Policy Would Restrict Access to Court Records in Maryland

Policy Would Restrict Access to Court Records in Maryland

    A proposal that would restrict public access to computerized court records will be considered by the Maryland Court of Appeals.
     After being contacted by newspaper representatives who had heard about the "draft interim policy," which had not been publicly disclosed, Chief Judge Robert M. Bell earlier this month delayed plans to discuss the proposal with the court at its September session, released a copy of the draft and announced he would set a period of public comment on the matter.
     Several newspapers and the MDDC Press Association will participate in the hearings.
     "There are several parts of the draft that are of concern to newspapers," said MDDC Executive Director Jim Donahue, "but most troubling is a proposal that could block access to computerized records such as criminal convictions that are compiled in a computerized format. Individually, those records have always been, and would remain, public at the specific courthouse where each resides. But the mere gathering of these various public records into a computerized state-wide file could put them off limits to newspapers under this proposal."
     Such a step, Donahue said, "would be a step back for the press in fulfilling its watchdog role over the operations of the courts."
     Judge Bell said he had not yet determined the time frame for the public comment period.