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ASNE joins brief arguing for immediate access to California court filings
- By: ASNE staff
- On: 03/24/2016 10:09:48
- In: Amicus briefs
ASNE joined 12 media organizations in a brief drafted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press that challenges a California court's policy of not making court filings publicly available for several days after their submission.
ASNE joined 12 media organizations in a brief drafted by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press that challenges a California court's policy of not making court filings publicly available for several days after their submission.
Courthouse News Service v. Planet seeks immediate or near immediate access to civil court filings and argues that delaying access is harmful to the public and the press in that it hinders accurate reporting on matters of public concern. The case has actually bounced between the United States District Court for the Central District of California and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit twice and is now back in the District Court.
Our brief explains why journalists need immediate access to court documents. Increasingly, stories are being written on a same-day basis; the fact that a complaint is not available means reporters will have to rely on secondary sources. That's not good because "timely access to court documents makes reporting more accurate, fair and complete and should be encouraged by courts." Citing work from longtime reporters who covered courts, the brief shows how reporters and readers benefit from such reporting. It also explains how, given that almost 200,000 civil complaints were filed in California in fiscal year 2013-14, most of which will be in the court system for almost two years, the public needs to be able to oversee this extensive use of public money invested in civil litigation.