III. Access to criminal proceedings

Overview

Massachusetts

In general, to access criminal cases, Massachusetts will apply a two-part test. Boston Herald, Inc. v. Sharpe, 432 Mass. 593, 606 (2000). There is an assumption of openness, but when closure is being considered – or opening a previously closed proceeding – the courts will consider the following: the proceedings must have a tradition of openness and the public’s presence must play “a significant positive role in the functioning of the particular process in question.” Id. (quoting Newspapers of New England, Inc. v. Clerk-Magistrate of the Ware Div. of the Dist. Court Dep’t, 403 Mass. 628, 635 (1988)).