Times Sues County Over Plan to Sell Court Records

The Los Angeles Times sued Los Angeles County on Wednesday, alleging that the county violated the 1st Amendment by moving to restrict public access to computerized court records.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeks to halt the county from entering into agreements with private companies, which would then sell court documents to the public for a profit.

Currently, the public is able to view court records at no cost.

Earlier this month, the majority of the county Board of Supervisors approved a plan to sell the electronic data, saying that public access to the actual documents would not be harmed.

The suit says that although the same information is available on paper, the county has no right to restrict access to it.

“The database is an integral public record that is integral to the operation of the Los Angeles Municipal and Superior Courts,” the suit states. “Accordingly, [the law] does not authorize Los Angeles County to enter into contracts that limit or cut off access to the database.”

Officials in the county counsel’s office could not be reached for comment.