Reformer does not have right of court access: sought court transcript to determine why defense lawyer was disqualified

Article Abstract:

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals, in McMinn v. United States, rejected a law reform advocate's request to unseal the transcript of a hearing in which a public defender was disqualified from representing a drug defendant. The court stated that individual members of the public have no constitutional right to gain access to criminal proceedings unless they can show that they had suffered a concrete and particularized injury in the case. The advocate's reason for seeking access, which was based on a First Amendment right of access, did not meet this test.

United States, Trial transcripts

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Court rules presumption of access to judicial documents should be weighed against centrality to issues litigated

Article Abstract:

A three-judge panel of the US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled in Dec 1995 that a lower court should not have made public the first part of a judicial report on an investigation into labor union corruption and set out new guidelines for public access to such reports. The new rules weigh the presumption of public access against the interests of judicial efficiency and law enforcement and the privacy interests of those resisting disclosure. The decision came on the case's second appeal to the circuit court.

Laws, regulations and rules, Public and closed trials, Right to public trial

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Court limits anonymity of jurors in beating case

Article Abstract:

The US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in Associated Press v. District Court that the jury selection questionnaires, for the Rodney King civil rights trial, could be sealed. The court stated the questionnaires could be sealed during trial and for a certain amount of time afterwards, but not indefinitely. The court felt they should be released when they no longer pose a threat to jurors on the case.

Jury selection

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