Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts without JIS - Chapter 5 - Record Keeping Procedures: Public Access, Confidential and Sealed Records

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Municipal Clerk Manual – Courts without JIS

		Section/Rule:	5.1
Subject:	Chapter 5 - Record Keeping Procedures	Publication / Adopted Date:	February 1992
Topic:	Public Access, Confidential and Sealed Records	Revised / Effective Date:	March 2020

Municipal Clerk Manual
Courts without JIS
Chapter Five - Record Keeping Procedures

5.1 – Public Access, Confidential and Sealed Records

References
Statutes: 43.500, 43.543, 595.226, 610.100, 610.105 and 610.120, RSMo
Supreme Court Rules: N/A
Court Operating Rules: 1.05, 2.04, 2.05, 2.07, 2.08, 2.09, 2.10, 4.24 and 4.25
Publication Date: February 1992
Revised: March 2020

Introduction

“Public access” means that the public may inspect and obtain a copy of the information in a court record either by direct access in the court house or remote access over the Internet if and when it becomes available. This would pertain to records that are deemed public records and would not apply to confidential or closed records of the court.

Note: Court Operating Rule (COR) 2 controls access granted to the public to case specific court records. The Open Records Act (Sunshine Law), controls access to the court’s administrative records or records produced as part of the court’s administration and does not pertain to official records of the court

Confidential or "Closed" records are records to be maintained in a manner making them inaccessible to the general public. The records are accessible only to the defendant, court personnel, and specific agencies for specific purpose.

Public Access to Judicial Records (COR 2.04 and 2.05)

Records of all courts are presumed to be open to any member of the public for purposes of inspection or copying during the regular business hours of the court having custody of the records with the following exceptions: confidential records pursuant to statute, court rules or court order; judicial or judicial staff work product; internal electronic mail; memoranda or drafts; or appellate judicial case assignments. COR 2.02. Courts are not required to compile records, produce non-standard reports, or provide bulk distribution records even if the requested information is otherwise contained within court records.

Public inquiries for personal information shall be answered by giving the person requesting the information access to the case file. Personal information includes, but is not limited to:

Social security numbers;

Motor vehicle operator license numbers;

Victim information including name, address, and other contact information

Informant information including name, address, and other contact information;

Witness information including name, address, and other contact information;

State identification numbers; and

Financial institution account numbers, credit card numbers, personal identification numbers, or passwords used to secure accounts.

Clerks shall not provide the requested information verbally or by facsimile,or e-mail. If there is a local court rule or order, the clerk may:

Redact personal information from the public copy of the court record, or

Raise the security level of the document in the case management system if the document cannot be adequately redacted to protect personal information.

Access to case records as provided by Court Operating Rule 2.04 shall not be restricted in anticipation of a jury trial without a court order setting forth specific written findings supporting a compelling justification to restrict access.

Public records from which a person can be identified will be made available upon request only by inquiry of a single case or by accessing any public index. COR 2.04.

Access to complied Information and Bulk Data Requests (COR 2.07, 2.08, 2.09 and 2.10)

1. If a compiled report used within the judiciary is prepared from or contains case management data elements, the report shall be made available only if:

All of the data elements in the report would have been made available under

COR 2

; or

The report is of summary data consisting of non-identifying information.

Note: There is no obligation for the courts to compile information from court records.

A custodian of records shall be named for each clerk’s office to approve or reject requests for records. If a custodian of records has not been named, the appointing authority for that office shall be the custodian of records.

The court may:

Develop and make available to the public the procedures that are to be followed to obtain access to electronic and paper records;

Develop procedures to ensure that confidential records are protected from disclosure to the public; and

Provide appropriate training to court staff concerning the provisions of

COR 2

Requests for access may be submitted orally or in writing, as determined by the custodian of records. However, requests for administrative records shall be in writing. The requesting person shall not be required to disclose the purpose of the request.

The custodian of records shall respond to the request as promptly as practical.

