HARRISBURG -- Most Pennsylvania district courts let visitors read their case files during a statewide public-access survey. But some offices blacked out information that would let citizens know defendants' addresses and other key information.

Representatives from 51 news organizations requested records in February from 155 district courts, nearly a third of the total, as part of a broader statewide survey of government compliance with open-records laws that was coordinated by The Associated Press.

At district courts, surveyors regularly encountered questions from district justices and their employees before access was granted -- including how the information would be used, where the person worked and whether they had any involvement in the crime.

In some cases, access hinged on providing sufficient answers to those questions.

Magisterial district judges, known until this year as district justices, are elected officials who preside over hearings for traffic offenses and minor crimes, issue warrants and set bail and perform preliminary hearings for felonies.

Newly elected district judges are told during mandatory training that their entire files are public records, and that they must provide photocopies, said Bob Hessler, executive director of the Minor Judiciary Education Board in Chambersburg.

"If it's something having to do with sexual abuse or a juvenile, some of those records are protected, but outside of that they're public records," Hessler said.

Surveyors asked to review an entire case file and for a photocopy of the first page of charging documents, both considered public records under court guidelines. Ninety percent of the time, the case file was presented for review, although copies were not always allowed.

When clerks did refuse to turn over case files, it was often because they were unwilling to act without the approval of their bosses or because they could not locate the specified file.

Decisions about what information should be blacked out, or "redacted," rest with the individual judges, said Art Heinz, spokesman for the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts.

"The balance is providing public access while at the same time maintaining the integrity of the files and also safeguarding certain personal information," Heinz said.

In Bucks County, outside Philadelphia, information was redacted at seven of the 19 district courts surveyed. The blacked-out data included date of birth, Social Security number, driver's license number, home address, codefendant's name and the names of theft victims.

President Judge David W. Heckler responded by writing the courts in April to say defendants' names and hometowns should be disclosed.

The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association contends that district judges lack authority to withhold or black out any information from the records beyond the names of juvenile victims of abuse, which state law dictates are not to be made public.

Sealing records or portions of records should only be performed by a county common pleas judge after a hearing to balance the need for secrecy against the state constitution's guarantee of public access to courts, said Corinna Wilson, a PNA media-law attorney.

"What often we find is that people don't know -- DJs don't know -- what the law is. They're just trying to balance people's feelings, their sensitivities," Wilson said.

Without the address and age of a defendant, defendants can be confused with others who share their name, said Cate Barron, managing editor of The Patriot-News in Harrisburg and president of the Pennsylvania Society of Newspaper Editors.

"It's amazing how often there may be a Paul Smith on one street and three blocks away maybe a juvenile Paul Smith," she said.

District Judge David B. Inzana blacked out a victim's name and defendant's street address in a photocopy provided to a surveyor but said later he would have allowed him to read all that information in the original file.

Disclosing the name of a juvenile victim of abuse can be a third-degree misdemeanor, and judges can't always tell the age of victims named in police affidavits, he said.

"If I do give out juvenile information or different information then I'm subjecting myself as well to severe liabilities," said Inzana, whose office is in Reynoldsville, about an hour's drive west of State College.

Jim Morgan, lawyer for the district judges' association since 1970, said he advises members to avoid conflicts over access.

"The point is, you won't win these battles. My answer is simplistic: It's there, it's available, it's public," Morgan said.

Heinz said people who have been denied records unfairly from district courts should complain to the county court administrator or president judge. The Judicial Conduct Board also fields complaints about judges.

"My mantra through all of this is there is a general presumption that all court records are open except those that are sealed by the court," he said.