Last Updated: May 26, 1999
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ASNE on the move
Open courtrooms are Americans’ right
ASNE expresses concern about McVeigh trial. The American Society of
Newspaper Editors criticized the judge in the Timothy McVeigh trail in
Denver for impairing the long-standing right of Americans to a public trial,
in an overzealous attempt to protect the privacy of the jury. Specifically,
ASNE opposed the inability of the press to watch the jury and its actions.
"ASNE embraces the long American tradition of open courts and open trials.,"
said Stanley R. Tiner, editor of the Mobile (Ala.) Register and chair of
the Freedom of Information Committee. "The press serves as a surrogate
to the public. The American public can’t be crammed into a trial room.
The press represents the public at the trial. Newspaper editors are troubled
by what appears to be an overzealous emphasis on privacy bordering on secrecy
in the courtroom."
Tiner noted, "The Founding Fathers built Independence Hall in Philadelphia
on the principle of open trials. There are no doors on the courtroom in
Independence Hall, though there were doors on the legislative chamber."
