Indiana appellate courts will make briefs filed in non-confidential appeals available online.
Based on recommendations from a task force that includes HSPA, the Indiana Supreme Court authorized certain briefs filed on or after April 1 to be available to the public online at MyCase.in.gov.
Briefs are legal arguments written by each side of a disputed matter. Appellate judges review briefs as part of their decision-making process.
Briefs in non-confidential cases are currently available to the public through the Appellate Clerk for in-person inspection or electronically for a fee. Briefs are not available in confidential case types (for example, mental health or juvenile termination of parental rights).
The online free access is being announced after recommendations from a task force on remote access to and privacy of electronic court records.
The task force recommended standards for online publication. The Court considered the recommendations and unanimously approved the following:
• Only briefs written by attorneys will be posted online, due to attorneys’ ethical requirements to follow court record confidentiality rules.
• Briefs written by non-lawyers will not be posted online at this time.
• Appendices will not be posted online.
• Briefs filed after April 1 will be available; archived briefs will not be online.
The 21-member task force was created in February to study best practices and policies on Internet access to electronic court records.
It is chaired by Chief Justice Loretta Rush and includes members of the Indiana judicial and legislative branches as well as media and legal educators, including Steve Key, HSPA executive director and general counsel.
