Rule 2 Definitions

(a) The following definitions shall apply:

(1) “Access Level” means the level of access an Access User Group is afforded to a Case Record. The available Access Levels are:

(A) “Full Access” or “Fully Accessible” means that the designated Access User Group has complete access to the designated Case Records.

(B) “Limited Access” means that the designated Access User Group has access to the designated Case Records, but that access is limited in some way.

(C) “No Access” means that the designated Access User Group has no access to the designated Case Records, except by court order.

(D) “No Access if Requested” means that the designated Access User Group has no access to the designated Case Record if denial of access is requested by a party to the case as set forth in state statute or court rule.

(E) “Expunged by Operation of Law” means that the designated Access User Group has no access to the designated Case Record because the designated Case Record has been expunged by operation of law.

(2) “Access Security Matrix” means the most current matrix adopted and published by the Wyoming Supreme Court assigning Access Levels to Access User Groups to the Case Record.

(3) “Access User Group” means the group of persons sharing an Access Level. The available Access User Groups are:

(A) “Judge” which includes justices, judges, commissioners, and magistrates of the supreme, district, chancery, and circuit courts, including designated chambers’ staff.

(B) “Custodian” which includes the administrative authority responsible for the control, management, and release of the official record of the court and includes:

(i) The State Court Administrator and its designated staff;

(ii) The Supreme Court Clerk and its designated staff;

(iii) The District Court Clerks and their designated staff;

(iv) The Chancery Court Clerk and its designated staff; and

(v) The Chief Circuit Court Clerks and their designated staff.

(C) “Filing Party” means the party or parties responsible for, and who physically filed a Case Record.

(D) “Non-Filing Party” means a party or parties to a case who did not file the Case Record.

(E) “Agency” means any governmental agency provided access to Case Records by state statute, court rule, or court order.

(F) “Authorized Interested Person” means persons who are not a party to a case but who have an interest in the case, and who are given access to Case Records by state statute, court rule, or court order.

(G) “Public” means any person, business, non-profit entity, organization, association, government agency (except as Agency is defined above), media organization, or other entities that access Case Records.

(4) “Administrative Record” means any document or information that pertains to the management, supervision, or administration of the court which does not become part of the Case Record.

(5) “Bulk Distribution” means the distribution of all, or a significant subset, of the information in Case Records, as is and without modification or compilation.

(6) “Business Day” means Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, excluding official state holiday closures or other court closures.

(7) “Case Record” means any document, action, or information that is collected, received, or maintained by a court or clerk of court connected to a judicial proceeding. It shall include the index, calendar, docket, register of actions, record of proceedings, orders, decrees, judgments, and minute orders. Case Records shall be entered into and collected in the case management system. Case Record does not include Administrative Records, documents that have been disposed of under retention schedules, or any judicial or judicial staff work product, notes, and drafts.

(8) “Case Record” includes the following records:

(A) “Archived Case Record” which includes any Case Record stored at the Wyoming State Archives in paper, electronic, microfiche, or other form and that is not otherwise available to the Custodian.

(B) “Electronic Case Record” which includes any Case Record recorded in a form that only a computer or other technological device can process, irrespective of whether the Case Record also exists in physical form.

(C) “Paper Case Record” which includes any Case Record recorded in paper form or other tangible form, regardless of whether it also exists in electronic form.

(9) “Compiled Information” means all information derived from the selection, aggregation, or reformulation by the court of some of the information from more than one individual Case Record.

(10) “Electronic Filing” or “eFiling” means the process and task of filing with the clerk’s office using the official electronic filing system.

(11) “Means of Access” means the method by which the Public obtains information in a Case Record. The available Means of Access are:

(A) “Archive Access” which includes obtaining or inspecting Archived Case Records retrieved from the Wyoming State Archives by the Custodian in the court where the Case Records were located before archiving.

(B) “Physical Access” means obtaining or inspecting copies of existing Paper Case Records from the Custodian in the court where the current Case Records are located.

(C) “Terminal Access” means obtaining or inspecting Case Records from a display terminal located at a courthouse.

(D) “Remote Access” means obtaining or inspecting Electronic Case Records without the need to physically visit a court facility.

(12) “Physical Exhibit” means non-documentary but non-sensitive exhibits such as clothing, samples of merchandise, and other tangible objects.

(13) “Sensitive and Bulky Exhibits” means sensitive exhibits such as money, drugs, child pornography, and firearms and bulky exhibits such as oversized charts and enlarged pictures.

(14) “Standard Exhibit” means documents, photographs, and video or other electronically stored data on a disk or storage device and does not include Sensitive and Bulky Exhibits.

(15) “Traditional Filing” means filing with the clerk’s office in paper or other tangible form.

(16) “Vendor” means any non-governmental provider of a court information technology system.