Mendocino County Superior Court Restricts Public Access to Records Concerning Criminal Cases
The Mendocino County Superior Court this week implemented changes to its online records system that significantly limit public access to criminal court documents.
Until Aug. 1, the public could search criminal cases online and view the first page of filings. Full documents were available upon request for a fee.
As of Aug. 1, criminal case documents are no longer accessible online. The only way to view them is through public access kiosks located at the courthouses in Ukiah and Fort Bragg. Users must pay a fee to view documents at the kiosks and a second fee to obtain copies. In Fort Bragg, the kiosk is located in a locked room; courthouse personnel provide access upon request.
Kim Turner, the court’s executive officer, said she would be available for an interview next Wednesday.
Access to court records is governed by the California Constitution, which states: “The people have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny... ”
However, the procedures governing that access are established by the California Rules of Court, which are adopted by the Judicial Council of California—a volunteer body composed of judicial officers, court executives, attorneys and legislators. These rules must comply with the state constitution.
On Jan. 1, 2019, Rule 2.503 was amended to prohibit remote access to criminal filings and certain other court documents.
A comment from the advisory committee accompanying the rule change stated: “The rule allows a level of access by the public to all electronic records that is at least equivalent to the access that is available for paper records and, for some types of records, is much greater. At the same time, it seeks to protect legitimate privacy concerns.”
Frank Hartzell, publisher of MendocinoCoast.News, strongly disagreed. He called the change “a direct attack on taxpayers.”
“It effectively excludes journalists who wish to look through all the files or follow up on reports by confidential sources that their rights have been violated by the legal system,” Hartzell said. “For all practical purposes, it creates a closed court system, where facts are very expensive to verify and where research into the way justice is being administered is totally impractical.” (Read Hartzell’s full comments here.)
Local news in Mendocino County was already under pressure before the change in records access. Currently, no full-time local reporters are employed by any locally owned publication. A Colorado-based media company employs one reporter covering Mendocino County, and the University of California at Berkeley funds another through the Berkeley-based Mendocino Voice.
In June, Mendocino County Public Broadcasting shut down its local news department in anticipation of a rescission of federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, expected to take effect in October 2025.