In two recent cases, a parenting plan case and a divorce case with children, the Montana Supreme Court has required the parties to replace the parents’ names with initials. In Re the Marriage of R.M. and M.M. 2009 MT 52N the Court refused to allow the Appellant’s brief to be filed until the Appellant substituted initials for the names of the parents. Section 4.50 (c)(3) of the Rules for Privacy and Public Access to Court Records in Montana (”Access Rules”) requires children’s names to be redacted from published court records. But there is no mention in the Access Rules of redacting the names of any adults. In its Order issued August 11, 2008 sending the Appellant’s brief back, the Court acknowledged this, but declared “… we realize that the Rules do not require the names of the adult parties to be protected from public access; however, in order to fully comply with Section 4.50(c)(3), it is generally necessary that initials be used in place of the parents’ names as well.”
Further checking confirmed that the Court had returned an Appellee’s Brief in a parenting plan case as well. In Re the Parenting of K.A.R., a Minor, D.R., A.R. and J.M.R., Petitioners and Appellees, and D.E.R. Respondent and Appellant, 2009 MT 73N, decided March 11, 2009, the Court issued its Order returning the Appellee’s brief on July 9, 2008.
Deleting parents names in divorces and parenting plan actions will protect the identities of the children. And I am grateful the Court is obviously taking pains to protect the privacy of our most vulnerable citizens. But this new policy will create other practical problems for the litigants. For one, title companies will find it difficult to independently run title on the homes of the litigants.
