There’s Open. Then there’s open
p2p news / p2pnet:- Information should be available online to everyone by remote access, but detailed filings such as affidavits, motion records and pleadings shouldn’t get this kind of exposure, even though they`re public documents.
That`s the view of a judicial advisory committee that wants to make sure, individual Canadians should not be able to use their home computers to read most court documents, even though Internet technology is making this increasingly feasible, says the Globe and Mail, going on:
The `model policy` for access to court records, written by a committee of the Canadian Judicial Council – the organization of Canada’s top judges – is not mandatory, although it is a blueprint for individual courts across the country.
The guidelines also say personal information should be deleted from publicly available court documents, to ensure the safety and security of those whose lives are exposed in legal proceedings, says the story.
While the principle of “open courts” is important, “there is a lot of concern over potential abuses [of the information], University of Toronto law professor Lisa Austin, one of the authors of the report, is quoted as saying.
But, “As long as it’s classified as a public document, people will believe they have the right to see the information,” the Globe and Mail has Net consultant Rick Broadhead saying.
“You can’t on the one hand say, ‘We want to increase electronic access to information,’ then arbitrarily decide what information is quasi-public and what isn’t. . . . It’s either public or it’s not.”
The new model policy says judgments and docket information should be universally available on the Internet as long as “personal identifiers” such as phone numbers, addresses and social insurance numbers are removed, although, case files should be available by remote access only to individuals and lawyers directly involved, and by special request to others such as journalists, adds the story.
Something you think we should know? tips[at]p2pnet.net
See:-
Globe and Mail – Panel wants most court files kept off the web, October 6, 2005
October 7th, 2005 at 7:52 pm
âcase files should be available by remote access only to individuals and lawyers directly involved, and by special request to others such as journalists,â
This is an outdated concept. Many of us are Journalists. What makes someone working for the Globe and Mail special, and would exclude people like Jon and I who are doing the same job — only with a smaller audience (For now – Jon seems to be growing his audience quite quickly
October 8th, 2005 at 2:58 am
I think the practical difference is that “Journalists” are controlled by media bigbiz, and ppl like Jon and yourself are not. I’m sure this bothers media bigbiz no end. They appear to be trying to peddle the concept that only employees of “established media outlets” (in other words, them) are professional Journalists, and everyone else are just amateurs, unworthy of the term Journalist and the privileges that go with it.
I guess being an employee of a large established media outlet also means it’s more likely you could bring legal pressure to bear than someone who just has a website with no backing from bigbiz. Which might be why apple sued those 3 websites for leaking product info, but not the employees of some mainscream newspaper who leaked info on some other upcoming apple product in exactly the same manner.
Never mind that the newspaper article was probably seen by more ppl than the websites, and thus should have been considered as more likely to “harm” apple, somehow. “The newspapers got lawyers, the websites probably don’t” seems to be the entire basis for apple’s behaviour doesn’t it?
October 8th, 2005 at 4:26 pm
Note: I track legal and government news stories on a daily basis and the difference between what is readily available and immediately accessible in the U.S. and what is not in Canada is yawning.
The cause of this state of affairs is cultural, not technological.
The Canadian Judicial Council has not even seen fit to make their report available.
The federal government has not reformed the Access to Information Act in any significant way since its inception in 1983.
The opposition fights for change only while it is in opposition.
This should be the number one peer to peer project in Canada, make access to government accountability and participation information real time.
The people must reclaim their own rights not wait for benificence from above.
Should not professional librarians know better and lead the charge?????
October 11th, 2005 at 8:53 am
This is a typical throwback to the days of Priviledge and Status of the Crown, which kept the unwashed peasants away from the places of learned nobility.
Today, in Canada, the nobility is the Liberal party, and it’s appratchick, which boldly steals cash from the taxpayer at every turn, then launders it through associated front companies, then –when caught– sets itself up as the Jurisprudence… commissioning an inquiry that only punishes the people they used/abused in their scheme to line their pockets with tax dollars.
When citizens act like this, it’s called racketeering. In Canada, it’s normal government business. Nobody from the government will be blamed…
It is from this attitude that “The Crown can do no wrong” that stupidity like this comes about. Freedom is illusory in Canada, at best.