Secrecy

A Maryland appellate court on Friday upheld a trial court's order allowing a Baltimore television station to copy two recordings of explicit confessions in a high-profile murder trial.

A Baltimore jury convicted John Gaumer of raping and murdering Josie Brown, whom he met on Myspace, in 2007. During Gaumer’s trial, prosecutors introduced two taped confessions, one videotaped and one audiotaped. On March 5, 2008, the trial court granted WBAL-TV’s request to copy portions of the tapes.

A federal judge in Denver has denied without public comment a request for a broad restraining order aimed at The Pueblo Chieftain and reporter Robert Boczkiewicz. The order would have prohibited any news organization from publishing information obtained from a court hearing in a lawsuit related to the alleged sexual abuse of high school students.

A Manhattan judge considering whether to unseal approximately one million pages of documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks said yesterday that he will likely deny requests for public access, Reuters reports.  

A Manhattan federal court will hear oral arguments Wednesday on whether more than a million pages of documents related to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks should remain sealed.

Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the United States District Court in New York City will hear arguments from The New York Times and the Reporters Committee, as well as victims’ families and attorneys for the aviation industry defendants.

 The judge presiding over the prosecution of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent has declined to vacate a gag order even though Kent has pleaded guilty, the Houston Chronicle reports.  

Kent was indicted in August on charges of abusive sexual contact and attempted aggravated sexual abuse. He is the first federal judge to be indicted for federal sex crimes, though he pleaded guilty only to obstruction of justice.  

Congressional Democrats have reintroduced legislation to curb the government's use of the state secrets privilege, Congressional Quarterly reports. The controversial privilege allows courts to dismiss cases that may endanger national security.

Courts traditionally have shown great deference to the government’s determination of whether a threat to national security exists, but the bill would require judges to evaluate for themselves whether the privilege is appropriate.

The lawyer for a California dentist on trial for allegedly fondling more than a dozen patients conceded this week that his request to totally exclude press and public from the trial was "not legally sustainable," The Sacramento Bee reports.

As Congress puts $8.5 trillion in taxpayer dollars toward rescuing institutions that have lost their financial footing, more than 70 open government and taxpayer-representative groups are urging transparency and oversight in the process.

The officer overseeing legal affairs for the United States Coast Guard has agreed to post all Coast Guard court martial dockets online in early 2009.

A federal court yesterday ordered the release of search records related to the 2001 “Amerithrax” investigations, recognizing for the first time in the District of Columbia Circuit a First Amendment right of access to warrant materials after an investigation has concluded.