“Media organizations led by the Lewiston Sun Journal objected and asserted the public’s right to know what happens in the state’s courtrooms. …
The courts ultimately pledged to reverse that policy in 2016. That change never actually happened, however, a fact realized last month by a Sun Journal reporter.
In response to renewed objections from the Sun Journal and questions from a Portland Press Herald reporter writing a news story, a court spokeswoman said Wednesday the practice would stop.
The computer system has now been reprogrammed to stop the automatic sealing – which occurred 30 days after dismissal – and the courts are rewriting the code to open the cases that were improperly sealed. In the meantime, clerks have been advised that those files should be available to the public. Cases that were sealed by court order will remain so.”
Portland Press Herald: Maine courts have improperly sealed public records for years, after agreeing to end practice
November 18, 2020