Minnesota Judicial Branch Policy and Procedures Policy Source: State Court Administrator Policy Number: 800(c) Category: Access to Records Title: Access to Electronic Records: Government Subscribers Origination Date: December 1, 2012 Effective Date: December 1, 2013; March 1, 2013; October 1, 2014; October 1, 2015 Revision Date: February 27, 2013; August 1, 2014; September 23, 2015 Contact: Director of Legal Counsel Division Access to Electronic Records: Government Subscribers I. PURPOSE These procedures help ensure appropriate, uniform, effective, and efficient access to electronic records of the Minnesota Judicial Branch for Government Subscribers. II. III. IV. APPLICABILITY These procedures apply to the provision of access to electronic records for Government Subscribers. AUTHORITY Judicial Council Policy 800 Access to Records of the Judicial Branch. Minn. R. Pub. Access 8, subd. 4. DEFINITIONS The definitions of SCAO Procedure 800(a) Access to Electronic Records: All Data Consumer Groups are incorporated herein. A. Court Integration Services means the pre-defined automated electronic transmissions of i) court records from the Court s computer systems to Government Subscribers computer systems; and/or ii) Government Subscriber records from the Government Subscribers computer systems to the Court s computer systems; on a periodic basis or as triggered by pre-determined events. B. Government Subscriber Access Chart means the document approved by the State Court Administrator and ecourtmn Steering Committee, supported by court rules and Supreme Court orders, that outlines the electronic access to court Page 1
records and documents Government Subscribers statewide will receive through the new version of Minnesota Government Access and Court Integration Services. C. MNCIS Login Accounts means the digital login accounts created for and provided to Government Subscribers for access to electronic records and documents, where applicable, in MNCIS. The two types of MNCIS Login Accounts are Minnesota Government Access and MNCIS OA. D. MNCIS Odyssey Assistant or MNCIS OA means the client software installed on Government Subscriber computers that provides access to electronic records in MNCIS to Government Subscribers. E. Minnesota Government Access or MGA means the web-based software that provides remote Internet access to electronic records in MNCIS, including documents as they become available, to Government Subscribers. A new version of MGA with functionality that includes access to and appropriate confidential records is being developed for government subscribers. V. ALL COURT DATA SERVICES FOR GOVERNMENT SUBSCRIBERS The procedures in this section apply to access to electronic records, including documents, for Government Subscribers through all Court Data Services for Government Subscribers, unless otherwise specified. Court Data Services for Government Subscribers are offered to provide controlled, secured, authorized levels of access to electronic records, including documents, of the Minnesota Judicial Branch. Each Court Data Service may offer different views of, varying levels of access to, and different types of services pertaining to such records, as described herein and at the Court Data Services Center for Government Subscribers currently located on the Minnesota Judicial Branch web page at: http://www.mncourts.gov/governmentpartners.aspx. All Court Data Services and access to electronic records and documents to Government Subscribers are offered at no charge at this time. SCAO reserves the right to charge a fee for access to electronic records and documents at a later date. The request process for all Court Data Services available to Government Subscribers is described at the Data Services tab on the Government Partner Resources page of the Minnesota Judicial Branch website. Court Data Services provided are subject to change by the Minnesota Judicial Branch. VI. MINNESOTA GOVERNMENT ACCESS A. Current Minnesota Government Access The current Minnesota Government Access provides access to public case records and not to court documents or confidential cases. Government Subscribers may Page 2
continue to apply for the current Minnesota Government Access. The current Minnesota Government Access will not be discontinued until the new Minnesota Government Access is made available to Government Subscribers statewide. B. New Minnesota Government Access The procedures in this section apply to access to electronic records and documents, as they become available, for Government Subscribers through the new version of Minnesota Government Access, unless otherwise specified. The new version of Minnesota Government Access will be made available to Government Subscribers statewide following a rolling schedule expected to begin in late 2014 and as State Court Administration has the resources and technical capacity to do so. 1. With the rollout of ecourtmn as directed by the State Court Administrator, all statewide public records in MNCIS, including documents as they become available, that have been assigned the Data Security Classification of Public1, Public2, may be made accessible to Government Subscribers through the new Minnesota Government Access, to the extent of the new Minnesota Government Access functionality implemented by the State Court Administrator. 2. Confidential case types and documents that have been assigned the Data Security Classification of Confidential1 and Confidential2 may be made accessible to appropriate Government Subscribers through the new Minnesota Government Access, to the extent of the new Minnesota Government Access functionality implemented by the State Court Administrator. Confidential1 and Confidential2 documents may also be made available to appropriate Government Subscribers pursuant to Procedures 800(e) and 800(f). 3. Access to confidential case types and confidential documents for Government Subscribers through the new Minnesota Government Access shall be as provided in the current version of the Government Subscriber Access Chart approved by the State Court Administrator and the ecourtmn Steering Committee. (A copy of the current version follows this Policy and Procedure.) 4. Cases that have been sealed and documents that have been assigned the Data Security Classification of Sealed1 shall not be made accessible to Government Subscribers through the new Minnesota Government Access. VII. COURT INTEGRATION SERVICES The procedures in this section apply to access to electronic records and documents for Government Subscribers through Court Integration Services, unless otherwise specified. Page 3
