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CONFERENCE HELD TO ADDRESS PRIVACY & PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT RECORDS
The Courtroom 21 Project, with the support of The William & Mary Law School, the National Center for State Courts and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, and with sponsorship by LexisNexis CourtLink, Inc., presented the 2nd “Privacy & Public Access to Court Records” Conference on November 1 & 2, 2002 at William & Mary Law School's McGlothlin Courtroom.
Focusing on reconciling privacy and the public's right to know, the 2-day working conference spotlighted some of today's most controversial issues. Among the topics discussed were, “Commercial Uses of Court Records”, “Special Issues in Criminal Case Files and Family Court Records Access Policies” and “Court Records in the Broader Context of Debate Over Privacy Interests and Access to Public Records”. Speaking on these and other issues were Justice John Dooly, Supreme Court of Vermont; Martha Steketee, National Center for State Courts; Judge Monty Ahalt, Chief Industry Advisor for LexisNexis CourtLink; Alan Carlson, President of The Justice Management Institute; Jeanette Plante, Department of Justice; Professor Fred Lederer, Courtroom 21; and others. The presenters spoke to attendees from fifteen states and the District of Columbia, representing various federal, state and local courts and organizations, law schools and the media.
During the conference, discussions were also held to give attendees an update on the law on public access to court records and recent court public access policy developments. A progress report on “Public Access to Court Records: Guidelines for Policy Development by State Courts” was also given, which allowed conference attendees an opportunity to find out all of the guidelines presented in the policy, as well as what updates have happened since the project began.
The next conference is scheduled for January 2004 and will also be hosted by the Courtroom 21 Project in the William and Mary Law School's McGlothlin Courtroom in Williamsburg, Virginia. For more information about the conference, please contact Anne Kimber at 757-221-2494 or email her at agkimb@wm.edu
.Started in September 1993, Courtroom 21, a joint project of the William & Mary Law School and the National Center for State Courts, includes The McGlothlin Courtroom, the most technologically advanced courtroom in the world.
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