VALPARAISO — Anyone interested in criminal or civil cases in Lake, Porter or LaPorte counties can track the action online.
The growing access is generating concern over the balance between litigant's privacy and public convenience.
Indiana Chief Supreme Court Justice Loretta Rush has stepped up in hopes of getting out ahead of this concern before problems arise.
She announced this week the creation of an 18-member task force charged with promoting accessibility of court records, while safeguarding the role of the courts, the accountability of government and public safety.
The group, which is made up of Rush, attorneys and various special interest groups, will host its first public session Feb. 26 at a yet-to-be-determined site in Indianapolis, said Kathryn Dolan, chief public information officer with the Indiana Supreme Court.
The task force is to come up with a written report by Sept. 1.
The state Supreme Court announced in May 2014 that Indiana courts will move to electronic filing, Rush said in a written statement. That process is already taking shape in a couple counties around the state.
While the public can now access non-confidential court records in person, placing documents online raises more concerns about privacy that need to be addressed, she said.
PDF versions of Indiana appellate court orders and opinions are available online, Dolan said.
Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties allow online visitors to see only a summary of case activity. Trips to the county courthouse are still required to take a peek at case documents.
Porter and LaPorte are among the 54 counties statewide that are part of the Odyssey Case Management System.
Lake County, which currently operates its own court management system, is slated to join Odyssey in 2018, Dolan said.
Porter County employees have internal access to court documents online as the result of a scanning effort started in late December, according to County Clerk Karen Martin.
The public will not be granted the same level of access until approval is granted by the state, she said. Limitations on confidential materials will remain in place.
"I think the more availability of documents to the public the better," Martin said.