Reporter, newspaper cited for printing file details

Article Abstract:

A federal district judge in Raleigh, NC, found a bureau chief for The (Wilmington) Morning Star in contempt of court for accepting a court file that contained a confidential document in Ashcraft v. Conoco. The document contained a secret settlement between residents of Wrightsboro, NC, and Conoco Oil Co. Conoco Oil Co. was accused of contaminating the residents' water supply. A court clerk mistakenly included the document in a file given to the bureau chief. The newspaper and the bureau chief were fined $500,000 and the jail sentence for the bureau chief was to be determined on Feb 24, 1998. An appeal was planned.

North Carolina, Contempt of court

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Documents remain confidential to protect college's privacy

Article Abstract:

The Georgia Supreme Court, in Savannah College of Art & Design, Inc. v. School of Visual Arts, Inc., held that a confidential settlement agreement between a private visual arts school and a private college of arts could remain private to protect the college's privacy interests. The court rejected a lower court finding that the college had waived its rights to confidentiality when it filed the settlement documents with the court in order to challenge a newspaper's motion to unseal the documents.

Georgia, Compromise and settlement, Settlements (Law)

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Public has no right of access to plea agreement that was revoked

Article Abstract:

The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in United States v. El-Sayegh that The Washington Post could not have access to a sealed plea agreement because the agreement did not lead to a guilty plea. The case involved a suspected terrorist who had been extradited from Canada and who was expected to plea guilty. He pled not guilty and the court dismissed the case. The appellate court reversed a lower court in keeping the agreement sealed, indicating the document had no judiciary role.

United States, Plea bargaining, Media coverage

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