Wyoming Supreme Court to redact personal data in court records

Starting next year, the Wyoming Supreme Court will require clerks to redact birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers and other personal information in court records, The Associated Press reported Monday.

The new rules were intended to prevent identity theft, but critics say the information that will be redacted is often used by the media to correctly identify individuals and restricting access to basic personal information like addresses could make the verification process more difficult.

Wyoming Chief Justice Barton Voigt responded to the criticism by saying "we must balance that inconvenience against not only the danger of identity theft, but the risk of actual harm to court participants."

Voigt announced that the court will review the rules to ensure fairness in light of the numerous complaints it has received.