BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 326|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 326
Author: Yee (D), et al.
Amended: 5/10/11
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Evans, Harman, Blakeslee, Corbett, Leno
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Court records: public access
SOURCE : Californians Aware
Courthouse News Service
First Amendment Coalition
DIGEST : This bill requires the Judicial Council, in
consultation with stakeholder groups, and within 18 months
of the date of enactment of this act, to adopt a rule of
court to require courts that have fully implemented the
California Case Management System to provide timely to the
public, to the extent possible and practicable, with
same-day access to "case-initiating civil and criminal
court records," as defined.
ANALYSIS : Existing law, the California Constitution,
declares the people's right of access to information
concerning the conduct of the people's business.
(California Constitution, Article I, Section 3)
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Existing law provides that, unless access is otherwise
restricted by law, court records shall be made reasonably
accessible to all members of the public for viewing and
duplication in paper or electronic form. (Government Code
Section 68150(l))
Existing law provides that court records sealed by court
order are not open to public inspection. (California Rules
of Court, Rule 2.550)
Existing law provides that, unless confidentiality is
required by law, court records are presumed to be open.
(California Rules of Court, Rule 2.550)
This bill defines "case-initiating civil and criminal court
records" to mean: (1) any complaint or petition filed in
an unlimited civil case; (2) any petition for writ of
review; and (3) any indictment, information, or complaint
in felony and misdemeanor criminal actions. This
definition would include both electronic and nonelectronic
records.
This bill provides that "case-initiating civil and criminal
court records" does not include records sealed or proposed
to be sealed by court order and are confidential under
existing law, including but not limited to, certain
juvenile court records, adoption records, child custody
pleadings, and child and spousal support enforcement
records.
This bill requires the Judicial Council, in consultation
with stakeholder groups, and within 18 months of the date
of enactment of this act, to adopt a rule of court to
require courts that have fully implemented the California
Case Management System to provide timely to the public, to
the extent possible and practicable, with same-day access
to "case-initiating civil and criminal court records," as
defined.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/11)
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Californians Aware (co-source)
Courthouse News Service (co-source)
First Amendment Coalition (co-source)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO
California Newspaper Publishers Association
California Protective Parents Association
Center for Judicial Excellence
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Pacific Media Workers Guild
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author writes:
"ÝT]he problem to be remedied is a drastic and widespread
deterioration in the timeliness of public access to court
records. In the case of newly filed civil complaints, a
delay in access effectively hides from the public the
fact that a new lawsuit has been initiated.
"These delays in access are an obvious matter of concern
to the news media, who are deprived of the ability to
inform other interested members of the public on the
business of the courts while it is still newsworthy.
They are also a problem for the parties to the
proceeding, who may not be able to learn about a court
filing that directly impacts them until they receive
service of the filing days - or even weeks - later. And
delays in access may also impact those in the business
and legal community who may be indirectly affected by a
legal proceeding.
"Finally, delays in access hinder the public's ability to
oversee the activities of an important branch of
government while those activities are still current, thus
impairing the self-government that is so essential to the
functioning of our democratic form of government."
Courthouse News Service, a sponsor of this bill, writes:
"Courthouse News has directly experienced the
deterioration of timely access to the civil court record.
Its reporters make regular (in many cases, daily)
in-person visits to courthouses throughout California to
review newly filed civil complaints and determine which
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ones merit news coverage. When Courthouse News has
encountered access delays, its first step has always been
to try to resolve those delays through cooperative
discussions with court staff. In the past, these efforts
have worked well, usually leading to solutions that
ensured that interested persons could review and report
on new civil complaints in a timely manner without
imposing any significant cost or burden on courts.
"In the last few years, however, Courthouse News has seen
a fundamental shift in the landscape. Procedures that
traditionally promoted timely access are unceremoniously
dismantled or scaled back. And while Courthouse News has
continued its attempts to resolve these problems through
discussions with court staff, these efforts are becoming
increasingly unproductive. Repeatedly, a solution
reached after months of work with a particular court
administrator disintegrates as soon as he or she leaves
the court, and the delays return. Other courts have
simply refused to improve access altogether."
RJG:kc 5/23/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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