The newly formed Connecticut Judicial Branch Public Access Task Force is holding public meetings as it considers the scope of current access to court records and the future of electronic access. Senior Associate Justice David M. Borden charged the committee to consider the ramifications of online access to court records, at the May 25 opening meeting.

Transparency and openness must always be balanced against other legitimate interests, such as legitimate expectations of privacy, legitimate concerns for security, and legitimate needs of confidentiality. To take just one example, which we in the Branch will have to face in the not too distant future, consider the fact that open, on-line access to all electronically filed judicial records may mean–in, say, credit card collection cases–open, on-line access to private individuals’ social security numbers, dates of birth, credit card numbers, and even bank
account numbers and related information. That would increase dramatically the
risk of judicial records being a ready vehicle for identity theft.

The schedule of future meetings can be obtained by contacting the Supreme Court, 231 Capitol Ave., Hartford; 860-757-2270.

Judicial Access Panel Gets To Work reported in courant.com