Legal newspaper fights prior restraint on publication of information found in court records
By APFriday, July 30, 2010
Legal fight over prior restraint on publication
WASHINGTON — News organizations are asking a Washington court to free a legal newspaper to publish information, found in court records, that has been ordered suppressed by a local judge.
The court records involve a dispute between juice maker POM Wonderful and its law firm. They were supposed to have been sealed from public view at the judge’s order but mistakenly were not.
The news organizations say that, despite the mistake, this rare example of prior restraint on publication lacks “any conceivable justification” and should be reversed immediately.
The National Law Journal so far has abided by an order from a District of Columbia Superior Court judge not to publish the name of the federal regulatory agency that is investigating POM.
