Court Records Task Force Holds Organizational Meeting

The group was formed after a December hearing on a controversial proposal by a judiciary ad hoc committee that would have severely restricted public access to online and other court records.

"I see it as my job to make the task force aware of the varied and important public interests that access to court records serves as well as the legal limits on closing court records," said Carol Melamed, vice president of government affairs for The Washington Post and chair of the MDDC Government Affairs Committee. Melamed represents MDDC on the expanded task force.

Melamed said she wants to make it clear to the committee that there are many significant newspaper stories that have resulted from access to court records.

The 18-member group, chaired by Judge Paul Alpert, includes representatives from organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, financial services, housing, business, private investigators/security, privacy, the media, the Public Justice Center, the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, the General Assembly, and the Maryland State Bar Association.

Task force members will participate in a day-long seminar on privacy and access to criminal records, according to the court information office. The seminar will be led by SEARCH, the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics, which is studying access to court records in several jurisdictions.

The task force created four subcommittees to address the areas of privacy and access, law and definitions, technology and databases, and other jurisdictions’ procedures. The subcommittees will report back at the next meeting on July 5.

Melamed, who is serving on the Privacy and Access Subcommittee, urges anyone with comments, concerns or questions to contact her at melamedc@washpost.com. She also encourages anyone who is interested to attend the July 5 meeting, which is open to the public.