(Host) The Vermont Senate has given its strong approval to legislation that blocks Internet access to most court records.
Backers of the bill say it isn’t in the public interest to allow the easy distribution of unsubstantiated allegations in family and criminal court cases.
VPRs Bob Kinzel reports:
(Kinzel) The question facing the Senate is this. Is there a difference between allowing the public access to family and criminal court records at the courthouse where the information is stored, and allowing the public to access these records through the Internet ?
Most members of the Senate said there’s a big difference and they supported a plan to block electronic access to most court records.
Judiciary chairman Dick Sears says allowing a wider distribution of family court records is a big mistake:
(Sears) "But in some divorce proceedings believe it or not people say things that aren’t true about the other individual…and come up with all kinds of titillating information that may or may not be true."
The legislation also blocks Internet access to charges that have been filed in criminal court but allows access to conviction records:
(Sears)"Why is that important? Well as you know, Mr. President, a lot of people get charged with things that they’re not guilty off…We actually heard cases where young people were denied jobs because this information was coming out."
Windsor senator John Campbell said allowing electronic access to court records would be a bonanza for companies that sell this kind of information:
(Campbell) "The difference between somebody sitting in their home thousands of miles away data mining and selling this information versus somebody who has an actual desire and legitimate reason for going to the courthouse and picking them up I believe that the privacy aspect is then realized."
Allen Gilbert is the director of the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. He thinks allowing electronic access is a good idea because individuals would have an opportunity to correct inaccurate information that’s currently being compiled by data mining firms:
(Gilbert) "If they’ve come to Vermont, if they’ve gone to a courthouse, if they’ve gotten a record that has an error in it that error is going to still be there and it’s going to stay there. If the records were made public – whether they’re in the courthouse or on the web – there’s a much higher chance that that error is going to be caught and corrected."
The measure is expected to come for final approval in the Senate on Wednesday afternoon.
For VPR News I’m Bob Kinzel in Montpelier.