Judge strikes down part of Missouri law restricting access to court records

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A judge struck down parts of a Missouri law requiring redactions of many court records, including the names of all witnesses and victims involved in lawsuits and criminal proceedings.

Moniteau County Associate Circuit Judge Aaron Martin, in an order issued on Friday, ruled that provisions of the 2023 law violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, as well as a section of the Missouri Constitution, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

Critics said the result of the 2023 measure was one of the most restrictive redaction laws in the U.S., preventing journalists, appellate lawyers and others from obtaining routine information, including the names of people killed in homicides.

Mark Sableman, attorney for the Missouri Broadcasters Association, one of the plaintiffs, said in a statement that Martin's order “restores Missouri court filings to the way they have always been for centuries, until last year — transparent and open to the public, except for those unusual situations where there is a proven need for confidentiality.”

It wasn't clear if the state would appeal. A message was left Tuesday with the Missouri Attorney General's Office.

The lawsuit was filed in May.