Secret courts
Items: 660 (34 pages)
Pages: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 ... · > · >>
QUICKLINK Wisconsin · February 3, 2010 · Secret courts
Wisconsin committee passes bill restricting access to court records
A Wisconsin state assembly committee has passed a bill that would restrict public online access to court records, WQOW (Eau Claire) reported.
The proposed bill limits public access to cases where the party was found guilty of a criminal charge, liable in a civil case, evicted, or the subject of a restraining order or junction. Certain interested parties would still be able to access the records.
The vote in committee was 3-3 so committee chairman Rep. . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 6:39 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · February 2, 2010 · Secret courts
D.C. Circuit temporarily prevents release of Blackwater papers
A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., has temporarily blocked the release of sealed court documents in the government's case against Blackwater security guards charged with killing Iraqi civilians, The BLT reported.
Judge Ricardo Urbina had ordered the release of transcripts, which detailed the closed-door hearings that led to the charges against the five guards being dismissed. The hearings detailed . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 7:15 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Ohio · February 1, 2010 · Secret courts
Ohio judge postpones trial pending high court decision
An Ohio judge has postponed the trial of a woman charged in the death of her infant daughter until the state Supreme Court rules on the constitutionality of his order barring prohibiting media coverage, The (Toledo) Blade reported.
The Ohio Supreme Court last week temporarily lifted trial court Judge Keith P. Muehlfeld's order that barred journalists from reporting . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 5:08 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Wisconsin · January 28, 2010 · Secret courts
Proposed Wisconsin bill would restrict access to court records
A state representative in Wisconsin has proposed legislation that would severely restrict online access to court records, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
Under the bill proposed by Democratic Rep. Marlin Schneider, the public would only have access to cases where a party was found guilty of a criminal charge, liable in a civil case, evicted or the subject of a restraining order or injunction. Currently, any member of the public can access court records online for most civil and criminal case . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 6:34 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · January 28, 2010 · Secret courts
Federal court records, proceedings sealed in alleged terrorism plot
A terrorism suspect was arrested, arraigned and indicted on a felony charge but the proceedings were closed and the sealed court docket lists him only as John Doe, The New York Times reported.
Naqib Jaji, the uncle of indicted Al Qaeda terror suspect Najibullah Zazi, was arraigned in a federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Jan. 14. Because the courtroom was closed and the records are sealed, information regarding Jaji's indictment and plea is not available, but it could indicate he is . . . [more]
— Mara Zimmerman, 6:26 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Texas · January 21, 2010 · Secret courts
Mistrial declared after Supreme Court ruling on jury selection
One day after the Supreme Court ruled that jury selection in criminal trials should be open to the public, a Dallas judge declared a mistrial in a case in which the jury had been selected behind closed doors, Politico reported.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn learned about the decision, which stated that open jury selection is a First and Sixth Amendment right, once jurors in an extortion . . . [more]
— Nadia Tamez-Robledo, 6:38 pm · View reader comments (2)
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE U.S. Supreme Court · January 19, 2010 · Secret courts
Supreme Court says jury selections should be open
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that Georgia's high court incorrectly upheld a trial judge's decision that the public could be barred from jury selection in a drug trial, ruling that jury selection in criminal trials is presumptively open and judges must consider alternatives to closure.
The 7-2 majority opinion in Presley v. Georgia, which was remanded to the lower court without oral argument, said that the Constitution guarantees both defendants and the public the right to public jury selections.
"The Sixth Amendment right, as the quoted language makes explicit, is the right of the accused. The Court has further held that the public trial right extends beyond the accused and can be invoked under the First Amendment," read the majority opinion, which was not signed by any single justice.
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press previously filed a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the court to consider the First Amendment issues at stake in the . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 4:21 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK Kansas · January 15, 2010 · Secret courts
Positive signs for access, though jury selection still largely closed
The Associated Press and three other media outlets will not pursue further litigation in response to the mostly closed jury selection for the trial of Scott Roeder who is accused of murdering a later-term abortion provider in Kansas.
Judge Warren Wilbert ruled earlier that jury selection for the case would be closed entirely. In response, the AP and three other media outlets appealed the decision to the Kansas Supreme Court which ordered Wilbert to reconsider his ruling, the AP . . . [more]
— Curry Andrews, 2:49 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Kansas · January 13, 2010 · Secret courts
Kansas court opens jury selection to media
The Kansas judge who will preside over the murder trial of the man charged with killing a prominent abortion doctor agreed today to open jury selection to the media after the Kansas Supreme Court urged him to reconsider his decision to ban reporters, according to reports by The Associated Press and The Wichita Eagle.
Judge Warren . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 5:33 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · January 11, 2010 · Secret courts
Transcripts may be released in Blackwater case
The federal judge who dismissed murder charges against Blackwater security guards after a closed hearing on whether evidence against them was tainted will release redacted transcripts of those hearings, according to The BLT.
The Washington Post had asked the court to release the transcripts last week.
The . . . [more]
— Gregg Leslie, 6:27 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · January 8, 2010 · Secret courts
Judges make openness calls in two police officer trials
An Illinois judge has decided that a hearing during which prosecutors describe their case against a police officer charged with drowning his third wife will be open to the public, Chicago's BreakingNewsCenter reported.
