Open the Courts

Blindfolded Lady Justice and the scales of justice, CTK/Josef Horazny via AP

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.

  1. Screenshot of Mic article in question

    Fair use win in screenshot case is a victory for media reporting

    Court accessArticle

    In an important ruling for the press’s ability to report freely on the work of other outlets, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that including a screenshot in an article commenting on another article's reporting is not copyright infringement. This is welcome news in an age where copyright can be used to restrict what newspapers can and can’t say about each other.

  2. Sarah Palin at CPAC, 2015

    Palin’s push into press freedom precedent

    SLAPPsArticle

    The case Sarah Palin lost against The New York Times this week was the first libel claim to even go to trial against the paper in nearly two decades. That these cases are so rare reflects a critically important precedent in American law — one established by the Times itself. And though it's a cornerstone of press freedom, it's increasingly under attack.