scholarly journals First Amendment. Constitutional Right of Access to Criminal Trials

1980 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig H. Lubben
Keyword(s):  
First Amendment ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
Right Of Access

Information Is Power

2021 ◽  
pp. 230-245
Author(s):  
Mary-Rose Papandrea
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
First Amendment ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Government Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Press ◽  
Security Information ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
Government Secrecy ◽  
Right Of Access

Balancing the equally important but sometimes conflicting priorities of government transparency for public accountability versus government secrecy for national security seems intractable. One possibility is to recognize a constitutional right of access to government information. This would support democratic self-governance, allow the public to engage in meaningful oversight, and provide access to necessary information without the game of leaks. It could radically refocus arguments regarding the rights of government employees to reveal national security information and of third parties to publish it. Recognizing this right faces an uphill battle against decades of First Amendment jurisprudence. It also faces innumerable logistical and practical obstacles. It would not eliminate the need to determine when the public, the press, and government insiders can disclose national security information. Nevertheless, the ongoing collapse of press access norms and government’s increasing desire to operate outside public view may warrant dramatically rethinking First Amendment scope and protections.

scholarly journals Immaculate Defamation

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-614
Author(s):  
Alan M. Weinberger
Keyword(s):  
First Amendment ◽  
Right To Know ◽  
Free Press ◽  
Chilling Effect ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Legitimate Interests ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access ◽  
World Records

At the confluence of three major rivers, Madison County, Illinois, was also the intersection of the nation’s struggle for a free press and the right of access to appellate review in the historic case of the Alton Telegraph. The newspaper, which helps perpetuate the memory of Elijah Lovejoy, the first martyr to the cause of a free press, found itself on the losing side of the largest judgment for defamation in U.S. history as a result of a story that was never published in the paper—a case of immaculate defamation. Because it could not afford to post an appeal bond of that magnitude, one of the oldest family-owned newspapers in the country was forced to file for bankruptcy to protect its viability as a going concern. Attention must be paid to a case in which plaintiff’s counsel earns a place in the Guinness Book of World Records and his adversary is honored for distinction in the defense of a free press and the people’s right to know. Notwithstanding subsequent reform of the supersedeas bond process, the inability to appeal a defamation award for lack of sufficient resources to secure a bond still presents an existential threat to all but the largest media companies. The appeal bond process thus has a chilling effect on organizations engaged in newsgathering and dissemination, abridging freedoms protected by the First Amendment. This Article proposes a re-imagination of the appeal bond to accommodate the legitimate interests of the judgment creditor while protecting a media defendant’s constitutional right to appeal.

In Camera Inspections of Privileged Records in Sexual Assault Trials: Balancing Defendants' Rights and State Interests Under Massachusetts's Bishop Test

1995 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-164
Author(s):  
Ellen M. Crowley
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Assault ◽  
State Legislatures ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Fair Trial ◽  
Criminal Trials ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
Case Basis

A sexual assault trial requires a court to balance evidentiary privileges enacted by a state legislature against a criminal defendant's constitutional trial rights. State legislatures enact various privileges which either limit or prohibit the discovery of confidential communications in criminal trials. Such statutes reflect a firmly based legislative effort to protect citizens’ private and personal confidences from unwarranted public scrutiny. When a defendant charged with sexual assault seeks to compel discovery of the victim's privileged medical, psychiatric, or counseling records, a conflict inevitably arises. States and victims assert that courts must respect statutory assurances of confidentiality; defendants assert that their constitutional right to a fair trial and their right to confront the witnesses and evidence against them mandates disclosure. Resolution of this pressing conflict requires a careful balancing of both the state's and defendant's interests on a case by case basis.

Freedom of the Press

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Lebovic
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
First Amendment ◽  
Private Information ◽  
Press Freedom ◽  
Freedom Of The Press ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Press ◽  
History Of ◽  
Constitutional Right

According to the First Amendment of the US Constitution, Congress is barred from abridging the freedom of the press (“Congress shall make no law . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press”). In practice, the history of press freedom is far more complicated than this simple constitutional right suggests. Over time, the meaning of the First Amendment has changed greatly. The Supreme Court largely ignored the First Amendment until the 20th century, leaving the scope of press freedom to state courts and legislatures. Since World War I, jurisprudence has greatly expanded the types of publication protected from government interference. The press now has broad rights to publish criticism of public officials, salacious material, private information, national security secrets, and much else. To understand the shifting history of press freedom, however, it is important to understand not only the expansion of formal constitutional rights but also how those rights have been shaped by such factors as economic transformations in the newspaper industry, the evolution of professional standards in the press, and the broader political and cultural relations between politicians and the press.

scholarly journals The Legal Framework and Barriers to Access to Environmental Information in Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-172
Author(s):  
Abdulkader Mohammed Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
Legal Framework ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Environmental Information ◽  
Access To Information ◽  
Multilateral Environmental Agreements ◽  
The Public ◽  
Barriers To Access ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Right ◽  
Right Of Access

Information plays a vital role, both in terms of its importance for a democratic order and as a prerequisite for public participation. Many countries have made provisions for access to information in their respective constitutions. The FDRE Constitution explicitly provides that everyone has the right to seek and receive information. The Freedom of Mass Media and Access to Information Proclamation –which entered into force in 2008– gives effect to this Constitutional guarantee. Moreover, the number of laws on different environmental issues is on the rise, and the same could be said of the multilateral environmental agreements that Ethiopia has ratified. Many of the laws incorporate the right of the public to access environmental information held by public bodies. Despite the existing legal framework, there are still notable barriers to access to environmental information. By analyzing the relevant laws, the aim of this article is to contribute to the dialogue on the constitutional right of access to information with particular emphasis on the legal framework on, and the barriers to, access to environmental information within the meaning of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration.

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