Cited from The Background Investigator
The Background Investigator March 2009 Issue

Missouri Court Records Reveal Personal Information

Police radio transmissions aren't the only way personal information is exposed to the public. The local county courthouse holds reams of documents containing Social Security numbers available for public view.

Probable cause statements filed in criminal cases and arrest warrants -- all open records in Missouri -- contain a wealth of personal information about criminal suspects, and records from divorce proceedings, civil suits and probate cases can contain such information, as well.

Although Missouri law prohibits private citizens and in some cases state agencies from publicly posting or displaying Social Security numbers, any document deemed an open record under the state Sunshine Law is exempt from that restriction.

"Somebody could Sunshine request a report with somebody's Social Security number on it, but that's public information, unfortunately," said Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott.

Arnott said he'd like to be able to redact information that could be abused from public reports -- the News-Leader routinely redacts Social Security numbers from documents it posts online -- but the law doesn't allow it.

"We'd have to amend some things in the Sunshine Law that would give us the authority to keep some of that information out," he said.

Jay Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said several states have done just that.

"In many states right now, the supreme courts have issued an order to the various courts below that they will redact personal information from court documents before they are made available," Foley said, noting that such progress has been "slow, but it's sure."