SJC Cases Test Media Access to Courts

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is slated to hear arguments this week in a series of cases that test news media access to court proceedings and documents.

On Tuesday, Nov. 8, at 9 a.m., the SJC will hear two cases, both arising out of the experimental OpenCourt project designed to make Quincy District Court more accessible to the public. Both cases challenge the right of OpenCourt to webcast criminal proceedings live and to archive webcasts on the Internet.

In one of the two cases, Charles Diorio v. First Justice of the Quincy Div. of the District Court Department, Diorio contends that OpenCourt's broadcast of his arraignment and archiving of the footage violated his constitutional right to a fair trial because identification would be an issue at the trial. In the second case, Commonwealth v. Norman Barnes, the district attorney challenges OpenCourt's archiving of an evidentiary hearing in which the identity of a child sexual assault victim was disclosed.

In both cases, WBUR-FM, the Boston University public radio station that operates OpenCourt, argues that any restrictions on it webcasting and archiving would constitute prior restraint in violation of the First Amendment.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 9 a.m., the SJC will hear another media-access case, coincidentally also arising out of Quincy District Court, William O'Connell v. Criminal Clerk of Quincy District Court. The issue in this case is whether affidavits and other materials filed in support of a search warrant are public documents.

The appeal results from a request by The Patriot Ledger in Quincy to terminate an impoundment order covering documents filed in support of a warrant to search O'Connell's condominium. O'Connell's principle argument in support of maintaining the secrecy of the documents is that they involve allegations of rape and sexual assault. But the District Court judge, in lifting the impoundment order, ordered that any references to the alleged victim be redacted to protect her privacy.

In the O'Connell case, the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association has filed an amicus brief, in conjunction with the New England Newspaper and Press Association, the Citizen Media Law Project and the New England First Amendment Coalition.

All of the arguments at the SJC this week will be webcast.

Proposed Ban on Reporting Minors' Names Appears Dead

A Massachusetts bill that would ban the news media from reporting the names of minors who appear in a broadcast or photograph appears unlikely to pass this session.

The bill, Senate 1669, would prohibit the media from using minors' names without first obtaining the express, written consent of the minor's parent or guardian. Last week, the legislature's Joint Committee on the Judiciary referred the bill to a study committee, which generally means the bill is unlikely to be resurrected during the current legislative session.

As you can imagine, such a law would severely inhibit the media's reporting on school sports and other such events. It would also be unconstitutional. On behalf of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association, I had submitted testimony opposing this bill when it came up for a hearing last July.