2024 California Rules of Court
Rule 2.521. Remote access by a court-appointed person
(a) Remote access generally permitted
(1) A court may grant a court-appointed person remote access to electronic records in any action or proceeding in which the person has been appointed by the court.
(2) Court-appointed persons include an attorney appointed to represent a minor child under Family Code section 3150; a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer in a juvenile proceeding; an attorney appointed under Probate Code section 1470, 1471, or 1474; an investigator appointed under Probate Code section 1454; a probate referee designated under Probate Code section 8920; a fiduciary, as defined in Probate Code section 39; an attorney appointed under Welfare and Institutions Code section 5365; or a guardian ad litem appointed under Code of Civil Procedure section 372 or Probate Code section 1003.
(b) Level of remote access
A court-appointed person may be provided with the same level of remote access to electronic records as the court-appointed person would be legally entitled to if he or she were to appear at the courthouse to inspect the court records.
(c) Terms of remote access
(1) A court-appointed person may remotely access electronic records only for purposes of fulfilling the responsibilities for which he or she was appointed.
(2) Any distribution for sale of electronic records obtained remotely under the rules in this article is strictly prohibited.
(3) All laws governing confidentiality and disclosure of court records apply to the records obtained under this article.
(4) A court-appointed person must comply with any other terms of remote access required by the court.
(5) Failure to comply with these rules may result in the imposition of sanctions, including termination of access.
Rule 2.521 adopted effective January 1, 2019.