Section 4 - Limiting Access to Case Records(a) Request to Restrict Access.(1) A request to the court to declare a case record to be a confidential record may be made by any party to a case, by the individual about whom information is present in the case record, or on the court's own motion on notice as provided in subsection 5(f)(3).(2) The court must decide whether there are sufficient grounds to overcome the presumption of openness of case records and prohibit access according to applicable law.(3) In deciding whether to restrict access the court must consider that the presumption of openness may only be overcome by an overriding interest. The court must articulate this interest along with specific findings sufficient to allow a reviewing court to determine whether the closure order was properly entered. Considerations should include: (A) the risk of injury to individuals,(B) individual privacy rights and interests,(C) proprietary business information, and(4) Any access restriction must be no broader than necessary to protect the articulated interest. The court must consider reasonable alternatives declaring a record confidential, such as redaction or partial restrictions, and the court must make findings adequate to support the restriction. The court may not deny access to an entire record solely on the ground that the record contains confidential or closed information.(5) In restricting access the court must use the least restrictive means that will achieve the purposes of this rule and the needs of the requestor.(6) If a victim, as defined in N.D.Const. Art. I, § 25(4) requests, all victim contact information in a criminal case record must be redacted.(7) If the court concludes, after conducting the balancing analysis and making findings as required by subsection 4(a)(3), that the interest of justice will be served, it may prohibit remote access to an individual defendant's electronic case record in a criminal case: (A) if the charges against the defendant are dismissed; or(B) if the defendant is acquitted.If the court grants a request to restrict remote access to an electronic case record in a criminal case, the search result for the record must display the words "Internet Access Prohibited under N.D.Sup.Ct.Admin.R. 41." Such records remain available by in-person request at a court facility.
(b) Request for Access.(1) A request for access to a confidential record or a record previously withheld as exempt may be made by any member of the public or access may be considered on the court's own motion after notice as provided in subsection 4(c).(2) In deciding whether to allow access, the court must consider whether there are sufficient grounds to grant access under applicable constitutional, statutory and case law. In deciding this the court must consider the standards outlined in subsection 4(a).(c) Form of Request.(1) A request under this section must be made by a written motion to the court.(2) If the request is for a case record, the requestor must give notice to all parties in the case.(3) The court must require notice to be given by the requestor or another party to any identified victims in a criminal case and any individuals or entities identified in the information that is the subject of the request. When the request is for access to information to which access was previously prohibited under subsection 4(a), the court must provide notice to the individual or entity that requested that access be prohibited.N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. & Ord. 4
Rule amended effective 11/1/2022.