Clinic Testifies in Support of Restoring Public Access to Vermont Criminal Court Records
Last week, the Constitutional Access Team of Yale Law School’s Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic (MFIA) testified before the Vermont House Judiciary Committee in support of House Bill 572, legislation that would restore meaningful public access to criminal court records in Vermont.
Anna Selbrede, a third-year Yale Law School student and student director of the clinic, testified based on research conducted on behalf of the New England First Amendment Coalition examining Vermont’s restrictions on electronic access to criminal case records. The research shows that the current system was adopted in 2008, when court filings were paper-based and online access raised concerns about transcription errors and privacy. A legislative committee at the time recommended broader online access with safeguards, but the Legislature ultimately adopted a far more restrictive approach.
As Selbrede noted during her testimony, despite universal electronic filing and modern redaction rules, Vermont continues to prohibit public remote access to criminal case records, requiring journalists and the public to visit courthouses during business hours to use limited public access terminals. The clinic’s analysis concludes that these restrictions significantly burden public oversight of the criminal courts and raise serious constitutional concerns.
“I genuinely appreciated the opportunity to testify and to engage seriously with legislators about an issue that preserves the core ideals of transparency in our democratic republic,” said Selbrede. “It was encouraging to see such thoughtful attention to the importance of open courts.”
According to the clinic’s research, House Bill 572 would modernize Vermont law by eliminating outdated access barriers and reaffirming the principle that transparency is essential to the integrity of the criminal justice system.
The Media Freedom and Information Access Clinic at Yale Law School is a law student clinic dedicated to increasing government transparency, defending the essential work of news gatherers, and protecting freedom of expression through impact litigation, direct legal services, and policy work.
