Environmental Group Loses Fight for EU Trade Records
The European Union’s highest court ruled Thursday that an environmental law charity cannot have access to documents relating to EU trade agreements.
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public access
Groups Bring Suit Over Secret Approval Process for PFAS Chemicals
Bemoaning the government’s clandestine process of approving widely unregulated PFAS chemicals, environmentalists brought a federal complaint Wednesday to make the chemical program transparent.
Read moreAccess Solution: The E-Inbox
When the press says an e-inbox would return traditional press access to new court filings, it raises some doubt. A judge might ask, so how does all this work.
Read moreAccess Law in the Electronic Age
As a series of judicial opinions lifts the fog of pretext, it becomes apparent that court clerks can put in place an electronic inbox that functions precisely as the old wood box on the clerk’s counter used to work, allowing reporters to see new court filings the day they are received.
Read moreThe News Cycle
Under oath, in the witness chair, I had to explain one of the most subtle notions about the news: that it soon vanishes.
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Supremes Pick Up Public Access Fight on Draft Regulations
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to review whether draft documents that preceded new regulations on power plants and manufacturing facilities are subject to public disclosure.
Read morePolice Board
Jenny Thornley, a member of the Illinois State Police Merit Board, sued the board in Sangamon County Court, claiming it illegally closed an emergency meeting after she “reported allegations of a physical sexual assault and other ethical misconduct against the executive director of the board, (nonparty) Jack Garcia.”
Read moreTradition of Same-Day Access in American Courts
A sweeping opinion saying the press is entitled under the First Amendment to see new civil complaints on the day they are filed was based on a four-day trial that included testimony on the tradition of access in American courts.
Read morePress Has First Amendment Right to See New Court Complaints on Day of Filing
Over four days of trial earlier this month, Virginia court clerks used public funds and private attorneys to fight tooth and nail against public access. They wound up with a thumping defeat last week, as a federal judge’s opinion affirmed the First Amendment right to see new court complaints on the day they are filed.
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Media Seek Open Hearing on Saints’ Emails With Church
New Orleans news outlets on Thursday will ask a judge for an open hearing on the confidentiality of emails between Roman Catholic officials and the city’s NFL franchise, the New Orleans Saints, concerning clergy sex-abuse scandals.
Read moreTech Veils Many American Courts
Has the arrival of electronic technology in America’s courts brought sunshine or shade? A federal judge asked me about it during a four-day trial.
Read moreBread and News
Matters of bread and herring, and technology: A federal judge in Virginia advances First Amendment law in ruling that news is best consumed when it’s fresh.
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California Sues Billionaire to Open Beach to Public
The state of California sued the owner of beachfront property Monday in the latest chapter of an ongoing saga that pits the public’s right to access a picturesque stretch of beach against private property rights.
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Excerpts From Interviews in Impeachment Probe Made Public
The House committees leading the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump released transcript excerpts Monday of the closed-door depositions of two Trump administration officials who testified in mid-October.
Read moreSluggish Record Output From Feds Stirs Court’s Ire
A federal judge pushed government lawyers Tuesday to explain why investigative bureau staffing has not grown commensurate with the tidal wave of Freedom of Information Act requests that courts are now enforcing.
Read moreHouse to Push for Live Video in Federal Appeals Courts
With the urging of activists and court watchers, the chair of the House Judiciary Committee could soon reintroduce legislation that would bring cameras into federal appeals courts.
Read moreArizona Must Keep Execution Chamber Mics Hot, Ninth Circuit Rules
The Ninth Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Arizona Department of Corrections’ policy of turning off an execution chamber microphone during lethal injection goes against the public’s right of access to government proceedings.
Read moreShow Us the Money
A Ninth Circuit panel denied for-profit immigration prison operator Geo Group’s request for relief from a federal judge’s order compelling production of its financial records in a labor dispute with Washington state, given the state’s promise to keep sensitive information from becoming public.
Read moreNinth Circuit: Courts Can Force Feds to Put Records Online
In a decision that will expand the power of courts to make government agencies post information online, the Ninth Circuit this week reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the removal of animal welfare compliance data from a U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
Read moreExecutive Order
The Illinois Opportunity Project brought a federal complaint over a Montana executive order that requires state-contract bidders to disclose political contributions to candidates or referenda supported. The challenger says the corporations that support it could suffer injury if donor information is publicly disclosed.
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