Vt. Pub. Access Ct. R. 7

As amended through May 6, 2024

Rule 7 - Filing of Case Records; Filer and Judiciary Responsibility

(a)Filer and Staff Responsibility.

(1)Filer Responsibility.

(A) In General. It is the responsibility of the filer of a case record, whether in physical or electronic form, to determine whether all or part of the record being filed is not publicly accessible.

(B) Certifying Compliance. The filer must certify that the filer has reviewed the case record, and that the filing specifies the records that are not publicly accessible in whole or in part and protects those records or information within a record from disclosure to the public consistent with these rules. The certificate must detail any actions taken to comply with these rules and the reasons for the actions.

(C) Separating Information Not Publicly Accessible in Publicly Accessible Records. If the record is filed in a type of case that is not closed to the public by statute, and contains information that is not publicly accessible, the filer must separate to the extent reasonably practicable the part of the record that is subject to public access from the part that is not subject to public access by redaction or other similar method. The filer may separately file the omitted or redacted part of the record or may additionally file a separate complete record.

(D) Identifying Records That Are Not Publicly Accessible . The filer of a record that is not publicly accessible under these rules or under statute must identify the record as not publicly accessible at the time of filing. After acceptance of the filing, court staff will place that record , or any other record not publicly accessible, in the section of the electronic or physical file of the case that is not publicly accessible.

(2)Record Designated in Error. A filer who becomes aware that a record that is not properly designated as to its public-access status must promptly act to correct the error. If the error is discovered by another person, including one who is a party, a lawyer for a party or a person who is making filings on behalf of a party, the person must promptly notify the other filer, and judiciary staff, so that corrective action may be taken. Any other person may notify judiciary staff of the error.

(3)Responsibility of Court Staff When Record is Filed. The Court Administrator will establish the procedures for staff to discharge the record custodian's responsibility to provide public and special access to records as provided in these rules and to implement exceptions to public access established by these rules and by statute. If staff determine that a filing does not fully comply with these rules, including with respect to one or more personal identifiers, staff must take an action specified in paragraph (4). If a court staff person or judicial officer discovers that a case record that is publicly accessible may be in that status in violation of these rules, the staff or officer must act to temporarily restrict public access to the record and notify the Court Administrator. If the Court Administrator determines that public access to the record is not authorized under these rules, the Court Administrator will direct that the record be removed from public access. The Court Administrator may direct that the record be redacted or otherwise modified to allow public access to parts that are publicly accessible under these rules. If the record was filed by or on behalf of a party or another person who is not court staff or a judicial officer, the Court Administrator may direct that the filer make the record compliant with these rules within a specified time. If the filer provides a compliant filing on or before the specified time limit, the filing date will be the date of the original filing. Otherwise, the filing date will be the date of the compliant filing. The Court Administrator may appoint a designee to discharge the Court Administrator's responsibility under this rule.

(4)Actions When a Filing is Noncompliant with Rules.

(A) The staff person who reviews the filing may:

(i) Change the public-access status or redact the filing to comply with these rules; or

(ii) Reject the filing until it is made compliant with these rules and specify the time limit to do so.

(B) In addition, the staff person may refer the matter to an assigned judge who, after notice and hearing, may:

(i) Impose any sanction authorized by V.R.C.P. 11(c), regardless of whether that rule is otherwise applicable to the proceeding involved;

(ii) Refer the matter to the Professional Responsibility Program if the court finds that there is probable cause to conclude that a lawyer has violated Rule 3.4(c) of the Rules of Professional Conduct; and/or

(iii) If the court finds a violation of these rules occurred and excusable neglect is not present, order that the date of the corrected filing is the date of filing for all purposes; or remedial action appropriate to the circumstances.

(b)Court Generated Records. Court staff must identify any court-generated record that is not accessible by the public and must place that record in the section of the electronic case file of the case that is not publicly accessible. Court staff must omit or redact information that is not publicly accessible from any court-generated record that is otherwise accessible to the public as is required by these rules before placing that record in the publicly-accessible section of the electronic case file of the case.

(c)Motion by a Party. A party or nonparty who is aggrieved by a filing made in noncompliance with these rules, may move under applicable procedural rules and seek relief as authorized in paragraph (a)(4) of this rule.

Vt. Pub. Access Ct. R. 7

Amended May 1, 2019, eff. 7/1/2019; amended October 10, 2023, eff. 1/1/2024.

Reporter's Notes

New Rule 7 expands on former Rule 3 of the Rules Governing Electronic Case Records, which precluded public access to certain data elements. The obligations now cover all records that fall within an exception to public access.

This rule provides for a filer's certification that the filer has identified any records that come within an exception to public access and taken the necessary steps to ensure that such records do not become publicly accessible in noncompliance with these rules. It provides specific sanctions for a noncompliance with the rules by a filer. It authorizes the Court Administrator to specify what review of filings will discharge the Judiciary's obligation under Rule 3(b) "to take reasonable steps to ensure compliance with these rules." Further, it requires all persons who find a record in noncompliance with these rules to notify court staff so it can be remedied and authorizes others to give such notice. It authorizes any person aggrieved by noncompliance to seek court action to remedy the noncompliance.

Reporter's Notes- 2024 Amendment

Rule 7(a) is amended to clarify the procedure that filers must follow when filing a record that is not publicly accessible, or contains information that is not publicly accessible, under these rules. The word "nonpublic" is replaced with "not publicly accessible" throughout the rule because court records are always "public" in the sense that they are produced or acquired in the course of the business of the Judiciary, even if some records or information within records are exempt from public access. The rules control public access to records; they do not purport to make the records themselves private. The word "document" is replaced with "record" consistent with concurrent amendments to Rules 2, 6, and 9.

Rule 7(a)(1)(C) is amended to clarify language and to state that redaction is required when it is reasonably practicable. Otherwise, the filer may file a separate record under seal or use some other method to ensure that information that is not publicly accessible remains confidential.

Subdivision (a)(2) is amended to remove the word "nonpublic."

Subdivision (a)(4)(B)(ii) is amended to fix a grammatical error.