A. With the rollout of ecourtmn as directed by the State Court Administrator, all statewide public records in MNCIS, including documents that have been assigned the Data Security Classification of Public1, Public2, as available, may be made accessible to Government Subscribers through Court Integration Services, to the extent of the Court Integration Services functionality implemented by the State Court Administrator. B. Confidential case types and documents that have been assigned the Data Security Classification of Confidential1 and Confidential2 may be made accessible to appropriate Government Subscribers through Court Integration Services, as available, to the extent of the Court Integration Services functionality implemented by the State Court Administrator. C. Access to confidential case types and confidential documents for Government Subscribers through Court Integration Services shall be as provided in the current version of the Government Subscriber Access Chart approved by the State Court Administrator and the ecourtmn Steering Committee. (A copy of the current version follows this Policy and Procedure.) D. Court Integration Services accounts will be updated for confidential case types as State Court Administration has the resources and technical capacity to do so, with an expected start date of late 2014. Public and confidential document access may be added to Court Integration Services accounts at a later date. E. Cases that have been sealed and documents that have been assigned the Data Security Classification of Sealed1 shall not be made accessible to Government Subscribers through Court Integration Services. VIII. MNCIS OA The procedures in this section apply to access to electronic records for Government Subscribers through MNCIS OA, unless otherwise specified. A. With the rollout of ecourtmn as directed by the State Court Administrator, MNCIS OA access for Government Subscribers will be phased out. Government Subscribers with a MNCIS OA account as of July 17, 2012, will continue to receive all statewide public records in MNCIS through MNCIS OA, to the extent of the MNCIS OA functionality implemented by the State Court Administrator. Records that require a stricter confidential security classification may be made accessible to Government Subscribers with a MNCIS OA account as of July 17, 2012, through MNCIS OA as authorized by court rule or Supreme Court order. B. No electronic documents shall be accessible through MNCIS OA at this time, except as provided in SCAO Procedure 800(d) Access to Electronic Records: Confidential Documents for Grandfathered Government Subscribers. Page 4
C. Access to MNCIS OA shall be available only for those Government Subscribers with an active MNCIS OA account as of July 17, 2012. Requests for new MNCIS OA accounts or changes to current MNCIS OA accounts submitted to SCAO after July 17, 2012, will not be granted. IX. GENERAL GOVERNMENT SUBSCRIBER AGREEMENT PROVISIONS Government Subscriber access to court data available in Minnesota Government Access, Court Integration Services and MNCIS OA shall be as authorized in the subscriber agreements executed between Government Subscribers and SCAO. The access will be provided through account logins and passwords assigned to the Government Subscribers. Before accessing court data, individual users must sign authorization forms stating they understand the terms and conditions of use. State Court Administration may terminate access to court data by Government Subscribers or individual users for violations of the subscriber agreement as determined by SCAO. X. REVISION HISTORY 2/2013: Amended to reflect change in name from MNCIS Government Access to Minnesota Government Access. Procedure also amended to include reference to Procedure 800(f). 8/2014: Amended to add: provisions regarding access to Confidential1, Confidential2 and Sealed1 documents; section regarding Court Integration Services; information regarding the new version of Minnesota Government Access; and reference to the Government Subscriber Access Chart for Minnesota Government Access and Court Integration Services. 8/2015: Amended to incorporate changes to Minn. R. Pub. Access 8, subd. 4, effective July 1, 2015, and provisions of Supreme Court order dated June 25, 2015, in ADM10-8050; updated website references for government subscribers; clarified provisions regarding record and document access in current OA accounts. Approval: Jeffrey Shorba, State Court Administrator September 23, 2015_ Date Page 5
Government Subscriber Electronic Access 1 to Case Records and Document Images 2 PART I: Access by Case Records and Document Images Case Record Access Government Subscriber Unit 3 Statewide public records 7. Minnesota Attorney General 8. Other Minnesota Government Agencies 9. Federal Agencies Statewide Juvenile Delinquency records 5. City Attorneys District Juvenile Delinquency records 1. Law Enforcement Statewide Parent/Child Relationship records Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records Statewide Paternity records 1. Social Services Agencies County Paternity records 2. Corrections and Probation 4 Document Image Access Government Subscriber Unit Statewide Public1 7. Minnesota Attorney General 8. Other Minnesota Government Agencies 9. Federal Agencies 1 The proposed electronic access may be granted in both the enhanced statewide Minnesota Government Access (through the Portal) and Court Integration Services. 2 Definitions for the terms used in this document are in the attached Appendix A. 3 Definitions for the Government Subscriber Units in this document are in the attached Appendix B. Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 1 of 7
