The Pennsylvania courts, under the direction of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and through the administration of the AOPC, have undertaken several modernization projects in recent years. These projects generally have involved taking advantage of technological innovations to enhance court services. PMC keeps the public informed about these developments and when opportunities for public comment on new court projects or policies arise, PMC weighs in.

Electronic Access To Court Records

The  Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts’ (AOPC) runs a public access system that puts in electronic form, available to the public, case information for criminal cases throughout the Commonwealth. The guidelines were the product of a lengthy public comment process, in which PMC participated. Since the implementation, PMC has continued to assist its partners in the public interest community communicate concerns about the operation of the public access system to AOPC.

Increasing Court Transparency

In 2007, the Supreme Court adopted some new rules that open up the courts to more public participation and observation. First, the application and appointment process for Supreme Court committees has become more open.  In addition, the Supreme Court has adopted a new rule standardizing its procedures for making court financial records available to the public.