Courts’ Right To Know Requests
About
The Right To Know Law, which references the judiciary in Section 304, addresses only the providing of financial records in accordance with the Law or any rule or order of court.
Pursuant to Supreme Court Order, requests for financial records of the Unified Judicial System are governed by Rules of Judicial Administration (Pa.R.J.A. 509).
Rule 509 of Judicial Administration addresses the general policy, accessibility, procedure for requesting access, fees, and publication of financial record information. This Rule outlines that the judiciary only provides the financial aspect of the request.
For requests involving case records – Under the Unified Judicial System’s Electronic Case Record Public Access Policy, you may submit your request for the criminal common pleas/magisterial district court data and civil magisterial district court data to the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC). The pertinent request form and applicable fee information can be found on the judiciary’s website.
By Law, An Open Records Officer Is Required To…
An agency has five business days to respond to a request in writing and 1.) grant the request; 2.) deny the request (citing the legal basis for denial or partial denial); or 3.) invoke a 30-day extension for certain reasons. The clock starts the day after the request is received during regular business hours.
Request Information
Requests can be made four ways: main, fax, email or in person. The request must be sufficiently “specific” to allow the public body to identify what the requester is seeking.
A standard Open Records request form is available above. The form from the Pennsylvania Office of Open Records is also acceptable.
Fees
Reasonable costs incurred in providing public access to records may be charged (Pa.R.J.A.509 (D)(1)). Please see the fee structure established by the Franklin County Commissioners in accordance with the law.
Filing An Appeal
If you wish to contest the decision of the Open Records Officer, you may appeal in writing within 15 business days of the response to the President Judge of the Court of Common Pleas of the 39th Judicial District pursuant to Pa.R.J.A. 509(c)(5).