SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A big change for Missouri online court records that now allows you to see a lot of information about others in the state.
This impacts everyone, whether you’ve had a speeding ticket, a divorce case, criminal matters, or civil lawsuits.
The website Case.net is for the Missouri Court system. Before the new changes, you could only view the basics of any case, like the names of the people, what happened in court, and upcoming hearings. In order to get more information, you’d have to go to the clerk’s office. Not anymore.
“Used to, an attorney could lookup a lot more than the public could. Well, now everyone can look up information,” said Attorney Jim Meadows with Carnahan Evans PC law firm.
Meadows says that’s a good thing, but it’s not easy.
“I think the goal, what the Supreme Court did with the rule, is wonderful. I’m concerned about how the implementation is going,” said Meadows.
With all this online now, it’s up to the person filing the documents to black out information that may be too public. No judge, no court worker will help. It’s all up to the filer, which is usually your attorney.
It’s called the redaction rule. The requirements say to cover up things like social security numbers, bank account numbers, and names of minors.
“But can it kind of get subjective?” asked Ashley.
“Very much so. There’s a lot of subjectivity to it. The way the court told us they wanted us to do it. For right now, it is to over redact until we get everything figured out with how the new system is going to work,” says Meadows.
That means expect to pay even more money for an attorney.
“Attorneys don’t work for free. Most of our clients pay us an hourly fee, and so if we are reviewing every pleading, every piece of discovery, multiple times to make sure we’re complying with that rule because it’s our licenses on the line, that cost gets passed on to the client,” said Meadows.
If you file representing yourself, known as pro se, it’s totally your responsibility to get it right. You file a copy for the court and a redacted, public copy. Workers at the county clerk’s office can help, but only so much.
“We cannot and do not give legal advice. However, we can look their forms over. If a signature is missing something like that, we can help them,” said Greene County Circuit Clerk Bryan Feemster.
Come prepared. Scan the code and get familiar with the required paperwork.
“When you create something that’s very cumbersome to use, it creates more chances for mistakes,” said Meadows.
Mistakes, advocates for domestic violence victims say could be too costly.
“Sometimes the risk of that information being released is a barrier for them to get the help they might want,” said Brandi Bartel, the director of The Victim Center in Springfield.
Bartel says it’s hard enough to encourage victims to come forward.
“A lot of victim’s feel their rights are very limited in the criminal justice system, and I think this is an example of why they feel that way,” said Bartel.
Keep in mind there are some things still private; restraining orders and similar cases still do not list the victim’s name, but in other cases, there’s still the risk.
“Anytime that there are risks or vulnerabilities in that information being released to people or unsafe people, it’s terrifying to survivors,” said Bartel.
Because this creates more work for filers, you can expect court proceedings to take even longer now. If and when mistakes are made, a person needs to file what’s called a motion to correct redaction. The document in question is removed, so you can’t see it online. The court has 30 days to review the matter.
Several attorneys tell KY3 that, overall, this is a good thing because the public has a right to know. Those same attorneys also think Case.net isn’t exactly user-friendly. Creating a new system requires legislation and funding.
To view court old court records filed prior to July 1st, before this switch, requests must be made through the clerk’s offices.
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