Rule 8 - Consent to Release, Failure To Exclude, Improper Exclusion, and Sanctions(A) Consent to Release Otherwise Confidential Court Record to Public Access. A party or person affected by the release of the Court Record may affirmatively consent to make otherwise confidential records accessible to the public. The consent must be in writing, if the party or person is filing a Court Record with the Court. The party or person must give verbal consent if the otherwise confidential information is presented during a hearing.(B) Failure to exclude Court Record from Public Access.(1) The right to exclude a Court Record that is expressly declared confidential pursuant to 5(A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) is never forfeited by the failure to comply with any provision of Rule 5.(2) Immediately upon learning that a Court Record declared confidential pursuant to 5(A), (B), (C), (D), or (E) was not excluded from Public Access, the party submitting such Court Record shall comply with the requirements of Rule 5 to ensure proper exclusion.(C) Improper exclusion of Court Record from Public Access.(1) Only Court Records declared confidential pursuant to 5(A), (B), (C), (D), and (E) may be excluded from Public Access.(2) If a court determines that Court Records are excluded from Public Access without first satisfying 5(A), (B), (C), (D), or (E), the Court Records shall be made available for Public Access seventy-two hours after notice to the parties and any person affected by the release, unless the requirements of Rule 6 are thereafter satisfied.(3) If a court denies a Rule 6 request to exclude a Court Record from Public Access or if a Court Record is required to be made available for Public Access pursuant to 8(C)(2), the party that originally submitted the Court Record as a Non-Public Access document is responsible for immediately resubmitting the Court Record as a Public Access Document.Adopted November 15, 2019, effective 1/1/2020.Commentary
Rule 8 permits waiver of confidentiality by the party or person affected by the release of the Court Record, but in all other instances in which a Court Record has been declared confidential pursuant to Rule 5, such confidentiality is not forfeited.
Rule 8(A) is a new provision. A party or person affected by the release of otherwise confidential information may consent to its release by an oral statement on the record or in writing. The consent could state: "I consent to the [name of information], which is otherwise confidential, being part of the public Court Record in this case, " or other similar language.
If a court determines that a party has improperly excluded Court Records from Public Access without first satisfying these rules, those records shall be made available for Public Access unless, within 72 hours after notice of the improper exclusion has been sent, the party or person affected by the release of such records files a verified request to exclude pursuant to Rule 6.