Democratic Judicial Campaign Committee

Electronic courts system gets revision

The Mississippi Supreme Court has offered further revisions to the Electronic Courts project by outlining a new round of sealed files:

Under MEC, there are four types of “special” items.  Sealed files, sealed documents, documents submitted for in camera review, and restricted access files.  A sealed file may not be viewed at all on MEC.  All searches for a sealed file fail to produce any results whatsoever.  Only court personnel can even see that the case exists.  (Think the Pickering divorce case.)  Sealed documents and documents submitted for in camera review will be reflected with a docket entry that says either “sealed document” or “document submitted for in camera review,” but, like sealed files, the documents themselves will only be viewable by court personnel.  (Think Chip Pickering’s diary in the attendant alienation of affection suit.)  Restricted access files show up in search results, but the internet MEC user may only view the docket, not the pleadings themselves.  (Think your divorce or your neighbor’s.)  In order to view the pleadings, a member of the public can go to a public terminal at the courthouse.

Click the link below to see exactly what kind of files will be redacted and why.

(Via Ipse Blogit: The Mississippi Supreme Court revises the Mississippi Electronic Courts Administrative Procedures)