Statewide Public2 7. Minnesota Attorney General 8. Other Minnesota Government Agencies 9. Federal Agencies Statewide Public2 Citation County Adult Criminal Confidential1 County Juvenile Delinquency Confidential1 County Parent/Child Confidential1 County Civil Domestic Abuse Confidential1 County Paternity Confidential1 7. Minnesota Attorney General 8. Other Minnesota Government Agencies 9. Federal Agencies 3. City Attorneys 2. Corrections and Probation 4 3. Social Services Agencies 4 Local Corrections and Probation offices tasked with completing custody/parenting time evaluations for the local family courts need access to county paternity records and documents. The access will be limited to only those local Corrections and Probation offices that perform this function (currently Hennepin., Ramsey and Anoka counties). Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 2 of 7
PART II: Access by Government Subscriber Unit Government Subscriber Electronic Access 1 to Case Records and Document Images 2 Government Subscriber Unit 3 Case Record Access Document Access 5 County Attorneys Public Defenders Corrections and Probation 1. Statewide public records 2. Statewide Juvenile Delinquency records 3. Statewide Parent/Child Relationship records 4. Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records 5. County Paternity records 1. Statewide public records 2. Statewide Juvenile Delinquency records 3. Statewide Parent/Child Relationship records 4. Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records 1. Statewide public records 2. Statewide Juvenile Delinquency records 3. Statewide Parent/Child Relationship records 4. Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records 5. County Paternity records 4 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 2. County Adult Criminal 6 3. County Juvenile Delinquency Confidential1 4. County Parent/Child Relationship Confidential1 5. County Civil Domestic Abuse Confidential1 6. County Paternity 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 2. County Adult Criminal 6 3. County Juvenile Delinquency 4. County Parent/Child Relationship Confidential1 5. County Civil Domestic Abuse 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 2. County Juvenile Delinquency 3. County Parent/Child Relationship Confidential1 4. County Civil Domestic Abuse 5 Electronic Confidential2 document image access in all case types is being analyzed. 6 This includes one document image: the prospective juror questionnaire. Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 3 of 7
Social Services Agencies Law Enforcement City Attorneys 1. Statewide public records 2. Statewide Juvenile Delinquency records 3. Statewide Parent/Child Relationship records 4. Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records 5. Statewide Paternity records 1. Statewide public records 2. District Juvenile Delinquency records 3. Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records 1. Statewide public records 2. Statewide Juvenile Delinquency records 3. Statewide Civil Domestic Abuse records 4. County Paternity 4 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 2. County Juvenile Delinquency 3. County Parent/Child Relationship Confidential1 4. County Civil Domestic Abuse 4. County Paternity 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 2. County Juvenile Delinquency 3. County Civil Domestic Abuse 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 2. County Adult Criminal 6 3. County Juvenile Delinquency Confidential1 4. County Civil Domestic Abuse Confidential1 Minnesota Attorney General 1. Statewide public records 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 Other Minnesota Government Agencies 1. Statewide public records 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 Federal Agencies 1. Statewide public records 1. Statewide Public1, Public2 Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 4 of 7
Appendix A - Case Record and Document Image Definitions The listed terms have the following definitions when used in this document: Case records means any recorded information of a particular case or controversy that is collected, created, received, maintained or disseminated by a court or court administrator. See Minn. R. Pub. Access 3, subd. 5. Civil Domestic Abuse records means electronic case records not accessible to the general public that may be accessible to government subscribers with legal authorization to access the case under Minn. R. Pub. Access 8, subd. 4, and include the case type of Domestic Abuse. Confidential1 means the data security classification for not accessible to the general public in electronic form and that may be accessible to government subscribers with legal authorization to access the case under Minn. R. Pub. Access 8, subd. 4, pursuant to SCAO Procedure 800(a). Confidential2 means the data security classification for not accessible to the general public in electronic form and that should not accessible to government subscribers except as authorized by specific court rules or orders that identify the specific data or document to be accessed, pursuant to SCAO Procedure 800(a). Document image means an electronic image of a document that is part of or included in a court file for a particular case or controversy. Government Subscribers mean Minnesota state or local government agencies that execute Master Subscriber Agreements with the State Court Administrators Office regarding the appropriate use of case records and. Court-appointed attorneys and Guardians ad Litem are not included as government subscribers. Juvenile Delinquency records means electronic case records not accessible to the general public