Posted: April 24, 2023
Code of Judicial Administration – Comment Period Closed June 8, 2023
CJA04-0202.02. Records classification (AMEND). The proposed amendments update statutory references and include three substantive changes:
- Classifies records related to Court Commissioner Conduct Committee and Council actions under CJA Rule 3-201.02 as “private,” except for public censures by the Judicial Council.
- Safeguards contact information in domestic cases upon request, if the individual’s contact information has been safeguarded in a protective order or stalking injunction action under (8)(A) or in the cases listed under (8)(B).
- In response to S.B. 93, classifies:
- sex designation records for both minors and adults as “private;”
- name change records for both minors and adults as “public,” and
- records in cases involving both a name change and a sex designation change, for minors and adults, as “private” (with a few exceptions).
I am glad to see that sex designation cases are being designated as private. I spoke with a colleague about this last week and noticed that older cases had medical documents publicly available because the case was not automatically designated as private and counsel forgot to file a motion to classify to have the doctor’s letter designated as private. Since medical records and letters from doctors and therapists are a requirement in sex change cases, I believe this amendment will help individuals feel more secure that their private information is not available through a simple court record search.