Supreme Court adopts minor changes to Ark. Rules of Civil Procedure

The Arkansas Supreme Court published a per curiam late last week that made some minor modifications to the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure, Administrative Orders, Rules of Appellate Procedure—Civil, and Rules of The Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. The changes are centered around a recent Adminstrative Order that requires the redaction of certain information from filings. There's a delicate balance that must be struck in order to maintain the public’s right to know versus litigants’ rights to keep confidential information private.

The changes are obviously readying the Arkansas court system for the electronic publishing and recording of pleadings and other documents, thanks in large part to the efforts of Justice Paul Danielson. Hopefully, Arkansas will employ the same electronic system used in federal courts to allow people to access any public documents from their home or office. Here's a link to the per curiam.