Secret courts
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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 · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Florida · November 17, 2009 · Secret courts
Report: Two finalists for U.S. attorney spot supported secrecy
The Broward Bulldog reported last week that two of the three finalists for a U.S. attorney post in southern Florida have been involved in controversies regarding court records -- one for altering a docket in apparent violation of state law and another who helped prosecute a secret case in the wake of Sept. 11.
According to the Bulldog, the list included Judge Daryl Trawick, who had a court clerk alter a public docket in 2002 at the request of state prosecutors who sought to protect an informant -- Florida law . . . [more]
— Ansley Schrimpf, 2:17 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Illinois · November 11, 2009 · Secret courts
Seventh circuit keeps police disciplinary records hidden
Disciplinary records related to citizen complaints against Chicago police officers will not be released to the public in a lawsuit brought by a reporter and local government officials, a federal appeals court ruled Nov. 10.
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago (7th Cir.) overturned a 2007 decision to unseal disciplinary records of eight Chicago police officers sought by journalist Jamie Kalven and 28 alderman -- elected Chicago officials who represent different wards within the city.
The records had been evidence in a lawsuit against the officers for alleged misconduct that were sealed under a protective order agreed upon by the parties in that case. The police misconduct case settled out of court but the disciplinary records never made it into the case file. Kalven and the alderman intervened in the case to unseal the records, noting the great public interest in them.
Although the district court lifted the protective order, unsealing the records and allowing either party to release them, the Seventh Circuit ruled that there was no public right of access to . . . [more]
— Kirk Davis, 4:01 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Washington, D.C. · November 9, 2009 · Secret courts
Litigants ask court to save state secrets rulings
A group of plaintiffs on Friday asked a judge to deny the government's request to vacate his rulings in a recently-settled state secrets case, The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times reported.
The $3 million settlement in Horn v. Huddle – in which a former Drug Enforcement Administration agent claimed a CIA officer and a State Department official intercepted his communications while he was serving in Burma – was revealed last week in court papers. In July, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that CIA officials committed fraud in defending the case.
In light of the settlement, government lawyers asked Lamberth to vacate his rulings in the case. According to The BLT, the rulings “deal with whether a federal district judge may decline, in a state secrets case, to give a high degree of deference to the government’s assertion of the privilege when the . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 6:07 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Oklahoma · November 5, 2009 · Secret courts
Oklahoma pharmacist's murder trial can be televised, judge rules
An Oklahoma County judge will allow television stations to broadcast the murder trial of a pharmacist charged with killing a teenager who was allegedly attempting to rob his store.
District Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure decided to allow cameras in her courtroom for the trial of Jerome Ersland, 58, an Oklahoma City pharmacist, the Associated Press reported.
Local media outlets argued before the court that the proceeding should be open because it generated much public . . . [more]
— Ansley Schrimpf, 4:33 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Virginia · November 5, 2009 · Secret courts
Virginia drops plan for anonymous juries
The Virginia Supreme Court has withdrawn a controversial proposal that would have automatically withheld the identities of jurors in all criminal cases, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.
Several open government organizations, including the Virginia Press Association and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, opposed the rule. The Reporters Committee filed comments noting that courts have found that the First Amendment creates a presumption of access to juror identities, which can be overcome in cases where a judge believes that jurors are at risk.
In 2008 the General Assembly enacted a law that required courts to find “good cause” for secrecy before hiding the identities of jurors. But the proposed court rule, which was billed as an implementation of the 2008 Virginia law, required that all . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 2:16 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. Supreme Court · November 3, 2009 · Secret courts
High court refuses to stop release of clergy abuse suit records
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal by a Connecticut Roman Catholic diocese to stop the release of records related to sexual-abuse lawsuits against its priests.
The Associated Press reported that the Court denied the Diocese of Bridgeport's appeal to overturn the Connecticut high court's order to unseal more than 12,000 pages of documents from 23 lawsuits.
Publications including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, . . . [more]
— Ansley Schrimpf, 5:02 pm · View reader comments (8)
QUICKLINK Utah · October 23, 2009 · Secret courts
Press asks court to unseal Smart kidnap files
Five Utah news organizations asked a federal judge to unseal records Monday that relate to the highly publicized kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart, the Associated Press reported.
The Deseret News, The Salt Lake Tribune, the state chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, the Utah Press Association and the AP cited a compelling public interest in the documents, including a report about defendant Brian David Mitchell’s mental competency. They argued . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 3:01 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK District of Columbia · October 14, 2009 · Secret courts
Judge closes hearings on Blackwater killings
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., today refused The Washington Post’s request to open the pretrial proceedings in the manslaughter prosecution of five security guards who were charged in an attack that left more than a dozen civilians dead in Baghdad.
The security guards were working for Blackwater Worldwide, now known as Xe, in 2007 when they allegedly participated in the unprovoked attack that killed 14 civilians and wounded 20 more.
The Post . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:45 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK U.S. Supreme Court · October 5, 2009 · Secret courts
High court refuses to block release of church abuse records
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a Catholic diocese’s second request on Monday to stay a Connecticut Supreme Court's order to unseal court records related to dozens of clergy sex abuse suits.
The case, Rosado v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., involves more than 12,000 pages of documents related to lawsuits against several priests. On Aug. 25, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:07 pm · View reader comments (2)
QUICKLINK Washington · September 24, 2009 · Secret courts
Press excluded from testimony in judge's prosecution
A Washington state judge overseeing a criminal case against another judge excluded the press from the courtroom during deposition testimony Monday, The News Tribune in Tacoma reported.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht faces charges of harassment and soliciting a prostitute. Concerned that a key witness would fail to appear to testify in person, King County Judge James Cayce ordered him to appear in court for a videotaped deposition in advance of trial. But Cayce “closed a courtroom . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 6:08 pm · View reader comments (1)
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE U.S. · September 23, 2009 · Secret courts
Holder puts new limits on state secrets privilege
Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that the Justice Department will move to restrict use of the state secrets privilege and laid out new procedures that will “provide greater accountability and ensure the state secrets privilege is invoked only when necessary and in the narrowest way possible.”
