(a) Construction of Rule. This Rule is subject to and shall be construed harmoniously with the other Rules in this Chapter, the Rules in Title 20, other applicable law, and administrative orders of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Cross reference: Remote access to case records by the general public is governed predominantly by the CaseSearch program. See Rules 20-102 (a)(2) and 20-106 regarding the conversion of paper records under MDEC.

(b) Limiting Access to Judicial Records. A custodian may limit access to judicial records in electronic form to the manner, form, and program that the electronic system used by the custodian, without modification, is capable of providing.

(c) Facilitating Access to Judicial Records. If a custodian, court, or other judicial agency converts paper judicial records into electronic judicial records or otherwise creates new electronic records, databases, or computer systems, it shall, to the extent practicable, design those records, databases, or systems to facilitate access to judicial records that are open to inspection under the Rules in this Chapter.

Cross reference: See Rule 16-904 (d).

(d) Current Programs Providing Electronic Access to Databases. Any electronic access to a database of judicial records that is provided by a court or other judicial agency and is in effect on July 1, 2016 may continue in effect, subject to review by the SCA for consistency with the Rules in this Chapter. After review, the SCA may recommend to the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court any changes that the SCA concludes are necessary to make the electronic access consistent with the Rules in this Chapter.

Source: This Rule is derived from former Rule 16-909 (2019).