Since 2017 the Maine Courts have publicly wrangled with the issues of public access to court records. Concerned citizens have argued that much of what appears in court records is personal (and private) and is not necessary to the public’s understanding of the operations of the judiciary or to hold the third branch of government accountable and therefore more limited access to individual case information is appropriate. Others have argued that the media and members of the public need broad access and all records should be available on line.
In 2020, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court made policy decisions and announced that most records would be available on line. Exceptions were carved out for cases involving certain matters. See earlier C-TAP posts and the Rules of Electronic Court Records for more information. RECS can be found on the Judicial Branch website: https://www.courts.maine.gov//rules/text/mrecs_2020-12-14.pdf
The Court decided that most records it deemed “public” would be available online for all to see. Some information would be available digitally to the parties and others related to the case who had a need to view the information. Embedded in the Court’s policy decisions was the public’s right to know and the need for public trust and confidence in our court system.
NOW-Although the legislature has already allocated over 14 Million taxpayer dollars, the Maine court system claims it needs addition funding from users to pay for access to records its has deemed to be “public.” As public access and transparency of governmental operations, all citizens should have access to information not just those who are able to pay for it.
COURT SYSTEM SHOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS: either the records are available to the public or not.
See Full Portland Press Herald article (published January 25, 2021) at:
https://www.pressherald.com/2021/01/25/maine-courts-begin-posting-records-online-but-fees-are-seen-as-barrier-to-access/