The state secrets privilege allows courts to dismiss lawsuits where the government shows that trying the case could reveal state secrets. Once rarely invoked, the Bush administration created controversy by asserting the privilege in a wide range of cases, from warrantless wiretapping and torture to records of lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s visits to the White House. The Obama Justice Department likewise drew criticism by continuing to assert the privilege.
In a statement released today, the Justice Department pledged that it “will now defend the assertion of the privilege only to the extent necessary to . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 4:58 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK Washington, D.C. · September 16, 2009 · Secret courts
Court orders secret arguments on military detentions
The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. this week decided to exclude the public from oral arguments concerning the legality of military detentions, The Blog of Legal Times reports.
The arguments stem from a district court's refusal to order the release of Belkacem Bensayah, a Guantanamo Bay detainee being held as an . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 2:24 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE Connecticut · August 27, 2009 · Secret courts
Ginsburg refuses to block release of sex abuse files
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Tuesday refused a Catholic diocese’s emergency request to stay an order unsealing court records related to more than 20 clergy sex abuse suits.
The case, Rosado v. Bridgeport Roman Catholic Diocesan Corp., concerns thousands of documents related to now-settled lawsuits involving six priests. The Connecticut Supreme Court in June upheld a decision largely granting a request from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, the Hartford Courant and The Washington Post to release the documents, ruling that as court documents they were presumed to be open to the public. It rejected, among others, the claim that the records were shielded by the First Amendment’s protection for the free exercise of religion.
The diocese on August 6 asked Ginsburg, the justice who oversees emergency requests from the region, to stay the state court’s order until it could petition the U.S. . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:19 pm · View reader comments (1)
QUICKLINK 3rd Cir. · August 19, 2009 · Secret courts
Judge seals briefs, pulls opinions in Amtrak case
A federal judge in Pennsylvania directed Lexis and Westlaw to remove eight opinions from their database as part of a confidential settlement, The Legal Intelligencer reports. Related court documents were also sealed, though one of the defendants, Amtrak, is owned by the federal government.
The newspaper reports that U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel “agreed to vacate eight of his published opinions and to ‘direct’ Lexis and Westlaw to remove them from their databases.” . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:15 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE California · August 14, 2009 · Secret courts
In secret case, government agrees to disclosures
Attorneys representing the federal government in a trial that was held in complete secrecy have apparently agreed to the release of some information in the case.
The civil lawsuit involves the prison killing of Jewish Defense League figure Earl Krugel. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson ordered reporters and the public out of the courtroom, conducting the whole trial behind closed doors in an attempt to protect Bureau of Prisons (BOP) strategies for identifying gang members. Many documents, including the court’s opinion, were sealed.
The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press asked the court to unseal documents and trial transcripts on Aug. 4, . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 1:01 pm · Comments: 0
PRESS RELEASE Georgia · August 13, 2009 · Secret courts
Reporters Committee asks high court to keep jury selection public
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a friend-of-the-court brief today urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision that allows Georgia judges to bar the public from courtrooms during jury selection.
The judge overseeing Eric Presley’s drug trial ordered the public to leave the entire courthouse floor where jury selection (called voir dire) was taking place. The judge reportedly often conducted jury selection in secret, concerned that members of the public would speak to prospective jurors and unaware that the First and Sixth Amendments each create a presumption of public access to jury . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 4:32 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK 2nd Cir. · August 10, 2009 · Secret courts
Court finds no right of access to prostitution investigation wiretaps
The New York Times lost its bid to unseal records related to the investigation of a prostitution ring that brought down New York Gov. Elliot Spitzer, after the U.S. Court of Appeals in New York City (2nd Cir.) on Friday overturned a lower court's order.
The appellate court ruled that the Times had not shown "good cause" to have the wiretap . . . [more]
— Posted at 6:05 pm · Comments: 0
NEWS MEDIA UPDATE California · August 5, 2009 · Secret courts
Press groups move to intervene in secret trial
A coalition of news media organizations on Tuesday moved to intervene in a case where an entire trial was held in secret. The case, a civil lawsuit against the federal government, stems from the beating death of Jewish Defense League activist Earl Krugel at the hands of a white supremacist while in federal custody.
U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson last month ordered reporters and the public to leave the courtroom, conducting the whole trial behind closed doors in an attempt to keep secret various Bureau of Prisons strategies for identifying members of white supremacist gangs. Even the court’s opinion is sealed.
On Tuesday, four media groups – the Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, and The Reporters Committee – moved to intervene and unseal court documents and trial transcripts. “While any infringement of the public’s constitutional right of access is inappropriate,” the groups argued, “the holding of a secret trial and the sealing of court records concerning substantive court rulings is . . . [more]
— Rory Eastburg, 5:24 pm · Comments: 0
QUICKLINK U.S. · August 4, 2009 · Secret courts
Obama administration asserts state secrets privilege
The Obama administration argued in a Supreme Court filing last month that the "state secrets privilege" is rooted in the constitution, The New York Times reported. Writer Adam Liptak also points out that the history of the privilege shows how "problematic" it can be, because the case that established the privilege turned out years later to have hidden proof of negligence, not national security secrets.
The assertion is a reinforcement of Bush administration views on the . . . [more]
— Jonathan Jones, 7:32 pm · View reader comments (1)
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