Stanford CIS

Open Courts

By Stephen Wm. Smith on

Transparency has always been essential to the rule of law and the legitimacy of our court system. But government secrecy has grown dramatically over the last few decades, especially in the realm of electronic surveillance (often court-approved) by law enforcement. CIS is a forceful advocate for greater transparency in government use of surveillance technology overall, and in particular for greater public access to court records showing the nature and extent of law enforcement intrusion into our digital lives.