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W.D. Tex.: Protecting informant justified not unsealing SW materials at request of press

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The right of access of the press to search warrant materials was discussed at length by the Western District of Texas at El Paso in United States v. Ketner, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71216 (W.D. Tex. May 28, 2008). In this case, the court finds that protecting the informants was a greater interest and declined to unseal the search warrant materials: This same compelling interest leads the Court to conclude that, although there may be a qualified common law right of access to these affidavits inasmuch as they are judicial records and presumptively open, it should exercise its discretion to maintain them under seal. There is no doubt that disclosure of these documents at this point would seriously interfere with an ongoing investigation. Specifically, the Court finds that disclosing these documents to public view would pose a significant risk to the life or welfare of the cooperating witnesses and defendants, and expose these same individuals to intimidation...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 25, 2008 (boomark / email).