Seventh National Court Technology Conference Courts Online
Seventh National Court Technology Conference Page 1 of 15 Seventh National Court Technology Conference Baltimore, Maryland August, 2001 Education Article Courts Online - Privacy and Public Access in Australian and United States' Courts By Anne Wallace, Karen Gottlieb I. Introduction The transformation of court records from paper to electronic began over two decades ago with the introduction of basic office software, databases and case management systems. Over the past five years, the advent of electronic filing with digital signatures, the use of imaging technology and XML mark-up language, and the rapid development of the Internet have begun to further transform the court record. Some jurisdictions have already reached the point where there is a seamless integration from electronically filed documents to electronic court files which are available to be used, in that form, in the courtroom. Courts in Australia are following the lead of the United States in implementing these systems, and their use is predicted to become widespread in coming years. [1] Computerized records have already made it far easier to compile, search, retrieve and present data from court records. However, the most recent developments have the potential to greatly increase public access to information about court cases. Once documents are filed in electronic form, they can be made available for the public to search on the Internet, via the court’s website, or a third party service provider. As several US judicial bodies, including the US Judicial Conference, the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators, have identified, the transition to electronic case file systems raises important legal and policy issues that are not addressed explicitly in current law or access policies.
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