Calloway Circuit Court Sealing & Redaction Procedures

CRITICAL

Access to an unredacted sealed copy containing personal identifiers is limited to the listed parties, court personnel, authorized child-support personnel, and persons authorized by court order.

The clerk of the court shall allow the unredacted sealed copy of the pleading, document, or exhibit containing personal identifiers to be accessed only by a party to the case, an attorney of record in the case, a judge of the court or other authorized court personnel, a duly authorized employee or agent of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services involved in child support matters attendant to the case, or a person authorized to view the copy by specific orders of the court.

CRITICAL

Parties must file a redacted copy and a marked, sealed unredacted copy containing personal identifiers, with access restricted as specified; documents in actions deemed confidential by statute need not be redacted and are governed by the cited statutes for access.

However, except as set forth in paragraph B below, where personal identifiers are required by statute or contained in other documents or exhibits filed with the court pursuant to the above-stated chapters, parties shall comply with CR 7.03(1)(b) by filing one copy from which any personal data has been redacted and filing an unredacted copy in a marked and sealed envelope. The clerk of the court shall allow the unredacted sealed copy of the pleading, document, or exhibit containing personal identifiers to be accessed only by a party to the case, an attorney of record in the case, a judge of the court or other authorized court personnel, a duly authorized employee or agent of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services involved in child support matters attendant to the case, or a person authorized to view the copy by specific orders of the court. As used in this section, "personal identifier" means a Social Security number or tax-payer identification number, date of birth, or financial account number. B. Pleadings, documents, or exhibits filed in actions deemed confidential by statute need not be redacted, and any access to those files shall be governed by KRS 199.570, KRS 610.340, KRS 625.045 and KRS 625.108.

CRITICAL

The clerk must log when the sealed envelope is opened, who opened it, and the purpose.

The clerk shall keep a record in the form of a log as to when the envelope was unsealed, by whom and for what purpose the envelope was unsealed.

CRITICAL

Mediation documents and communications are confidential, generally undiscoverable and inadmissible, subject to exceptions provided by the rule, a court order for good cause, and the mediator's abuse-reporting duties.

Except as otherwise provided by this rule or ordered by the Court for good cause shown, all mediation documents and mediation communications are confidential and shall not be disclosed. Mediation documents and communications are not subject to disclosure through discovery or any other process, and are not admissible into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding. An exception to this rule is that the mediator shall be responsible for reporting abuse according to KRS 209.030 and KRS 620.030.

CRITICAL

The order requirement does not apply to qualifying public officers or employees who certify their investigative or prosecutorial role, but they may use and distribute the information only for investigation or prosecution of offenses under Kentucky law.

Except that, pursuant to KRS 610.340 (2), this shall not apply to public officers or employees engaged in the investigation and prosecution of cases under KRS Chapters 600 through 645 or other prosecutions authorized by Kentucky Revised Statutes, as certified by that public officer or employee. Said public officer or employee shall use and distribute this information only for investigation or prosecution of offenses under the Kentucky Revised Statutes.

CRITICAL

When a dissolution case closes, the Clerk may unseal the envelope to remove and mail the VS-300; otherwise, the envelope may be unsealed only as directed by the presiding judge or Circuit Court Clerk and must then be resealed.

Upon a dissolution of marriage case being closed, the Clerk of the Circuit Court is hereby authorized to unseal the envelope and remove the VS-300 for mailing to Kentucky's Office of Vital Statistics; otherwise the sealed envelope may only be unsealed upon direction of the presiding judge or the Circuit Court Clerk and is to be re-sealed.

CRITICAL

After a final adoption order, the Clerk must seal the case records; inspection requires a court order or another rule-based authorization, and clerks may open the file only as necessary to perform custodial duties and may provide certified adoption orders to adoptive parents.

Except as otherwise provided, upon entry of the final order in an adoption case, the Clerk shall place all papers and records in a suitable envelope which shall be sealed and shall not be opened for inspection by any person except on written order of the court or as otherwise permitted under this rule. The Clerk or Deputy Clerks are permitted to unseal and open an adoption file only for such reasons as are necessary in the performance of their duties as custodians of the records and may furnish certified copies of the Order of Adoption to the adoptive parents.

