Courts            Justice Management Institute

703-841-5614                                              415-816-3341                                      

CCJ/COSCA Guidelines Released for State Courts on
How to Address Public Access to Court Records

 www.courtaccess.org/modelpolicy/

Williamsburg, VA (Jan. 20, 2003) – The National Center for State Courts and the Justice Management Institute (JMI) recently released the report “Guidelines for Public Access to Court Records: A National Project to Assist State Courts.” This report includes the final version of the Guidelines that have been endorsed by the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) and the Conference of State Court Administrators (COSCA), and are intended to act as a blueprint for state courts to use as they develop policies that govern access to court records. This project was supported by State Justice Institute (SJI) grants SJI-01-N-054 and SJI-02-N-007.

The report also provides a description of the project’s process and two indexes to help use the document. The National Center and JMI have been working for two years to address concerns and to find solutions that will help state courts reach the delicate balance between ensuring privacy while providing public access to court records. To develop the CCJ/COSCA Guidelines, The National Center and JMI formed an Advisory Committee made up of representatives from the courts, the media and advocacy groups. A public comment period also was included in the process.

Historically, court records have been open to the public, but technical advances that now allow anyone with a computer potential access to court files, have highlighted the need for courts to develop specific policies to deal with this growing issue. The fact that not all courts share the same level of technology or equal resources compounds the complexity of the access issue by creating disparity in access to records from court to court within the same state.

The recommendations contained in the report are broad in scope, outlining all concerns raised by representatives of several special interest groups -- such as domestic violence and privacy advocates and providers of secondary data – and by state court judges and administrators. The document is expected to ease the policy-making process for state courts in ways that protect individual privacy rights, promotes government accountability and allows for accessibility to court records.

For more information, please contact Martha Steketee, NCSC research associate, at 703-841-5614. The report is available on the project Web site at www.courtaccess.org/modelpolicy/.

The State Justice Institute is a non-profit organization established by Federal law to award grants to improve the quality of justice in State courts nationwide, facilitate better coordination between State and Federal courts, and foster innovative, efficient solutions to common problems faced by all courts. More information about the Institute is available on the SJI website at www.statejustice.org.

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