journalism

We've previously mentioned Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder's lawsuit against the Washington City Paper. (Quick refresher: the City Paper published a stinging catalogue of Snyder's public failings; Snyder sued.) On Friday night, the latest chapter of the saga began: the City Paper filed a motion to dismiss under Washington, D.C.'s spanking-new anti-SLAPP statute.

It is a fundamental principle of the United States legal system that courts should be open to the public.  This principle is widely regarded as more aspirational than factual, because of numerous practical barriers to courtroom access -- not the least of which is that most of us do not have the time or ability to travel to the court to witness proceedings in person.  While the news media report on judicial proceedings, their resources are limited; as a result, coverage is normally focused on specific cases of particular interest.  Moreover, audiovisual recording of judicial activity is sporadic due to a complicated patchwork of largely discretionary rules about allowing cameras in the courtroom.

With the help of Harvard Law School's Cyberlaw Clinic, the Citizen Media Law Project and a coalition of media and advocacy organizations submitted an amicus curiae brief last week to the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in a case involving a lawyer who was arrested for using his cellphone camera to record on-duty police officers.