Judiciary Privacy
  Policy

The Judicial Conference Policy on Privacy and Public
Access to Electronic Case Files

The policy of the Judicial Conference on privacy and public access to electronic case files has developed incrementally over the past four years. The application of the policy to various types of cases files has evolved to the point where the policy now provides for remote access to all electronic civil, bankruptcy and criminal case files with appropriate privacy safeguards. The process began in November 2000, when the Subcommittee on Privacy and Electronic Access to Case Files of the Court Administration and Case Management Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States solicited comments on privacy and public access to electronic case files. Comments Received in 2000-2001.

Following an extensive comment period and public hearing, the Subcommittee developed a final set of privacy policy recommendations that were endorsed by the full Committee in June of 2001 and adopted by the Judicial Conference of the United States in September 2001. These recommendations now represent official Judicial Conference policy. The policy provided for remote public electronic access to case file documents in civil and bankruptcy cases with certain personal identifiers redacted. It called for a study prior to allowing remote public access to documents in criminal case files.

In March 2002, the Judicial Conference created a pilot project to allow for the study of remote public electronic access to criminal cases as required by the initial policy. The pilot project allowed remote public access to electronic criminal case files in 11 courts for study purposes. The Conference also permitted public access to electronic criminal case files in high profile cases if certain criteria were met. Criminal Case File Exceptions.

At its September 2003 session, the Judicial Conference amended its 2001 policy regarding criminal case files to allow remote public access to electronic files as long as specified personal identifiers were redacted. However, the Conference deferred implementation of this new policy until it could review specific guidance for how the policy would operate in the courts.

The Conference approved the requested specific guidance for the implementation of the amended criminal policy in March 2004. Criminal Case File Guidelines Although the criminal policy has been amended to allow electronic access to certain case files, such access will not be effective until necessary software changes are completed. News Releases.

• Judicial Conference Privacy Policy
  (As amended by the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management in December 2006)
  
  
• Limited Exceptions to Judicial Conference Privacy Policy for Criminal Case Files
  (Adopted March 2002)
  
  
• Criminal Case File Policy Guidelines and Local Rule
  (Adopted March 2004)
  
  
• Recent Actions from 2001-2004