Everything online journalists need to protect their legal rights. This free resource culls from all Reporters Committee resources and includes exclusive content on digital media law issues.
The judge in the shooting-spree case against James Holmes heard arguments Thursday on why court documents should be publicly available, but did not rule on the motion.
More than 20 news organizations are asking Chief District Judge William Sylvester to reconsider his decision to seal court documents in the case against Holmes, accused of killing 12 and wounding 58 people at an Aurora movie theater last month.
The Ohio Supreme Court ordered a judge to release all records sealed during the criminal prosecutions of several Mahoning County officials and business owners. The state high court also prohibited the judge from issuing further orders sealing records in the high-profile criminal-conspiracy case.
“We decide this case based on the Rules of Superintendence, which provide for public access to court records,” according to the opinion issued Wednesday.
The Vermont Supreme Court ruled that records related to the investigation of a crime are exempt under the state’s Access to Public Records Act — with no time limit for when the exemption expires.
A federal judge in Maryland has ruled that the First Amendment protects an online speaker - who made derogatory comments about a religious leader through Twitter - from being prosecuted under the federal anti-stalking law.
The public has a right to view materials filed in support of search warrant applications once an investigation is over, a federal appeals court recently held, adding that the right of access is infringed when the material is sealed because of general concerns that it may be posted online.