Denials of access requests shall be in writing if desired by the requesting person.

The following information in a court record will only be publicly accessible at a court facility in the jurisdiction in which the case was filed:

Findings of non-paternity under

section 210.846, RSMo

;

Pleadings and orders in child abuse and neglect cases under

section 211.319, RSMo

;

Pleadings and orders in termination of parental rights cases under

section 211.319, RSMo

;

All records in felony A and B delinquency cases under

section 211.321, RSMo

; and

Final disposition of criminal cases under

section 610.105, RSMo

2. The state judicial records committee, upon receipt of a written request, may review any request for access to information that has been denied. The state judicial records committee shall not review any determination by the custodian of records as to the payment of fees. The request will be reviewed at the next regular meeting of the committee. The requesting person and the custodian of records shall be notified in writing of the committee’s decision as soon as possible after a determination has been made.

3. Bulk distribution of court records shall be made only upon approval of the state judicial records committee. Under no circumstances shall bulk distribution of court records be made for commercial gain.

Sealed Records and Documents (COR 1.05 and 4.25)

Sealed Information is the most sensitive information within the judicial system and must be protected as required by Missouri state law and Supreme Court Operating Rules. Sealed information may be disclosed to specified individuals only when authorized in statutes and rules. Unauthorized disclosure of sealed information could severely impact the Missouri judicial system, individual persons and the public. Sealed Information includes:

Any case ordered sealed;

Grand jury indictments (until served); and

Search warrants.

Sealed records shall be stored in a sealed envelope within the case file or in a sealed envelope or other container apart from the case file. Sealed records stored within the file shall be removed prior to inspection of the case file by non-court personnel.

Note: A court order shall be required to open records that have been sealed.

Confidential Criminal Records Under Chapter 610 (Sections 610.105, 610.106, 610.110, 610.115, and 610.120, RSMo)

If an individual is arrested and the charges are subsequently nolle prossed, dismissed or the accused is found not guilty or the imposition of sentence is suspended, the official records shall become confidential (closed) when the case is finally terminated, except that the court’s judgment or order or the final action taken by the prosecutor may be accessed. Record of a final disposition of a case otherwise closed under section 610.105, RSMo (for example, dismissal of a case) shall be accessible only at a court facility in the jurisdiction in which the case was filed. COR 2.08(c)(5).

Confidential records shall be inaccessible to the public and to all persons other than the defendant except all criminal history information in the possession or control of the central repository (Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), Criminal Justice Information Service Division (CJIS)), except criminal intelligence and investigative information, may be made available to qualified persons and organizations for research, evaluative and statistical purposes under written agreements reasonably designed to ensure the security and confidentiality of the information and the protection of the privacy interests of the individuals who are subjects of the criminal history. Prior to such information being made available, information that uniquely identifies the individual shall be deleted. Organizations receiving such criminal history information shall not reestablish the identity of the individual and associate it with the criminal history information being provided.

In addition, confidential records shall be available to:

1. Criminal justice agencies for the administration of criminal justice (performance of any of the following activities: detection, apprehension, detention, pretrial release, post-trial release, prosecution, adjudication, correctional supervision or rehabilitation of accused persons or criminal offenders, including criminal identification activities and the collection, storage and dissemination of criminal history information, including fingerprint searches, photographs and other indicia of identification), criminal justice employment, screening persons with access to criminal justice facilities, procedures and sensitive information;

2. Law enforcement agencies for issuance or renewal of a license, permit, certification or registration of authority from such agency including but not limited to watchmen, security personnel, private investigators and persons seeking permits to purchase or possess a firearm;

3. State, municipal, or county agencies authorized by section 43.543, RSMo, to submit fingerprints to the MSHP CJIS;

4. The sentencing advisory commission for studying sentencing practices;

5. To qualified entities (a person, business or organization, whether public or private, for profit, not-for-profit or voluntary, that provides care, placement or educational services for children, the elderly or persons with disabilities as patients or residents, including a business or organization that licenses or certifies others to provide care or placement services) for the purpose of screening any person who:

Has or may have unsupervised access to children, the elderly or persons with disabilities;

Is employed by or seeks employment with a qualified entity;

Volunteers or seeks to volunteer with a qualified entity; or

Owns or operates a qualified entity.