CRITICALCivil cases

The Circuit Clerk’s Office may not release a Family Court confidential video recording without a specific written order from the Family Court Judge, except as authorized in Paternity actions.

The Circuit Clerk's Office shall not release any copies of a Family Court confidential video recording, except as authorized in Paternity actions, without a specific written order from the Family Court Judge.

CRITICALCivil cases

When covered filings contain personal identifiers, parties must file a redacted copy and an unredacted copy in a marked sealed envelope, with access restricted to authorized persons; filings in actions deemed confidential by statute need not be redacted and are governed by the cited statutes.

However, except as set forth in paragraph (B) below, where personal identifiers are required by statute or contained in other documents or exhibits filed with the court pursuant to the above-stated chapters, parties shall comply with CR 7.03 by filing one copy from which any personal data has been redacted and filing an un-redacted copy in a marked and sealed envelope. The clerk of the Court shall allow the un-redacted sealed copy of the pleading, document, or exhibit containing personal identifiers to be accessed only by a party to the case, an attorney of record in the case, a judge of the court or other authorized court personnel, a duly authorized employee or agent of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services involved in child(ren) support matters attendant to the case, or a person authorized to view the copy by specific orders of the court. As used in this section, "personal identifier" means a Social Security number or taxpayer identification number, date of birth, or financial account number. B. Pleadings, documents, or exhibits filed in actions deemed confidential by statute need not be redacted, and any access to those files shall be governed by KRS 199.570, KRS 610.340, KRS 625.045, and KRS 625.108.

CRITICALCivil cases

The Circuit Clerk’s Office may not release a Family Court video of an in-chamber interview with a child without a specific written order from the Family Court Judge.

Pursuant to FCRPP 27, the Circuit Clerk's Office shall not release any Family Court video of in-chamber interviews with children without a specific written order of the Family Court Judge.

CRITICAL

Juror qualification forms and their contents are confidential and may be disclosed only to the listed people, subject to the Chief Circuit Judge’s authority to keep information confidential or limit its use; copies may be made at the requester’s expense and must be destroyed within a reasonable time after the jury term.

The contents of juror qualification forms shall be made available to the trial judge and to parties of their attorneys of record unless the Chief Circuit Judge or his designee determines in any instance in the interest of justice that this information shall be kept confidential, or its use limited in whole or in part. See Administrative Procedure of the Court of Justice, Part I1, Section 7, Subsection (7). The forms and the information contained therein shall remain confidential and shall not be disclosed to anyone except the parties, the attorneys of record, persons associates with the office of the attorneys of record, persons employed by the attorneys of record to aid in jury selection, or court officials. The forms may be photocopied at the expense of the requesting party or attorney, but such copies are to be destroyed within a reasonable time following the jury term.

WARNINGCivil cases

The Clerk may release confidential juvenile records to an attorney for the juvenile or parent in a corresponding civil or criminal action, including the listed types of proceedings.

The Clerk of the court is authorized to release confidential juvenile records of Dependency, Neglect or Abuse proceedings to the attorney (whether it be an appointed public defender, private attorney, or court-appointed attorney) for the juvenile or the juvenile's parent in a corresponding criminal or civil legal action. "Corresponding legal action" shall include but is not limited to divorce actions, termination of parental rights actions, juvenile status offense actions, or criminal actions involving the same or similar transactions and occurrence alleged in the dependency, neglect, or abuse action.

WARNINGCivil cases

The confidential-video restriction does not apply to qualifying public officers or employees, as certified, but they may use and distribute the information only for investigation or prosecution of offenses under Kentucky law.

Pursuant to KRS 610.340(2), this shall not apply to public officers or employees engaged in the investigation and prosecution of cases under KRS Chapters 600 through 645 or other prosecutions authorized by the Kentucky Revised Statutes, as certified by the public officer or employee. Said public officer or employee shall use and distribute this information only for investigation or prosecution of offenses under the Kentucky Revised Statutes.

WARNINGCivil cases

Information in a paternity case file is confidential and subject to attorney-client privilege, regardless of whether the party is later represented.

Regardless of the subsequent representation or non- representation of the party, any information contained in such file is confidential and subject to the attorney-client privilege.