Rule 2.01 Scope of Rule and Definitions

(a) Scope. This Court's operating rules govern public access to the records of the judicial department of Missouri. Litigants or their lawyers who are involved in a case or persons authorized by the court shall have the same access to individual case records as the public under this Court Operating Rule 2 and may have additional access as authorized by statute, Supreme Court rule, or court order.

(b) Definitions. As used in this Court Operating Rule 2, the following terms mean:

(1) "Administrative records," all records, including reports and correspondence, pertaining to the administration of the courts;

(2) "Bulk distribution," the distribution of all, or a significant subset, of the information in court records, as is and without modification or compilation;

(3) "Case record," all records in a case file, including docket sheets and indices, relating to that specific case or controversy; provided, however, that any metadata generated by the case management system, including, but not limited to, any administrative, descriptive, preservation, structural, or technical metadata, shall not be considered a part of the case file;

(4) "Custodian of records," the person designated by the appointing authority as responsible for the safekeeping of any records held in the clerk's office;

(5) "Compiled information," information that is derived from the selection, aggregation, or reformulation by the court of some of the information from more than one individual court record, including statistical reports and information that is not already available in an existing record or report;

(6) "Confidential information," means information that is confidential as defined in Court Operating Rule 4.24(b);

(7) "Confidential record," means a record that is confidential as defined in Court Operating Rule 4.24(a);

(8) "Data element," information contained in a field in the computer database;

(9) "Electronic records," digital records, whether created by data entry, electronic filing, or digital imaging;

(10) "Person," any individual, nonprofit or profit corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other type of business organization;

(11) "Personnel records," all records relating to the employment of persons within the judiciary with the exception of name, position, and salary;

(12) "Public" includes:

(A) Any person and any business or nonprofit entity, organization, or association;

(B) Any governmental agency for which there is no existing policy defining the agency's access to court records;

(C) Media organizations; and

(D) Entities that gather and disseminate information for whatever reason, regardless of whether it is done with the intent of making a profit, and without distinction as to nature or extent of access;

(13) "Public access" means that the public may inspect and obtain a copy of the information in a court record either by direct access in the court house or remote access over the Internet if and when it becomes available;

(14) "Record," information produced or available to the court regardless of physical form or storage medium used.