Rule 4-202.02. Records classification.

Intent:

To classify court records as public or non-public.

Applicability:

This rule applies to the judicial branch.

Statement of the Rule:

(1) Court records are public unless otherwise classified by this rule.

(2) Public court records include but are not limited to:

(2)(A) aggregate records without non-public information and without personal identifying information;

(2)(B) arrest warrants, but a court may restrict access before service;

(2)(C) audit reports;

(2)(D) case files;

(2)(E) committee reports after release by the Judicial Council or the court that requested the study;

(2)(F) contracts entered into by the judicial branch and records of compliance with the terms of a contract;

(2)(G) drafts that were never finalized but were relied upon in carrying out an action or policy;

(2)(H) exhibits, but the judge may regulate or deny access to ensure the integrity of the exhibit, a fair trial or interests favoring closure;

(2)(I) financial records;

(2)(J) indexes approved by the Management Committee of the Judicial Council, including the following, in courts other than the juvenile court; an index may contain any other index information:

(2)(J)(i) amount in controversy;

(2)(J)(ii) attorney name;

(2)(J)(iii) case number;

(2)(J)(iv) case status;

(2)(J)(v) civil case type or criminal violation;

(2)(J)(vi) civil judgment or criminal disposition;

(2)(J)(vii) daily calendar;

(2)(J)(viii) file date;

(2)(J)(ix) party name;

(2)(K) name of a person other than a party, but the name of a juror or prospective juror is private until released by the judge;

(2)(L) name, address, date of birth, driver’s license number and last four digits of a social security number of a party;

(2)(M) name, business address, business telephone number, and business email address of a lawyer appearing in a case;

(2)(N) name, business address, business telephone number, and business email address of court personnel other than judges;

(2)(O) name, business address, and business telephone number of judges;

(2)(P) name, gender, gross salary and benefits, job title and description, number of hours worked per pay period, dates of employment, and relevant qualifications of a current or former court personnel;

(2)(Q) opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders entered in open hearings;

(2)(R) order or decision classifying a record as not public;

(2)(S) private record if the subject of the record has given written permission to make the record public;

(2)(T) publications of the administrative office of the courts;

(2)(U) record in which the judicial branch determines or states an opinion on the rights of the state, a political subdivision, the public, or a person;

(2)(V) record of the receipt or expenditure of public funds;

(2)(W) record or minutes of an open meeting or hearing and the transcript of them;

(2)(X) record of formal discipline of current or former court personnel or of a person regulated by the judicial branch if the disciplinary action has been completed, and all time periods for administrative appeal have expired, and the disciplinary action was sustained;

(2)(Y) record of a request for a record;

(2)(Z) reports used by the judiciary if all of the data in the report is public or the Judicial Council designates the report as a public record;

(2)(AA) rules of the Supreme Court and Judicial Council;

(2)(BB) search warrants and search warrant affidavits after filing of the return, but a court may restrict access before trial;

(2)(CC) statistical data derived from public and non-public records but that disclose only public data;

(2)(DD) Notwithstanding subsections (6) and (7), if a petition, indictment, or information is filed charging a person 14 years of age or older with a felony or an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult, the petition, indictment or information, the adjudication order, the disposition order, and the delinquency history summary of the person are public records. The delinquency history summary shall contain the name of the person, a listing of the offenses for which the person was adjudged to be within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court, and the disposition of the court in each of those offenses.

(3) The following court records are sealed:

(3)(A) adoption records, which are private until sealed;

(3)(B) expunged records;

(3)(C) orders authorizing installation of pen register or trap and trace device under Utah Code Section 77-23a-15;

(3)(D) records showing the identity of a confidential informant;

(3)(E) records relating to the possession of a financial institution by the commissioner of financial institutions under Utah Code Section 7-2-6;

(3)(F) wills deposited for safe keeping under Utah Code Section 75-2-901;

(3)(G) records designated as sealed by rule of the Supreme Court; and

(3)(H) other records as ordered by the court under Rule 4-202.04.

