Alabama

Three journalists requested access to the sealed file of an Alabama-based federal judge's divorce proceedings wrought with accusations of domestic violence, drug abuse and the judge's alleged affair with his court bailiff. The journalists and other legal watchers have expressed concern that the court quietly sealed the records without taking the standard procedural steps.

Ordering lawyers to comply with rules of professional conduct was a less restrictive alternative to issuing a gag order during a high-profile politically charged Alabama gambling-corruption retrial, the presiding judge said in an opinion explaining the rationale for his decision yesterday.

A state trial court judge in Alabama has sealed court records in the high-profile capital murder case of Amy Bishop, a former University of Alabama in Huntsville biology professor charged with killing three university colleagues.

Newspaper reports about a rumor regarding a local city councilman’s personal relationship with a woman who received a “sweetheart deal” to perform a project for the city were not defamatory, an Alabama appellate court recently held.

The Alabama Supreme Court ruled Friday that documents relating to the sale of a public hospital are subject to the state’s Open Records Act.

Alabama governor Bob Riley signed legislation into law Tuesday that exempts 911 recordings from being released to the public under the state's public-records laws,  and instead requires a court order to compel their disclosure.

Under the new law, in order for a court to order the release of 911 audio tapes, it must find that the public's interest in disclosure outweighs the privacy interest of the person making the call, The Associated Press reported.

The Alabama Senate passed a bill last week that would make the audio recordings of 911 calls exempt from state open records laws, the Florence Times Daily reported.

H.B. 159 was sent to Gov. Bob Riley for signing on April 14, 2010.

An Alabama newspaper is demanding copies of so-called personal e-mail messages sent by city officials that were withheld from a recent open-records request.