Sealed records

A Virginia appellate court avoided deciding if a newspaper had a right of access to trial exhibits in a child murder case, despite a dissenting judge’s opinion that a procedural issue should not have barred a ruling that sealing the records violated the media’s First Amendment rights.

A U.S. District judge rejected a motion by Rielle Hunter, the former mistress of John Edwards, to keep certain exhibits secret in the government's case against the former U.S. senator accused of receiving illegal campaign contributions during his presidential bid to hide the pairs' alleged affair and pay her expenses.

A Florida judge unsealed court records relating to the case of George Zimmerman - who is charged with the second-degree murder of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin - following legal requests by several news organizations.

A Connecticut judge recently unsealed search warrant materials in the case of an ex-police officer charged with dozens of offenses related to his alleged unlawful use of the department’s computer database after a local newspaper reporter challenged the secrecy of the court records.

Transcripts of pretrial hearings in the case of a Virginia man accused of molesting three girls at his daughter’s slumber party were made publicly available by a Virginia state court, reversing an emergency order to seal the records in February.

Judge William T. Newman, Jr. unsealed the records on March 22. He was unavailable for comment and it was not clear why he decided to make them public.

A Delaware court that oversees arbitration between private companies has begun making its judgments public, after a court order in a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of the court’s secrecy.

The Miami Herald has asked a New York federal judge to unseal the docket in a complex criminal case that involves possible contempt charges against a lawyer, a Russian enterprise that preyed on land investors in Florida and Texas, and a businessman turned government cooperator.

A bill that would have sealed some criminal records -- from minor offenses to felonies -- was vetoed by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who stated the public and media had a right to know about important information relating to criminal proceedings.

An attorney who opposes an Ohio city prosecutor accused of racial discrimination is facing possible contempt charges after he released text messages involved in the lawsuit to two local newspaper reporters.

The attorney, Scott Cochran, and his client, the Islamic Society of Greater Youngstown, are accused of releasing the documents in violation of a court order requiring that any personal information contained in the records be redacted before their public release.

Court records in a Louisiana parish relating to sex crimes are now open to the public, after years of being under blanket seal.

Previously, no criminal court records involving allegations of sexual assault or abuse were available to the public, per oral order of the judges in the 27th judicial district, said Charles Jagneaux, St. Landry Parish Clerk of Court.

This secrecy was problematic for public safety and awareness reasons, Jagneaux said.