New Task Force to Study Court Records Access |
| By mid-month Maryland’s top
judge had yet to appoint members of the "broader, more representative" task
force he intends to create to examine access and privacy issues regarding court records. In a Jan. 8 letter to the MDDC Press Association, however, Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell said he will "appoint representatives from the media" to the task force. He said the media representatives likely will come from those who participated in the Dec. 13 public hearing on the controversial proposals by a judiciary ad hoc committee that would have severely restricted public access to online and other court records. More than 100 people from business groups, some citizens groups and the press packed the hearing room to strongly oppose the committee’s proposals. Testifying for the press in opposition were MDDC Executive Director Jim Donahue, Carol Melamed of The Washington Post for The Post and MDDC, and media attorney Mary R. Craig of Towson for The Baltimore Sun. MDDC’s submitted testimony – a policy statement and a legal brief – can be accessed at the Association’s Web site at www.mddcpress.com. |
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