Blair Cnty. C.P. Case Record Public Access § 8

A. Unless required by applicable authority, the following documents are

confidential and shall be filed with a court or custodian under a cover

sheet designated “Confidential Document Form”:

1. Financial Source Documents;

2. Minors’ educational records;

3. Medical/Psychological records;

4. Children and Youth Services’ records;

5. Marital Property Inventory and Pre-Trial Statement as provided in

Pa.R.C.P. No. 1920.33;

6. Income and Expense Statement as provided in Pa.R.C.P. No.

1910.27(c); and

7. Agreements between the parties as used in 23 Pa.C.S. §3105.

This section is not applicable to cases that are sealed or exempted from public

access pursuant to applicable authority.

B. The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts shall design and

publish the Confidential Document Form.

C. Confidential documents submitted with the Confidential Document Form

shall not be accessible to the public, except as ordered by a court.

However, the Confidential Document Form or a copy of it shall be

accessible to the public.

D. Parties and their attorneys shall be solely responsible for complying with

the provisions of this section and shall certify their compliance to the

court. The certification that shall accompany each filing shall be

substantially in the following form “I certify that this filing complies with

the provisions of the Case Record Public Access Policy of the Unified

Judicial System of Pennsylvania[: Case Records of the Appellate and

Trial Courts] that require filing confidential information and documents

differently than non-confidential information and documents.”

E. A court or custodian is not required to review any filed document for

compliance with this section. A party’s or attorney’s failure to comply

with this section shall not affect access to case records that are otherwise

accessible.

F. If confidential documents are not submitted with the Confidential

Document Form, a court of record may, upon motion or its own

initiative, with or without a hearing, order that any such documents be

sealed. A court of record may also impose appropriate sanctions for

failing to comply with this section.

G. If a filed document fails to comply with the requirements of this

section, a magisterial district court may, upon request or its own

initiative, with or without a hearing order that any such documents

be sealed.

[G.]H. This section shall apply to all documents for any case filed with a court

or custodian on or after the effective date of this policy.

This section is not applicable to cases that are sealed or exempted from public

access pursuant to applicable authority, such as Juvenile Act cases pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S.

§ 6307, and Pa.Rs.J.C.P. 160 and 1160.

Unless constrained by applicable authority, court personnel and jurists are advised

to refrain from attaching confidential documents to court-generated case records (e.g.,

orders, notices) when inclusion of such information is not essential to the resolution of

litigation, appropriate to further the establishment of precedent or the development of

law, or necessary for administrative purposes. For example, if a court’s opinion contains

confidential information and, therefore, must be sealed or heavily redacted to avoid

release of such information, this could impede the public’s access to court records and

ability to understand the court's decision.

Examples of “agreements between the parties” as used in Subsection (A)(7)

include marital settlement agreements, post-nuptial, pre-nuptial, ante-nuptial, marital

settlement, and property settlement. See 23 Pa.C.S. §3105 for more information about

agreements between parties.

With regard to Subsection D, the certification of compliance is required whether

documents are filed in paper form or via an e-filing system. Moreover, the certification

is required on every document filed with a court or custodian regardless of whether

the filing contains a “confidential document” requiring safeguarding under this

policy.

With regard to Subsection E, if the party or party’s attorney fails to use a cover

sheet designated “Confidential Document Form” when filing a document deemed

confidential pursuant to this section, the document may be released to the public.

With regard to Subsection F [A]any party may make a motion to the court of

record to cure any defect(s) in any filed document that does not comport with this section.

With regard to Subsection G, any party may file a request form designed and

published by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts with a magisterial

district court when there is an allegation that a filing was made with that court that

does not comply with this policy.