The Indiana Supreme Court has been proactive to protect the private information that litigants might place before a court. There is administrative rule 9 which is a compilation of directions from the Court and statutes and other rules on point about how to keep private information that should not be in the public record, private; while at the same time, balancing this against the right to public access to the court system.
If you have what you believe is private, confidential or privileged information that arises in your case, this is a matter you should identify and discuss it with your counsel. There are a multitude of provisions that apply that may protect your information from being public court record.
This noted, in a very recent appellate case, the Indiana Supreme Court decided an important case to augment the realities of the era of the internet. This case is R.E. v. M.S.1 where the Court ordered that initials be substituted for a case that was not published. This means it is not legal authority that can be cited to by attorneys. However, in this unusual case, the parties names were part of the internet record, but the case was confidential and the existing rules were enhanced to ensure privacy.
Indiana courts and attorneys work hard to keep private what should be private and balance it against the need for the public and open access to courts. However, litigants play a role in identifying potentially sensitive information for their attorneys and courts to better develop these needs in the internet era.
This blog post was written by attorneys at Dixon & Moseley, P.C. who handle appeals throughout Indiana Courts. This blog post is for general educational purposes only and not specific legal advice or solicitation for services. We hope you find it helpful to your situation or understanding of the Indiana legal system.