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Jury Selection and Media Access

By Jefferson M. Gray

For laypersons and lawyers alike, the trial of Martha Stewart last winter was irresistible legal theater. But if, between all the discussions of Ms. Stewart's courtroom attire and lunchtime dining habits, you missed seeing how the district court and Second Circuit wrestled with the issue of media access to jury selection, you may want to give ABC, Inc. v. Stewart, 360 F.3d 90 (2d Cir. 2004) a read.

The starting presumption is that “absent an overriding interest, the trial of a criminal case must be open to the public.” This pronouncement by four justices in Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 581 (1980), has been elaborated upon in a series of subsequent decisions. See Press-Enterprise Company v. Superior Court of California (Press-Enterprise I), 464 U.S. 501, 510 (1984); Waller v. Georgia, 467 U.S. 39, 47 (1984); and Press-Enterprise Company v. Superior Court of California (Press-Enterprise II), 478 U.S. 1, 14 (1986). But the “right of access to courtroom proceedings is not absolute. It is limited both by the constitutional right of defendants to a fair trial, and by the needs of government to obtain just convictions and to preserve the confidentiality of sensitive information and the identity of informants.” Gannett Co. Inc. v. DePasquale, 443 U.S. 368, 398 (1979) (Powell, J., concurring).

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