Law Commons^™

The Arkansas Proposal On Access To Court Records: Upgrading The Common Law With Electronic Freedom Of Information Norms, Richard J. Peltz-Steele, Joi L. Leonard, Amanda J. Andrews

Faculty Publications

The law and practice of court record access across United States jurisdictions is in a confused state. Public access to records in the hands of government, including court records, is a desirable norm of public policy; on this point, there is universal agreement. But there is disagreement on questions as fundamental as whether public access to court records is founded in constitutional law, or only in common law; and the extent to which court record access is the province of the courts or the legislature. And most importantly, there is widely divergent disagreement about what circumstances warrant restriction on public …