Tulsa County begins posting court documents online
New rules by the Oklahoma Supreme Court governing the use of personal information in public records is getting one of its first tests in Tulsa County. Tulsa County Court Clerk Sally Howe Smith has begun posting civil pleadings, criminals charges and other court documents on the Internet, she said. However, trial transcripts will not be placed online, Smith said.
Smith said her office began posting filings Dec. 15. With the exception of small claims judgments, documents filed before that date will not be placed online and will continue to be available at the clerk’s office, she said. Smith decided to begin placing images of documents online after the Oklahoma Supreme Court approved rules that clarified how identifiers such as birth dates, home addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal information should be dealt with in such filings. After initially proposing redaction of key identifiers, including dates of birth and home addresses, the Supreme Court reversed its own proposal Dec. 12, striking rules for redaction or partial redaction.
Facing pressure from district attorneys, the media and businesses that depend upon background checks for potential employees, the court significantly scaled back the rules. The new rules place the responsibility of redacting sensitive information on attorneys or other filers but it is not a requirement, records show. Criminal records are exempt from any allowable redaction, which means full birth dates and home addresses should be included on criminal filings.
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