6. The Department of Revenue for driver license administration;

7. The Division of Workers’ Compensation for the purposes of determining eligibility for crime victims’ compensation;

8. The Department of Health and Senior Services for the purpose of licensing and regulating in-home services provider agencies; and

9. Federal agencies for purposes of criminal justice administration, criminal justice employment, child, elderly or disabled care and for investigative purposes authorized by law or presidential executive order.

A criminal justice agency receiving a request for criminal history information under its control may require positive identification, to include fingerprints of the subject of the record search, prior to releasing closed record information.

All confidential records shall be removed from the records of the court and maintained separately. Where possible, pages of the public record shall be retyped or rewritten, omitting those portions of the record which are confidential. If retyping or rewriting is not feasible because of the permanent nature, such record entries shall be blacked out and recopied in a confidential book.

To ensure confidential records are not accessed by any person or agency not authorized by statute, the court may require that requests for confidential information be in writing, including a statement from the individual indicating the statutory authority allowing them access to confidential records. Refer to local court rules for further guidance.

Victims of Crimes (Section 595.226, RSMo)

Identifying information contained in court documents, whether written or published on the internet, of a victim of sexual assault, domestic assault, stalking, rape in the first or second degree, or forcible rape shall be confidential and redacted from such record prior to disclosure to the public. Identifying information includes:

1. Name

2. Location

3. Home or temporary address

4. Telephone Number

5. Social Security Number

6. Physical Characteristics (including an unobstructed visual image of the victim’s face or body).

7. Place of Employment

Identifying information regarding the victim may be revealed upon a determination by the court that the requestor has a legitimate interest in obtaining the information and the court determined that the disclosure will not compromise or endanger the welfare and safety of the victim and only after providing reasonable notice to the victim and after allowing the victim the right to respond to such requests.

Clerk's Duties/Procedures

Confidential Records

1. Identify all court records containing confidential information. These include index cards, case records, financial records, docket sheets, etc.

2. Maintain all confidential records in a manner making the records inaccessible to the public.

Note:

To prevent accidental disclosure and aid in quick identification, many courts write or stamp "confidential" on the case record or file. Other courts use colored stickers on confidential case records or files.

3. If the record contains both open and closed information, make the entire record inaccessible. If a request is made to see the "open" portion of the case record, make a copy of the record(s), blackout on the copy those portions of the record that are "closed," and provide the person with the copy.

4. Remember to treat trial de novo records as confidential if the other court disposed the case in a manner that closed it under Chapter 610, RSMo.

Inspection of Confidential Records

1. Refer the request to the judge. If a judge is not available, ask the person to submit a request in writing or make an appointment to see the judge. Form CR 30 – Application to Inspect Closed Criminal Records is provided at the end of this section.

1.1. Do not advise the person the record is confidential; and

1.2. Do not determine if the person making the request is legally entitled to inspect the record. An exception would be if the person offers proof of identity and is authorized to see the record, e.g., the defendant in a closed case.

2. Make a docket entry in the case file regarding the application being filed and the judge’s decision.

Note:

Every request may not have to be sent to the judge if there is a court approved policy allowing the clerk to authorize inspection in certain situations. When in doubt, always refer the request to a judge.

Request for Complied Information or Bulk Data

1. There is no obligation for the courts to compile information from court records.

2. The custodian of record shall respond to the request as promptly as practical.

2.1 Denials of access requests shall be in writing if desired by the requesting person.

3. Access denial reviews and requests for bulk distribution of court records may be submitted to the State Judicial Records Committee for consideration by emailing the request to SJRC@courts.mo.gov

Forms
CR 30 - Application to Inspect Closed Criminal Records