September 21, 2011
From Billings Gazette:
HELENA, Mont. — The Montana Supreme Court has suspended its rules governing access to court records, a move that a freedom of information advocate says may result in a step backward in the public's ability to obtain or view those documents.
The rules for privacy and public access to court records in Montana, adopted in 2007 and amended the next year, were meant to provide a uniform policy for the state court system in anticipation of the records becoming available on the Internet. The aim was to maximize public access while protecting individual privacy rights.