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IN THE MATTER OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO COURT RECORDS
At a session of said court, held in the Justice Center, City of Battle Creek, Calhoun County, Michigan on August 1, 1997
Present: Phillip E. Harter, Chief Judge of Probate
IT IS ORDERED:
This administrative order is issued in accordance with Michigan Court Rules 8.105(C), effective March 1, 1985 and 8.110(C)(3), effective October 1, 1988. The purpose of this order is to regulate public access to court records and to allow flexibility in providing approved forms.
2. Requests to inspect/copy any of the non-public records identified in Attachment 1 shall be handled as follows: A deputy register shall notify the interested person that a:) there is a case and provide them with the case number; b) it is a non-public record; and c) the procedure for challenging limitations to access of court records is contained in MCR 8.116.
3. Court records are not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests. MCL 15.232(b)(v) specifically exempts the judiciary from the Freedom of Information Act.
4. In accordance with MCR 8.110(C)(3), the court shall provide litigants with forms approved by the State Court Administrator at the cost of $.50 per form.
b. There will be no charge for forms requested by court appointed attorneys on cases they have been appointed to or for indigent parties.
c. There will be no charge for forms prepared by the court.
A. General
2) Persons who do not have a complete case number or party names may review available case indexes to identify and select specific cases for inspection.
3) Files shall be reviewed at the public counter unless in the discretion of court supervisory personnel, approval is granted to review records in the deputy register's office based on available space, the number of files to be reviewed and the length of time necessary to review them.
4) The right of immediate public inspection is limited to the availability of the court's clerical staff to supervise the inspection in order to ensure the safekeeping of the records.
2) Requests for access to more than five (5) specific case files will be accommodated within a reasonable amount of time depending on the total number of case files requested and the availability of court staff.
3) Requests for specific case files in storage will be accommodated within three (3) working days.
4) Case information requests from other courts lacking specific case numbers or party names shall be researched by this court. Requested information will be provided at no charge and will not require a "copy request" form.
5) Requests to perform traffic or record checks that do not have specific case numbers or party names will not be researched by the court. They will be referred to the appropriate state agencies to obtain this information or to the available indexes referred to under subsection 5.A.2).
6) Requests for the wholesale review of particular types of cases will only be considered if, in the court's discretion, the request will not unreasonably interfere with the discharge of court functions. The court is not required to develop special procedures for the convenience or cost/benefit of persons requesting access and may specify the date, time and manner in which access is to be granted. It will be the responsibility of those persons requesting access to make prior, acceptable arrangements with the court.
C. Copies
2) Requests for more than 25 total copies will be accommodated within a reasonable amount of time as determined by (1) the total number of pages to be copied; (2) the availability of court staff and photocopying equipment; and (3) the nature of the request, i.e., the degree to which court staff is required to identify and select documents to be copied.
3) In order to preserve and maintain the integrity of court records and to prevent unreasonable interference with the discharge of court functions, persons will not be permitted to copy or otherwise duplicate court records using their own equipment.
Date: August 1, 1997
Chief Probate Judge
1. Matters Defined in MCR 5.903(A)(18):
B. Separate statements about known victims of juvenile offenses (MCL 780.781 et seq.)
C. Testimony taken during a closed proceeding (MCR 5.925(A)(2) and MCL 712A.17)
D. Dispositional reports (MCR 5.943(C)(3) and MCR 5.973(A)(4)(c))
E. Fingerprinting material required to be maintained for reportable juvenile offenses (MCL 28.243 et seq.)
F. Court materials or records that the court has determined to be confidential. These include:
-social work reports
-fact sheets
-social histories
-initial service plans
-screening/staffing reports
-documents received from schools and/or public/private agencies by authorized release
-victim letters
-fingerprints
-progress reports
-court reports
-memoranda
-correspondence from client
-miscellaneous correspondence
-referrals to other agencies/persons
3. Parental Rights Restoration Act cases (MCL 722.904(2))
4. Issuance of Marriage License without Publicity (MCL 551.203 et seq.)
2. Requested by
ADDRESS ___________________________________________________
Work _____________________
Case Number __________________________________________________
_____Obtain Copies
_____Specific documents (list - use additional pages if necessary)________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
For Court Use Only
Copies _________x $1.00 per page___________
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Last Updated 3-8-02
Send your comments, questions and suggestions to Phil Harter at 161
E Michigan Avenue, Battle Creek, Michigan 49014
or e mail to pharter@calhouncountymi.gov