A newly imposed rule restricting electronic access to Maricopa County Probate Court records means that cases cannot be reviewed without physically going to the clerk of court's office.
The rule has raised concerns among many of those involved in probate court who say it prevents them from gaining access to their own cases or cases involving relatives. It also has some probate judges and lawyers calling on the state's highest court to lift the rule, which they described as inconvenient and problematic.
"Apparently these case records were previously provided online in violation of the rule," Presiding Maricopa County Probate Court Judge Rosa Mroz wrote in a December e-mail. "At this time, however, there is nothing we can do."
The rule, which prohibits the general public from accessing court records from so-called remote locations, including home and laptop computers, was established in 2009 and has been unenforced for almost two years.