Deseret News | Council public-records study not secret

From Deseret News archives:

Council public-records study not secret

By Judge Pamela T. Greenwood

Published: Monday, Sept. 20, 2004 9:37 a.m. MDT

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The committee does not recommend that aggregate records (bulk data as opposed to single records) be kept private. The committee recommends that some aggregate data be public, some not, and that the process by which the distinction is made be streamlined. Neither was the committee's "first recommendation . . . to completely close access to most electronic records." We have never considered such a thing.

The editorial asks a rhetorical question: "And if a newspaper asked for permission (to access a record), would the request itself become a public record, open to the scrutiny of competing news organizations?" The answer is yes. Under the committee's recommendations, the written request for a record is itself a public record, so the press can exercise its watchdog function of ensuring that the courts honor the laws of privacy and public access.

There will be plenty of opportunities in the near future to debate the merits of the committee's recommendations. My purpose today is simply to set the record straight during the time between now and Oct. 25. This committee's recommendations will be available for free for all to read and to criticize. Reasonable people will differ over whether the balance the committee has struck is the right one, and no recommendation is beyond fair criticism. But to allege that "many members of this committee . . . are not friends of public accountability" and to accuse them of "censorship" is neither responsible nor professional.

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The committee's members have donated uncounted hours of their personal time to inform themselves about issues for which there are no easy answers. They have done the public a great service that warrants commendation, even from those who may disagree with the final recommendations. I hope that everyone with an interest will take the time to educate themselves about the committee's work and to join in the effort to achieve reasonable solutions to difficult problems.

Judge Pamela Greenwood serves as a member of the Utah Court of Appeals and chairs the Committee on Privacy and Public Court Records.