Center for Constitutional Rights v. Lind
The Center for Constitutional Rights sued Chief Judge Col. Denise Lind in District Court in Baltimore for an injunction to unseal dockets and documents in the Bradley Manning case, which has proceeded with a great deal of secrecy. A military appeals court had already determined it did not have jurisdiction to decide the matter. The Reporters Committee and a coalition of 35 media groups filed an amicus brief in support of the access effort, arguing that the lack of transparency in the case creates a serious obstacle to effective reporting on this matter of significant public interest. The brief argued that there is a First Amendment right of access to judicial documents in courts-martial, as well as important public policy concerns about the credibility of the court system that demand openness in a case like this.