Will petition 9th Circuit to intervene…

The Las Vegas Review Journal, Battle Born Media, and the Associated Press will petition the 9th Circuit of Appeals for a Writ of Mandamus. The writ would overturn the District of Nevada’s persistent denial of motions to unseal evidence in the Bundy Ranch trials. All three media outlets contend that key elements of the case lie in the realm of Constitutionally protected rights. As a result, the Court’s protective order effectively vaporizes judicial transparency because conduct of citizens exercising rights to be critical of the Government are subject to the Government’s one-sided narrative of the progression of events at Bundy Ranch. It is telling that mainstream media challenges protective order of the District Court.

The Government’s questionable logic…

The Government contends that the protective order is necessary to conceal the identities of federal officers. However, the protection order goes much farther. Almost everything related to the case us under seal. This includes all Grand Jury transcripts, memos, interview transcripts, etc. Further, any confidential document automatically falls under protective order; consequently, the Government does not have to show good cause for placing a document under seal.

Media Challenges Protective Order

Several reasons exist for the 9th Circuit to issue mandamus. First, the matter is of immense public interest. Coverage of the protest was a national news item. Additionally, the right of the public to inspect court records outweighs the need to protect the identities of public servants. Furthermore, the evidence justifying the protective order is stale. Documents showing calls to out federal agents are at least two or more years old. Finally, the decision to seal discovery evidence is contrary to existing precedent in both the 9th Circuit and Supreme Court.

The Government could redact names, and had two years to do so. The question on everyone’s mind: what do they have to hide?

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