As federal courts make the transition from paper to electronic case files, the Judicial Conference of the United States is studying the privacy and security implications of vastly wider public access to court documents via the Internet.
Public comment is sought.
Case files, long presumed to be open for public inspection and copying unless sealed by court order, often contain private or sensitive information. Bankruptcy debtors must divulge intimate details of their financial affairs. In other courts, case files may contain medical records, personnel files, tax returns or proprietary information. Creation of electronic files means they soon may be viewed, printed or downloaded, for a minimal fee of 7 cents per page, by anyone, at any time, through the Internet. The new technology has sparked the Judiciary's review of public-access policies.