(4) The following court records are private:

(4)(A) adoption records until sealed;

(4)(B) aggregate records other than public aggregate records under subsection (2);

(4)(C) alternative dispute resolution records;

(4)(D) applications for accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act;

(4)(E) custody evaluations;

(4)(F) eligibility for benefits or services or the determination of the benefit level;

(4)(G) home studies;

(4)(H) the following personal identifying information about a party: email address, telephone number; account description and number, password, identification number, maiden name and mother’s maiden name;

(4)(I) the following personal identifying information about a person other than a party: address, email address, telephone number; date of birth, driver’s license number, social security number, account description and number, password, identification number, maiden name and mother’s maiden name;

(4)(J) guardianship cases and conservatorship cases, except the order of appointment and letter of appointment, which are public;

(4)(K) medical, psychiatric, or psychological records;

(4)(L) personnel file of a current or former court personnel or applicant for employment;

(4)(M) photograph, film or video of a crime victim or of the petitioner in a cohabitant abuse action or civil stalking action;

(4)(N) presentence investigation report;

(4)(O) record classified as private or controlled by a governmental entity and shared with the court under Utah Code Section 63-2-206;

(4)(P) non-public record provided by a governmental entity of a state or the United States;

(4)(Q) record regarding the character or competence of an individual;

(4)(R) record containing information the disclosure of which constitutes an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(4)(S) record involving the commitment of a person under Title 62A, Chapter 15, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Act;

(4)(T) record of a court hearing closed to the public or of a child’s testimony taken under URCrP 15.5;

(4)(T)(i) permanently if the hearing is not traditionally open to the public and public access does not play a significant positive role in the process; or

(4)(T)(ii) if the hearing is traditionally open to the public, until the judge determines it is possible to release the record without prejudice to the interests that justified the closure;

(4)(U) record of a delinquency proceeding against an insurer under Utah Code Section 31a-27-203;

(4)(V) record submitted by a judge regarding judicial performance evaluation and certification other than records showing whether the judge has met a standard of performance;

(4)(W) record submitted for in camera review until its public availability is determined;

(4)(X) other records as ordered by the court under Rule 4-202.04.

(5) The following court records are protected:

(5)(A) attorney’s work product, including the mental impressions or legal theories of an attorney or other representative of the courts concerning litigation, privileged communication between the courts and an attorney representing, retained, or employed by the courts, and records prepared solely in anticipation of litigation and not subject to discovery;

(5)(B) bids or proposals until the deadline for submitting them has closed;

(5)(C) budget analyses, revenue estimates, and fiscal notes of proposed legislation before issuance of the final recommendations in these areas;

(5)(D) budget recommendations, legislative proposals, and policy statements, that if disclosed would reveal the court’s contemplated policies or contemplated courses of action;

(5)(E) court security plans;

(5)(F) investigation and analysis of loss covered by the risk management fund;

(5)(G) investigative subpoenas under Utah Code Section 77-22-2;

(5)(H) memorandum prepared by staff for a member of any body charged by law with performing a judicial function and used in the decision-making process;

(5)(I) confidential business records under Utah Code Section 63-2-308;

(5)(J) a record classified as protected by a governmental entity and shared with the court under Utah Code Section 63-2-206;

(5)(K) record created or maintained for civil, criminal, or administrative enforcement purposes, audit or discipline purposes, or licensing, certification or registration purposes, if the record reasonably could be expected to:

(5)(K)(i) interfere with an investigation;

(5)(K)(ii) interfere with a fair hearing or trial; or

(5)(K)(ii) disclose the identity of a confidential source;

(5)(L) record identifying property under consideration for sale or acquisition by the court or its appraised or estimated value unless the information has been disclosed to someone not under a duty of confidentiality to the courts;

(5)(M) record that would reveal the contents of settlement negotiations other than the final settlement agreement;

(5)(N) record the disclosure of which would impair governmental procurement or give an unfair advantage to any person;

(5)(O) record the disclosure of which would interfere with supervision of an offender’s incarceration, probation or parole;

(5)(P) record the disclosure of which would jeopardize life, safety or property;

(5)(Q) search warrants and search warrant affidavits before the filing of the return;

(5)(R) strategy about collective bargaining or pending litigation;

(5)(S) test questions and answers;

(5)(T) trade secrets as defined in Utah Code Section 13-24-2; and

(5)(U) other records as ordered by the court under Rule 4-202.04

(6) The following are juvenile court social records:

(6)(A) correspondence relating to juvenile social records;

(6)(B) custody evaluations, parent-time evaluations, parental fitness evaluations, substance abuse evaluations, domestic violence evaluations;

(6)(C) medical, psychological, psychiatric evaluations;

(6)(D) pre-disposition and social summary reports;

(6)(E) probation agency and institutional reports or evaluations;

(6)(F) referral reports;

(6)(G) report of preliminary inquiries; and

(6)(H) treatment or service plans.

(7) The following are juvenile court legal records:

(7)(A) accounting records;

(7)(B) discovery filed with the court;

(7)(C) pleadings, summonses, subpoenas, motions, affidavits, calendars, minutes, findings, orders, decrees;

(7)(D) name of a party or minor;

(7)(E) record of a court hearing;

(7)(F) referral and offense histories

(7)(G) and any other juvenile court record regarding a minor that is not designated as a social record.