I. Introduction: Access rights in the jurisdiction

Overview

Oregon

In Oregon, First Amendment access rights are buttressed by Article I, section 10 of the Oregon Constitution, which provides that “No court shall be secret, but justice shall be administered, openly and without purchase, completely and without delay . . ..” This provision has been interpreted not to provide an individual, waivable right, but instead to prescribe the functions of government. See Oregonian Pub. v. O’Leary, 303 Or. 297, 301-02, 736 P.2d 173 (1987). The protection is not the same as provided by the Sixth Amendment. State ex rel Oregonian Pub. Co. v. Deiz, 289 Or. 277, 282, 613 P.2d 23 (1980). Article I, section 10 “does not recognize distinctions between various kinds of judicial proceedings; it applies to all.” Id. at 283. “In order to be constitutional, a proceeding must either not be secret or not ‘administer justice’ within the meaning of section 10.” O’Leary, 303 Or. at 302