Family privacy and the 'Net.

• Author: Boll, Rosemarie

Should family law cases go on-line? Does the public's right to easy access to legal information offset the serious loss of privacy facing those families whose cases are reported on the Internet? This is the choice confronting Canadians today. Some provinces, such as BC and Ontario, have already decided in favour of the public's right to get to legal information. In those provinces, they have put all court decisions on the Internet for anyone in the world to read.

The benefits of on-line access to judicial decisions are real and substantial. Our justice system is publicly-funded and the public has a right to know what goes on. With very few exceptions (adoptions and the like), there should be no secret trials in a democracy. Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done. Easy access to the actual judicial decision means the public gets the straight goods right from the source. It reduces the possibility of biased reporting by the media. A well-informed public will have more realistic expectations of what the legal system can and can't do for them.

But what about the lives of the people whose cases are reported on the Internet? In many respects, taking a family law matter to court is like inviting the public into your home. The closed door sheltering people's family lives suddenly opens before us. In a custody trial, for example, many private matters become public knowledge -- a parent's mental health status or criminal record, an extended family member's medical history. Even the lives of the children (who never asked to be involved in a custody trial) are on display -- their school performance, medical and mental health records, maybe even their secret fears and desires. All without asking the children's consent.

And then there's finances -- a touchy point for many people. A support or matrimonial property trial typically reveals all kinds of financial information, including detailed employment histories, tax returns, asset, investment, and debt information. Maybe the embarrassment of a bankruptcy, or some failed financial venture. Maybe hidden assets, or miserly habits. Private lives made public.

Consider how someone could misuse this information. Your employer knows you're in a family law trial -- she and your co-workers read the judgment and find out you have a drug or alcohol problem. Or you're HIV positive. Or you're bisexual. Or you're starting a competing business, moonlighting on the side. A career criminal surfs the net...