Litigation, Privacy and the Electronic Age

Abstract

In this speech, the Honorable Lewis A. Kaplan discusses one problem in the legal system created by advances in technology - the tension between the privacy interests of litigants and the increased availability of information in modern society. Although openness is a central tenet of the legal system, until recent advancements in information technology, significant logistical difficulties in obtaining records on all but the most notable cases made most information unavailable to the public. However, advances in technology have greatly facilitated access to the universe of legal doents. Judge Kaplan explores the potential consequences of increased availability of information in a number of contexts and argues that it imposes an important responsibility on Courts to rethink the boundaries between public and private in litigation and to exercise increased caution in dealing with processes that touch on these boundaries.