Hilton v. Mullin

Case Number: 2:26-cv-00092-JAW

Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Maine

Client: Portland Press Herald

Background: In February 2026, a group of Maine residents filed a class-action lawsuit alleging that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies and officials unlawfully tracked and intimidated people who observed or protested immigration enforcement operations.

Although the case involves matters of significant public concern, much of the information submitted with the plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction and the government’s motion to dismiss remains inaccessible to the public, either because it has been filed fully under seal or heavily redacted. Even the government’s justifications for shielding the records from the public are, themselves, largely inaccessible.

On behalf of the Portland Press Herald, attorneys from Reporters Committee and the law firm Preti Flaherty filed this motion asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine to unseal and unredact records filed in the case. The motion argues that the newspaper has a common law and First Amendment right to access the court records.

Quote: “The Press Herald has reported extensively on this case and the underlying government surveillance practices at issue, but its reporters’ ability to do so fully and accurately is impaired by their inability to access judicial records at the center of the case,” the Portland Press Herald argues in a filing in support of its motion to unseal. 

Filings:

2026-10-23: Motion to intervene and for access to judicial records

2026-10-23: Memorandum of law in support of motion to intervene and for access to judicial records