that may be accessible to government subscribers with legal authorization to access the case under Minn. R. Pub. Access 8, subd. 4, and include the case types of Juvenile Delinquency, Juvenile Traffic and Juvenile Petty. Legitimate business need means a requirement, duty or obligation for the efficient performance of governmental tasks or governmental responsibilities and as required or authorized by law or court rule in connection with any civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitral proceeding in any Federal, State or local court or agency or before any self-regulatory body. Parent/Child Relationship records means electronic case records not accessible to the general public that may be accessible to government subscribers with legal authorization to access the case under Minn. R. Pub. Access 8, subd. 4, and include the case types of Truancy, Runaway and CHIPS cases where the child is a party to the proceeding. Paternity records means electronic court records not accessible to the general public and not accessible to government subscribers except as authorized by specific court rules or orders, and include the case type of Paternity. Public case records means court records classified as accessible to the public under Minn. R. Pub. Access 4 and in cases that have not been designated as confidential or sealed. Public case records include the case types of Adult Criminal Mandatory, Adult Traffic Mandatory, Juvenile Delinquency +16, Family, Domestic Abuse, Harassment, Civil, Probate and CHIPS, unless a case has been designated as confidential or sealed. Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 5 of 7
Public1 means the data security classification for accessible to the general public in electronic form from any location, according to Minn. R. Pub. Access 4, subd. 1, other court rules, and state and federal law, pursuant to SCAO Procedure 800(a). Public2 means the data security classification for accessible to the general public in electronic form at a courthouse but not from any other location or remotely, pursuant to SCAO Procedure 800(a). Public2 Citation means the data security classification for Court Payment Center citation document that are accessible to the general public in electronic form at a courthouse but not from any other location or remotely, pursuant to SCAO Procedure 800(a). Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 6 of 7
Appendix B - Government Subscriber Unit Definitions The listed terms have the following definitions when used in this document: City Attorneys means Minnesota attorneys or law firms appointed by Minnesota cities to prosecute cases in accordance with Minn. Stat. 481.17 and 484.87, subds. 2-3, and their employees and independent contractors. Corrections and Probation means Minnesota state and local corrections and probation agencies, and their employees and independent contractors, that: conduct pretrial evaluations or presentence investigations of individuals at the request of criminal or juvenile courts; or detain, incarcerate or supervise adults charged with or convicted of a crime, or juveniles alleged to be or adjudicated delinquent; pursuant to, e.g., Minn. Stat. 241.31, 241.32, 242.10, 242.22, 243.05.244.19, 401.025. County agencies are commonly identified as Department of Corrections, Community Corrections, Correctional Services, Probation Services, and Court Services. County Attorneys means Minnesota county attorneys elected or employed pursuant to Minn. Stat. 388.01 or 388.09, and their employees, student attorneys and independent contractors, who appear and prosecute cases under Minn. Stat. 388.051 and 388.09. County Child Support (IV-D) Agencies means the 84 Minnesota county agencies that provide child support enforcement programs and child support services under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, as defined in Minn. Stat. 518A.26, subd. 18, (10); see also Minn. Stat. 393.07, subd. 9. Federal Agencies means a Minnesota office of an agency of the United States government and the office s employees. Law Enforcement means Minnesota state and local law enforcement agencies as defined in Minn. Stat. 626.84, and their employees and independent contractors, but excluding tribal, band, community and Indian conservation enforcement authority law enforcement agencies defined in Minn. Stat. 626.90 629.94, and their employees and independent contractors. Minnesota Attorney General means Minnesota attorneys general, and their employees, student attorneys and independent contractors, who appear and prosecute cases under Minn. Stat. 8.01, 8.03, 8.04 and 8.06. Other Minnesota Government Agencies means Minnesota state and local government agencies that do not have a more specific government subscriber unit. Such government subscriber agencies may include, for example, county fiscal services; county recorders; county collections; law libraries; and county-funded attorneys in contract with a county that provide counsel where the right to court-appointed counsel is provided in statute or court rule, such as under Minn. Stat. 253B.07, subd. 2c. Public Defenders means Minnesota state public defenders under Minn. Stat 611.23, district public defenders under Minn. Stat. 611.26, and public defense corporations under Minn. Stat. 611.216, subject to the supervisory control of the State Board of Public Defense, and their employees, student attorneys and independent contractors, who represent persons in the courts of the state pursuant to Minn. Stat. 611.14. Social Services Agencies means Minnesota state and local social services agencies, and their employees and individual contractors, that administer and supervise public welfare or public assistance for children and adults under Minn. Stat. 256.01, subd. 2 and 393.07. County agencies are commonly identified as Social Services, Human Services, Health and Human Services, Family Services and Community Services. Government Subscriber Access Chart Revised August 2015 Page 7 of 7