Guideline for Tenet Four

CONFIDENTIALITY

Sensitive information acquired by court employees in the course of discharging their official duties should never be revealed until it is made a matter of public record. Sometimes breaches of confidentiality do not involve intentional disclosure of official court records but are the result of innocent and casual remarks about pending or closed cases, about participants in litigation, or about juries, any of which could give attorneys, litigants, and reporters confidential information. Such remarks can seriously compromise a case or a person's standing in the community. Court staff should discuss cases only for legitimate reasons, and should handle sensational or sensitive cases with great care.