Opinion Letter Summary

Opinion Letter No. 95-20
August 21, 1995
Traffic Citations Available for Public Inspection

Under the UIPA, the court’s nonadministrative records are not subject to the UIPA’s disclosure
provisions. Copies of traffic citations maintained by the District Court’s Traffic Violations Bureau
("TVB") are used as a summons, charging document or complaint which initiates the traffic court
proceeding against the defendant; therefore, they are nonadministrative records and are not subject to the UIPA’s disclosure provisions. Although traffic citations maintained by the TVB are not subject to
the UIPA, the District Court does provide for public inspection and copying if a requester knows the
name of the individual cited or the citation number.

Furthermore, any copies of citations the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney or a police officer maintains are a government record subject to the UIPA. Moreover, because the District Court already makes citation copies available, UIPA exceptions to disclosure do not apply to those records maintained by the Department of the Prosecuting Attorney or a police officer.

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