Taken to the Cleaners
It’s never a good deal for Americans when a court clerk partners up with a private corporation to exploit the court record. But sometimes the deal is really bad.
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public access
The Public Record v. The Money
An unholy alliance between a vendor and a state court forces the question: can money override the First Amendment.
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Media Credentials
The Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota denied media credentials to the Daily Mail for the upcoming trial of Derek Chauvin over the death of George Floyd, finding this to be an equitable response to the outlet’s publishing of stolen body camera footage.
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Reporters Committee Argues in Fourth Circuit for First Amendment Access to New Complaints
Backed by 28 news organizations, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press argued alongside Courthouse News for contemporaneous access to new court complaints as part of an old tradition in American courts.
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College Basketball
A Maricopa County judge ruled the Arizona Board of Regents must give ESPN a copy of the Notice of Allegations from the NCAA relating to its investigation of the University of Arizona’s men’s basketball program, which was launched after one of its coaches pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery for taking money from “athlete advisors” in exchange for using his position to encourage players to retain the services of those advisors.
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Letter to Maine Courts: Do the Right Thing
Maine’s court administrators could have given first-class press access to the public record, but, alas, chose instead to violate a string of First Amendment holdings from around the country.
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Maine Courts Impose No-Access-Before-Process Policy Contrary to First Amendment
Maine court officials on Monday replaced a draconian access policy with a new policy that still runs counter to First Amendment rulings around the country.
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Bill Comes Due for 10-Year Fight by Judicial Council Against Press Access
A vast court bureaucracy used public funds and a bagful of tricks to fight press access before losing on a legal slam-dunk last month. This news service is now asking for the legal fees it racked up on the long road to vindicating a press tradition in the courts of America.
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Florida Clerks Rake In Millions for Retirement From E-Filing Portal
When Floridians access the state’s court system, an association of elected officials tasked with overseeing the courts earn millions for health care for state court clerks during retirement.
Read moreOpen Meetings
Louisiana’s attorney general sued the Jefferson Parish School Board, claiming it violated the state’s open meetings law by meeting several times behind closed doors to develop disciplinary policies for students learning remotely.
Read moreImmigration
The Freedom of Information Act authorizes district courts to order federal agencies’ to make certain documents publicly available, the Second Circuit ruled, siding with the New York Legal Assistance Group in its case seeking access to unpublished opinions issued by the Board of Immigration Appeals.
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Maine Newspapers Challenge Rule Concealing Electronic Court Records
Maine Newspapers Challenge Rule Delaying Access to Electronic Court Records for Weeks and Months
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Panel Chucks Gag on Juvenile Felony Records, Keeping Skakel Case Public
Blocking confidentiality rules that sealed juvenile felony cases being tried in adult court, Monday’s ruling assures that the press can report on the retrial of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel.
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EU, AstraZeneca Publish Redacted Contract in Vaccine Dispute
The European Union and AstraZeneca agreed Friday to make public a heavily redacted version of their coronavirus vaccine agreement, which lies at the heart of a dispute over how many shots the pharmaceutical company should be supplying the EU’s 27 nations.
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Fourth Circuit Skeptical of Maryland Ban on Rebroadcast of Court Recordings
The Fourth Circuit appeared unlikely Thursday afternoon to side with Maryland in a dispute over state courts’ ability to limit the dissemination of otherwise publicly available court recordings.
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US Judge in Decade-Long Struggle Affirms First Amendment Right to Access ‘On Receipt’
While a court clerk fought to the last ditch against press access, a box on the counter in Ventura’s state court stood as a symbol of access past and future.
Read moreTwo Decades Later, Orange County Court Returns Press Access ‘Upon Receipt’
After years of legal contest with the huge Southern California court of Orange County, a deal has been struck and the press will once again have access to the new civil cases when they cross the counter, one that was physical and is now virtual.
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Florida High Court Strikes Clerk Redaction Rule, Affirms Principle of Timely Access
Florida’s high court strikes down an old rule requiring that court clerks find and redact private information in public records, based in part on the damage caused to the principle of timely access.
Read moreSan Mateo Clerk Sued Under First Amendment for Withholding Access
American courthouses have long worked like a news bakery where judges and juries decided conflicts large and small while beat reporters roamed the courthouse covering those stories for a public audience.
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