On December 16, the Missouri Supreme Court announced new rules dramatically restricting when court papers may be redacted. The new rules effectively undo a set of rules from 2023 that required the names of “witnesses” to be redacted from court papers.
The 2023 rules were applied inconsistently and often resulted in important information being closed to the public. For example, in a case filed by a police sergeant alleging that her superior officers – including a major and a captain – had falsified police records, the names of the superior officers were redacted as “witnesses.” In another case, the names of firefighters who were allowed to drive fire apparatus despite having DUI records were redacted as “witnesses.”
What’s Changed?
These new rule changes follow a decision of the Circuit Court of Cole County, Missouri, earlier this year that found similar redaction rules imposed by the Missouri Legislature in 2023 were unconstitutional. Specifically, the court found the redaction rules violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, as well as the Open Courts provision of the Missouri Constitution.
The new rules not only no longer require witness names to be redacted, they prohibit parties from redacting anything other than certain specified information, such as a party’s full date of birth, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, etc.
In a press release announcing the new rules, Missouri Supreme Court Chief Justice W. Brent Powell is quoted as saying that they “will result in better access to public court records while protecting any truly confidential information they may contain.”
In addition to changing the redaction requirements, the new rules also specify the limited circumstances under which court papers can be entirely sealed from the public. The new rules state that a court cannot seal a record unless there is a “compelling justification,” and provide that before a court can seal a record, it must make “specific written findings that justify the record being sealed.” These written findings are required even if the parties stipulate to the record being sealed.
While the new rules do not technically take effect until July 1, 2026, the chief justice stated in the press release that they “should provide helpful guidance for lawyers and the public now.”
For more information about this court order, please contact Bernie Rhodes or your regular Lathrop GPM attorney.