Press coalition to courts: Don’t walk back pandemic-era access
CTK/Josef Horazny via AP
Our court system should be open to the public and not operate behind closed doors.
The First Amendment gives the public and the press the right to attend trials, access court documents, and report on the justice system. But far too often, judges try to evade that right by sealing records or holding secret proceedings.
We must fight back against attempts to make the court system less transparent and push to expand access. Reporting on the courts helps make our justice system fairer and guards against miscarriages of justice.
Featured Items
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How we crowd-sourced transcripts of the entire Manning court martial
On May 9, 2013, we made a bold claim on this website. We promised to crowd-fund enough money to hire independent court reporters to provide transcripts of the entire Manning court martial. We knew that it was vital that the public have a virtual seat in Chelsea Manning’s trial1 …
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Here Are The Secret Details Gitmo Warden Claimed Could Be Used By Al-Qaeda to Attack Prison
<!--//--><![CDATA[// ><!-- DV.load("//www.documentcloud.org/documents/801592-col-bogdans-unsealed-guantanamo-declaration-in.js", { width: 600, height: 600, sidebar: false, text: false, pdf: false, container: "#DV-viewer-801592-col-bogdans-unsealed-guantanamo-declaration-in" }); //--><!]]> Score one for transparency. A federal court judge on Thursday—in response to a motion I filed in July—unsealed Guantanamo warden Col. John Bogdan’s six-page sworn declaration pertaining to a genital search policy …
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Guantanamo Warden Details Fears About Prison Attack in New Document
The warden of the Guantanamo Bay prison continues to make extraordinary claims about potential threats to the detention facility from enemies “foreign” and “domestic” if he is compelled to reveal information in a June 3 sworn declaration he signed about the rationale behind a genital search policy prisoners are subjected …
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Why Was the Military Trying to Intimidate Journalists at Bradley Manning Trial Yesterday?
Yesterday, closing arguments began in the trial of accused WikiLeaks whistleblower Bradley Manning. But even as the prosecution's arguments in the courtroom may have an enormous impact on journalism, another disturbing issue of press freedom was unfolding in the media center: reporters covering the trial were being intimidated by members …
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Government: Halting Guantanamo Prisoner Genital Searches Will Cause “Irreparable Harm”
The Justice Department has asked a federal court judge to put an order he issued last week on hold that barred Guantanamo guards from conducting the “abhorrent” and “humiliating” procedure of searching prisoners’ genitals when they leave their cells to meet with attorneys and return to the prison camp. In …
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EXCLUSIVE: Guantanamo in New Attorney-Client Mail Controversy in Aftermath of Raid
Guantanamo officials don’t know who are the rightful owners of thousands of pages of legal documents and other materials seized from prisoners during a raid at the communal camp in April, according to a government document I obtained. A Justice Department attorney said in a draft seven-page court filing dated …
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Manning Judge Rules Crowd-Funded Stenographers Should Be Given Permanent Court Access
As Kevin Gosztola reported yesterday, Bradley Manningâs defense lawyer David Coombs brought up our crowd-funded stenographers in court during the morning session of Manning's trial, and weâre happy to say, once and for all, that the judge ruled the government must make permanent accomodations for the stenographers. The stenographers …
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Bradley Manning’s Defense Supports Crowd-Funded Stenographers’ Presence at Trial
This article is cross-posted from FireDogLake. The defense for Pfc. Bradley Manning indicated in a military court that ensuring crowd-funded stenographers had access to create an unofficial transcript of the trial, which would be made available to media outlets around the world, was something they supported. “We believe that …
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Despite Government Obstacles, Publicly-Funded Stenographers Will Transcribe the Bradley Manning Trial
UPDATE: The transcript from day one of the Bradley Manning trial has been posted and can be found here. In the last month, the Freedom of the Press Foundation has been engaged in a whirlwind fundraising campaign to raise money to have professional stenographers provide daily transcripts of the …
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Coalition of Twenty Major Media Organizations Ask Manning Judge To Provide Court Access to Public Stenographer
UPDATE: We've recieved word that the judge has ruled that the professional court stenographer CAN transcribe the trial from the media room using a stenography machine. This is great news. However, we are still without press passes, and the military media desk has yet to respond to our request to …
