The New England First Amendment Coalition met with officials from the Vermont Judiciary earlier this week to discuss ongoing challenges to online court record access.
Among those attending the Aug. 20 meeting were Judge Thomas A. Zonay, State Court Administrator Therese Corsones, Chief of Trial Court Operations Laurie Canty, IT Director Marie Schonholtz and Chief of Planning and Court Services Scott Griffith.
The meeting focused on several recommendations outlined by NEFAC last year:
(1) Instituting a “public is public” model whereby any record publicly available at a courthouse be made publicly available online unless such access is prohibited by law.
(2) Making available a virtual docket containing an easily searchable index of all cases before the Vermont courts.
(3) Improving public access through the computer terminals at courthouses across the state.
(4) Posting all non-exempt court records online immediately upon filing.
(5) Considering an upgrade of the current platform to a more user-friendly system with better search functions.
NEFAC is the region’s leading advocate for the First Amendment and the public’s right to know about government. Want to learn more about court records in Vermont? Check out NEFAC’s multimedia FOI Guide for video tutorials, interviews with journalists and legal experts, legislation trackers and more.