| Nevada Supreme Court Enacts Rules to Ensure Public Access to Court Records |
| Monday, 31 December 2007 12:55 | |||
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The Nevada Supreme Court today (Dec. 31) enacted new rules ensuring that court records in civil cases will be open to the public with few exceptions.
The new rules, entitled Nevada Rules for Sealing and Redacting Court Records (SRCR), are based on recommendations of the Supreme Court's Commission on the Preservation, Access and Sealing of Court Records, which was empanelled in May 2007. The justices ordered that the rule becomes effective immediately, rather than in 60 days, which is usual. The new rule, which was approved by all seven justices, is available on the Supreme Court website: www.nvsupremecourt.us. "This is such an important issue that the Supreme Court believes it should go into effect immediately," said Justice James Hardesty, co-chair of the Commission. "This year the Nevada Supreme Court has undertaken a number of important initiatives designed to improve the state's judicial system" said Chief Justice William Maupin. "This particular initiative underscores the Court’,s belief in open government and our commitment to preserve the public nature of the business of the judicial branch, including its records." The Supreme Court conducted a public hearing on Dec. 3 on the Commission's recommendations and accepted written comments through Dec. 21 before finalizing the new rules. During the public hearing, Second Judicial District Judge Brent Adams told the justices that the recommended rules would provide clear guidelines for judges who are asked to seal all or parts of files. Judge Adams was co-chair of the Commission.
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