MEMO
TO: Joint Procedure Committee
FROM: Mike Hagburg
DATE: April 7, 2008
RE: Privacy Protection for Filings Made with Court
The Committee considered proposed changes to court privacy protection rules at the October and January meetings. The Committee decided to incorporate federal privacy protection guidelines into a new N.D.R.Ct. 3.4 and to amend N.D.R.Ct. 3.1 to reflect the new rule.
N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 41, Access to Court Records, includes restrictions on the release of information by the courts. The Committee may wish to consider whether Admin. Rule 41 should be amended to restrict access to private information consistent with new N.D.R.Ct. 3.5.
Draft amendments to Admin. Rule 41 are attached. In addition to current restrictions, the proposed amendments to Section 5(b)(8) of the rule would restrict the release of taxpayer identification numbers, birth dates, the names of individuals known to be minors, and, in criminal cases, the home addresses of individuals.