High Court Asked to Lift Secrecy in Habeas Corpus Proceedings - November 17, 2003 Vol.4 No.23

November 17, 2003 Vol.4 No.23:

Published: 11/17/2003

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High Court Asked to Lift Secrecy in Habeas Corpus Proceedings

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has asked the Supreme Court to hear a case in which the plaintiff is identified only by his initials and 63 of 65 motions are kept secret.

The existence of the case (M.K.B v. Warden) was discovered when a court clerk mistakenly inserted files related to the case in a public docket and a reporter discovered the misfiled papers, according to news reports.

In its friend-of-the-court brief, the Reporters Committee argues that the U.S. District Court judge who ordered the records be kept secret never provided a justification for the need to establish such secrecy, thereby violating the First Amendment’s guarantee of press access to court proceedings.