One of the themes that shows up time and time again in our government blogs is public access to things like land records and court records. Part of this is because before these records are made public, all of the personally identifiable information needs to be removed and we have a fancy automated redaction software that can do it in a snap.
Another reason that it’s becoming such a common topic is that more and more counties and states are making the move to put their records online. One of the common themes that has been running through all of this increased availability has been the presence of COVID-19. The virus caused many government offices to reduce capacity or become virtual, necessitating some sort of online access for citizens. Funds have also been made available to government offices through programs like the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act to ensure that organizations who need to implement a solution like this have the means to do so.
The latest group to make progress in records access is the Missouri Supreme Court, which announced that starting next July, anyone will be able to access summaries of cases through the state’s online database. The court has been working on the project for years and was able to fund upgrades to the database with $5 million of American Rescue Plan money allocated by the state legislature. The Missouri project will only affect cases filed after the July 1, 2023 go-live date, which is far off due to constitutional requirements, but will also give time for filers to learn the new redaction process.
Courts have often struggled with who should bare the burden of redaction and also how much information should be made publicly available. By providing summary information online and keeping other documents accessible through courthouse terminals, Chief Justice Paul C. Wilson said that, “These improvements will fundamentally change the way individuals access public court documents, while balancing the need to protect confidential information and ensure the overall security and reliability of our underlying case management system.” The access to cases applies across all state courts so it will include county circuit courts and appeals courts.
This news is exciting for advocates of open records, but also because changes like these bring government services more in line with what their constituents expect in terms of convenience and service. The push to get records online will continue to move forward, whether through legislation or activism in individual government offices, so if you don’t have a plan in place now, it’s worth considering the types of things (scanning, indexing, redaction?) that you’ll need to have in place before getting a project off the ground.
If you could use some help in developing your requirements or could benefit from a solution that completes redaction (even for historical documents) automatically, please reach out and we’ll be in touch.
About the Author: Chris Mack
Chris is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in product development, data analysis, and both traditional and digital marketing. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University and has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. A passionate marketer, Chris strives to make complex ideas more accessible to those around him in a compelling way.