Access Rules Implementation Committee

Interim Report – Disclosure of Victim and Witness Information

May 27, 2005

Background

Court of Appeals Chief Judge Robert M. Bell appointed a representative group of judges, court staff, and data managers to prepare the Judiciary for the implementation of the new court rules on access to court records effective October 1, 2004. The committee held its first meeting on June 9, 2004. The full committee has convened 10 times over the past 11 months.

The committee invited Judge Alan M. Wilner to a recent meeting to assist the committee in its deliberations. His insight helped clarify issues that had been the subject of lengthy discussion.

This committee has provided guidance to judges and court personnel through educational materials such as charts on access to the four types of records as defined by the new rules, and a list of frequently asked questions.

Issue

The subject of this interim report is the issue involving information being available in court records about victims and witnesses in both paper and electronic form.

Judge Wilner encouraged the committee to meet with a small group of representative State=s Attorneys and small group of victim=s rights advocates to determine how victim and witness information gets placed into court files and what is actually necessary, and to revise local practices accordingly. The meeting was prompted by a concern about the Judiciary's plans to remove the automatic block on victim and witness information in UCS, the database used by some of the circuit courts, because of the absence of legal authority for the automatic (as opposed to discretionary) block. The automatic block was created at the request of State's Attorneys some time ago. All Judicial Information Systems computer systems have the ability to shield this information on a case-by-case basis. The committee felt that the continued automatic blocking was not consistent with the rules the Court of Appeals adopted effective October 1.

Selected members of the committee held three small group meetings on April 20, May 10, and May 13. We learned that the Rules Committee would be considering an amendment to Rule 16-1008 to prevent disclosure of victim and witness information in electronic form at its June 24 meeting. We also learned that it was possible, if the Rules Committee recommended the revision and the Court of Appeals adopted it, for the amended Rule to be effective January 1, 2006. The small group participants asked that this committee leave the block on victim and witness information in UCS and join them in urging the Rules Committee to adopt the change in Rule 16-1008 or ask the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals to issue an administrative order pursuant to Rule 16-1008 to accomplish the same goal. The priority for representative victim's rights advocates and State's Attorneys is to address electronic access to victim and witness information. After some resolution is reached, they want to return to the issue of access to that information in court files.

Recommendation: The committee voted to continue with the status quo (UCS categorical block in place and discretionary blocks available in District Court and Eighth Judicial Circuit systems) until the Rules Committee fails to recommend, or the Court of Appeals adopts or rejects, the proposed revision to Rule 16-1008, whichever occurs first. The committee took no position on the substance of the language itself. Further, the committee believes that the discussion about this language should include consideration of the availability of victim and witness information in paper records and should provide an opportunity for public comment.