Court orders Army hearing must be open to public

Article Abstract:

The US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces ruled for the five television networks and The Washington Post that were challenging the Army's decision to close hearings into sexual misconduct allegations against Sgt. Maj. Gene McKinney. Those challenging the closure charged that the hearings were similar to civil hearings, which would be open, and the public will never understand or be confident in military justice if they cannot see it. Both the accused and the main accuser also wanted the hearings open.

United States, Sexual harassment, Courts-martial and courts of inquiry, Court martial

---

Settlement cannot be confidential by agreement of parties

Article Abstract:

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Ohio ex. rel. Findlay Publishing Co. v. County Board of Commissioners that a settlement between Hancock County and a man suing for mistreatment by police could not remain confidential even though the county made confidentiality the terms of the settlement. A government agency has no right to enforce confidentiality of public records. Deliberations leading to a decision may be protected but the decision itself should be available to the public.

Ohio, Police misconduct, Freedom of information

---

Alabama sets out procedure for closures

Article Abstract:

The Alabama Supreme Court in Holland v. Eads establishes standards for motions on the sealing and unsealing of civil case files. The court held that court files must be presumed to be public records and this presumption requires third parties be permitted to intervene to unseal files. In this instance, the public interest in open access was held to outweigh the increased chances of settlement if the files were kept secret.

Similar abstracts:

• Abstracts: State high court sets standard for sealing warrants. Access to records cannot be denied over general 'embarrassment'
• Abstracts: Tragedy, gender, performance: women as tragic heroes on the nineteenth-century stage. A survey of medieval drama and theater in Germany
• Abstracts: Court orders state board to ignore sunshine law in testimony before federal monitoring committee. Court orders release of harassment report
• Abstracts: Reformer does not have right of court access: sought court transcript to determine why defense lawyer was disqualified

This website is not affiliated with document authors or copyright owners. This page is provided for informational purposes only. Unintentional errors are possible.