Attorneys representing the officer argued that the hearing could taint the potential jury pool if testimony about what individuals have heard others say -- not what they've witnessed themselves -- is heard by the public, but . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 6:03 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · January 5, 2010 · Secret courts
Federal study finds lack of standards on sealed cases
The McClatchy "Suits & Sentences" blog reports today on findings of a federal study on court secrecy. A report prepared for the Federal Judicial Center found 576 sealed civil cases and 1,077 sealed criminal cases in 2006.
The study demonstrates the long-known lack of standards judges often use in deciding when to seal cases, despite requirements that . . . [more]
— Posted at 6:46 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · January 5, 2010 · Secret courts
Washington Post asks for Blackwater hearing transcript
The Washington Post has asked for the transcripts of the closed hearings that led to the dismissal of the government's case against five former Blackwater employees accused of killing Iraqi civilians, Politico reports.
Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, the judge who threw out the charges against the five former employees on Dec. 31, had previously rejected the Post's request that the hearings be opened to the media.
Urbina told the government's attorneys to file . . . [more]
— Amanda Becker, 5:51 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Alaska · December 30, 2009 · Secret courts
Judge opens custody records in Palin custody battle
An Alaska judge has unsealed the records in the custody dispute between Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Superior Court Judge Kari Kristiansen rejected the argument made by Bristol Palin -- daughter of 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin -- that the case should be sealed from the public and that a gag order should be in place. In addition, the presiding judge ruled against Palin's proposed used of the pseudonyms Jane and John Doe.
— Amanda Becker, 6:03 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE 2nd Cir. · December 23, 2009 · Secret courts
In secret case, court rejects 'total and permanent' seal
The U.S. Court of Appeals in New York (2nd Cir.) last week rejected a request to permanently seal the entire transcript of a criminal defendant’s sentencing.
The appeal remains shrouded in secrecy, with court documents, the charges, the defendant’s name, and even the defense attorney’s name sealed. Prosecutors declined to provide any information about the case, citing the court’s sealing order.
But the appellate court’s Dec. 14 opinion makes clear that U.S. District Judge John Gleeson denied a criminal defendant’s “motion for total and permanent sealing of his sentencing transcript.” Both the defendant and prosecutors asked the appellate court to overturn the Gleeson’s order, and it appointed separate counsel “to defend the district court judgment so that the appeal could be considered in an adversarial context.”
The appellate court ruled that Gleeson “correctly . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 3:58 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · December 21, 2009 · Secret courts
Justice Department moves to close Blackwater hearing
The Justice Department has asked a judge to close a Jan. 7 hearing in the prosecution of five security guards charged with killing more than a dozen Iraqi civilians, The National Law Journal reported. The security guards worked for Blackwater Worldwide, now known as Xe, at the time of the shootings.
The government asked the U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina on Dec. 3 to close the hearing in order to “determine the use, relevance and admissibility of classified information in the prosecution,” the . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:40 pm · View reader comments (1)
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE U.S. · December 11, 2009 · Secret courts
Pentagon cited for thwarting Guantanamo access
A federal judge held the Defense Department in contempt of court Thursday because it disobeyed a court order to videotape the release hearing of a Guantanamo Bay detainee.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler had ordered the government to videotape the testimony of Mohammed Al-Adahi, a Yemeni citizen who has been held at Guantanamo Bay since 2002. He petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus ordering his release in 2005 and testified by video conference at a closed hearing in June. The government was supposed to video tape his testimony, redact any classified information and provide a copy for public release. But the government told Kessler in July it had unintentionally failed to record Al-Adahi's testimony, leading to yesterday's contempt ruling.
Kessler’s order emphasized the need for the public and the press to observe court proceedings, even where classified information is involved. Noting the “intense national and international interest in the conduct of these proceedings,” Kessler explained that her purpose in ordering the videotape “was to ensure the . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:35 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Virginia · December 8, 2009 · Secret courts
Juror identities now public in Virginia Beach
Judges in Virginia Beach, Va., will no longer automatically seal juror names and will defer to a proposed statewide court rule that permits secrecy only for good cause, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
The Virginia Beach Circuit Court began automatically shielding the names of criminal jurors as an “ounce-of-prevention-type thing” in November 2008, but has ceased the practice in light of “a state . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 3:35 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Connecticut · December 2, 2009 · Secret courts
Bridgeport Diocese releases abuse documents
The Diocese of Bridgeport, Conn., released thousands of pages of documents related to sex abuse lawsuits Tuesday after losing a seven-year fight to keep them secret, The Hartford Courant reports.
The documents include two depositions of Cardinal Edward Egan, then Bishop of Bridgeport and later Archbishop of New York. In the depositions, Egan called the abuse “a unique and unexpected occurrence” and said “it’s marvelous when you think of . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:39 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · November 20, 2009 · Secret courts
Experts discuss state secrets privilege at forum
Experts collaborated and debated “the state of the state secrets privilege” at a forum hosted by American University Washington College of Law on Wednesday.
The school's Collaboration on Government Secrecy brought together scholars, government specialists and policy practitioners to discuss the history of the privilege, its place in the Obama administration, how it would ideally be reformed and how it is likely to be reformed.
New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil . . . [more]
— Brooke Ericson, 3:49 pm · View reader comments (1)
Pages: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 ... · > · >>
• RSS feed
News categories:
News keywords: