Committee Clears Evans Bill to Aid Newsgathering
California Political Desk
April 02, 2008
Sacramento, CA)— The Assembly Judiciary Committee passed a bill authored by Assemblymember Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, to expedite court procedures determining the unsealing of documents so that the public´s right to know and privacy concerns are more appropriately balanced.
Sponsored by the CA Newspaper Publishers Association, AB 2379 now passes to the Assembly Floor.
"This bill gives journalists a tool to confront those who would use our courts to hide secrets that should be shared with the public," added Evans.
The need for AB 2379 became evident during a recent court case – Savaglio v. Wal-Mart – involving Wal-Mart´s alleged denial of appropriate meal and rest periods. Wal-Mart was allowed to file volumes of records under seal, and when the Berkeley Daily Planet became interested in the case and sought access to the court files, access was denied for three years. The Daily Planet entered the case in August 2004 with a motion to unseal the records, but the appellate court did not render its final verdict until April 2007. By this time, the information sought was no longer newsworthy.
"Journalists must be able to timely access information of value to the public interest," added Evans. "Pivotal issues need to be reported so that citizens and their government may respond. Flying blind rarely ends well for anyone."
AB 2379 offers a simple solution to this problem. It replaces the time-consuming appeals process with a speedier writ review process, as is the standard for information requests made about state government under the California Public Records Act.
AB 2379 also allows a third party who succeeds in obtaining an order to unseal records to recover attorney fees from the opponents of sealing the records if the records are ultimately unsealed. This is needed because the court ruled in Savaglio v. Wal-Mart that the Daily Planet was not entitled to its attorney fees for upholding the public´s right of access.
Further information about AB 2379 is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.
Sponsored by the CA Newspaper Publishers Association, AB 2379 now passes to the Assembly Floor.
"This bill gives journalists a tool to confront those who would use our courts to hide secrets that should be shared with the public," added Evans.
The need for AB 2379 became evident during a recent court case – Savaglio v. Wal-Mart – involving Wal-Mart´s alleged denial of appropriate meal and rest periods. Wal-Mart was allowed to file volumes of records under seal, and when the Berkeley Daily Planet became interested in the case and sought access to the court files, access was denied for three years. The Daily Planet entered the case in August 2004 with a motion to unseal the records, but the appellate court did not render its final verdict until April 2007. By this time, the information sought was no longer newsworthy.
"Journalists must be able to timely access information of value to the public interest," added Evans. "Pivotal issues need to be reported so that citizens and their government may respond. Flying blind rarely ends well for anyone."
AB 2379 offers a simple solution to this problem. It replaces the time-consuming appeals process with a speedier writ review process, as is the standard for information requests made about state government under the California Public Records Act.
AB 2379 also allows a third party who succeeds in obtaining an order to unseal records to recover attorney fees from the opponents of sealing the records if the records are ultimately unsealed. This is needed because the court ruled in Savaglio v. Wal-Mart that the Daily Planet was not entitled to its attorney fees for upholding the public´s right of access.
Further information about AB 2379 is available online at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov.
Print
Email
