The federal civil rights lawsuit seeks to end the York County Clerk of Courts practice of reviewing and redacting records before they are released to the public.
HARRISBURG — Spotlight PA and four other Pennsylvania news organizations are suing the York County Clerk of Courts over alleged First Amendment violations after the office shut off free, easy access to criminal court records and instituted a policy that slowed their release.
Access to the judicial system helps keep the press and public informed on what’s happening in the courts and in communities, said Sasha Dudding, a legal fellow for the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, a journalism-focused legal services group that is representing the newsrooms. Dudding is joined by Paula Knudsen Burke, an attorney who has helmed other suits over records in Pennsylvania.
Spotlight PA joined the York Daily Record, The York Dispatch, LNP Media Group, and Harrisburg-based public broadcast station WITF in the lawsuit. In addition to advocating for the public’s right to access records, the outlets rely on judicial records maintained by the York County Clerk of Courts to provide news coverage.
Then, in February 2021, the clerk’s office informed the news organizations it would start charging for both electronic and paper copies of records. Those fees exceeded what was normal for the state and created financial barriers, according to the complaint.
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