Common Law

Communications Law In San Franciso, two of Alameda County's six municipal courts have limited public access to criminal court records after a Legal Aid Society lawyer requested it; others are waiting an opinion from the county counsel about its constitutionality. The question is, can the courts in Alameda County withhold criminal records from the public? Does this violate the constitution? The article says that the courts did this to protect the witnesses and the victims. …

…says, police records, arrest records, and other information about a defendant are not available in the two courts. Court records have always been a major outlet for information about criminal investigations, arrests, and prosecutions. Although confidentiality might be an issue, as long as the information is obtained legally, through public places that the press has access to, then the people's interest and the right to know should have more weight than keeping the information private.