The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (“APOC”) launched a new website to make state Superior Court “cases of important public interest” accessible online. This effort to increase access for the public and media was based upon the success of Center County’s providing access to case documents from the Jerry Sandusky trial on its media website.
In his press release, President Judge Correale F. Stevens stated, “The Superior Court understands the importance of easy access to court filings in cases of public interest.” Public interest will be gauged by the amount of media inquiries, but the court will ultimately decide what to post. According to Stevens, “the website’s content will be updated on a “case-by-case basis.” Possible cases on the website may include class action suits and “closely watched criminal matters.”
PMC, quoted in yesterday’s Legal Intelligencer, believes that this is “a positive step for the intermediate appellate court. . . . It will get people more interested in what happens in the court [and] let people know more of what [the courts] do."
