9th Circuit boots judge, revives news media case over late access to court civil complaint filings
For the second time, a federal appeals court has reversed a trial court judge’s decision to dismiss a news organization’s First Amendment suit over delayed access to civil complaint filings at a California courthouse.
And this time the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has also assigned another U.S. District Court judge to oversee the case.
The appeals court’s decision says U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real displayed “strong views, inconsistent with our prior opinion, on the merits of this case” and “failed to conduct the proper fact-specific inquiry” before nixing the suit, according to Courthouse News, which is the plaintiff in the case, and the Associated Press, which filed a supporting brief.
The AP article says Courthouse News alleged that its reporters have had to wait as long as 34 days to see lawsuits filed in Ventura County Superior Court. However, Real, when he dismissed the case, said the First Amendment does not require same-day access to civil court complaints.
Attorney Robert Naeve, who has represented Ventura County Superior Court’s executive officer, Michael Planet, in the case, was not immediately available for comment, the AP says.
