The Administrative Office of the Probate and Family Court has been made aware of certain outside companies who are data mining its records on MassCourts.org and potentially providing impounded information. In light of this development, and to ensure that impounded or restricted information is not available online, the Probate and Family Court has provided guidance to its divisions on impounding and restricting information in the case management system prior to an order of impoundment issuing from a judicial officer if a motion to impound is filed with a case. The MassCourts restriction process is not the legal impoundment of a case, but it is a tool the court uses to keep cases or case information off MassCourts.org
Click here for Probate and Family Court's FAQ on public access to court records. Attorneys are asked to remind court users that their information may be available on MassCourts.org and, if they have additional questions, they may obtain a pamphlet at the court that outlines what information the public is able to see about them.
With any questions or concerns, reach out to Domenic DiCenso at Domenic.dicenso@jud.state.ma.us, Danielle Smokler at Danielle.smokler@jud.state.ma.us or Emily Deines at Emily.deines@jud.state.ma.us.