I don’t want to comment extensively on this – but suffice to say that I am delighted to report that evidence in the Argentine Money Trail case will be open to the public.
This is a bright day in otherwise dark days for the Argentine press.
The court held that matters surrounding the Argentine debt crisis “cannot be litigated in secret. Doing so would limit the public’s understanding of the court’s final decision and, therefore, risk weakening the judicial power, which depends upon public access and trust. See Richmond Newspapers, 448 U.S. at 591 (citing In re Oliver, 333 US 257, 273 (1948))”
Just as inspiring:
[T]he court is bound by its obligation to the public, which has a strong presumptive right to access judicial records. This right is a ‘precious common law right’. It protects ‘the integrity and quality’ of the administration of justice by ensuring that the courtroom, ‘even more than city streets, sidewalks, and parks,’ remain a public place’ where ‘representatives of the press and of the public are not only free to be, but where their presence serves to assure the integrity of what goes on.”
Some days, it is a dark thing to be a First Amendment lawyer. Sometimes you get judges who just don’t understand. Sometimes you get judges who understand, but they don’t give a shit. Sometimes it is even worse.
And then you get something like this.
The people of Argentina came to our courts, through Mr. Lanata, asking that we live up to our rhetoric. This Order shows that sometimes we do. It is a beautiful day when you can be tiny part of America living up to its promises.
