Bill to keep court records open rejected

CARSON CITY -- A bill that would have required judges to have public hearings and specify why court records should be sealed died Thursday on a 4-3 vote during an impromptu Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Judiciary Chairman Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, said the majority of the committee members believed they did not need to act on Assembly Bill 519 because the Supreme Court has convened a special commission to discuss whether court records should be sealed. The panel has its first meeting on Monday, and its recommendations will be forwarded to the high court.

"I am not sure that isn't the proper way this should be done," Amodei said.

He added that he wondered whether the Legislature even should be considering a matter pertaining to court policies, given the "separation of powers" doctrine that divides the legislative branch from the judicial branch.

"The court is taking a look at it," said Sen. Mike McGinness, "Let the judges decide when to close records. It is their bailiwick."

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Bernie Anderson, D-Sparks, passed the Assembly on a 39-2 vote on April 18.

Under the bill, no court records could be closed unless the release of information posed a danger to the public. Interested parties, such the media, would have been invited to public hearings where they could object to closing records.

The proposal was prompted by a series of Review-Journal articles in February that found 115 civil cases have been sealed by Clark County judges since 2000.

However, in a May 9 hearing before the Senate committee, Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle testified that preventing judges from easily sealing court cases could allow stalkers to find the addresses of the people they target.

"Courts are the place for people to bring their private disputes to obtain an orderly resolution," Hardcastle said. "Citizens should not be required to give up all their rights to privacy."

She expressed concern that having public hearings to determine whether records should be open or sealed would be costly and delay completion of cases.

"Why are we inviting strangers into the litigation?" she asked.

At the same hearing, Anderson testified that too often the sealing of records has hidden hazards to the public. Firestone was able to seal records on the dangers of its tires until the Houston media found out and intervened, he said.

On Wednesday, Hardcastle proposed an amendment that specified judges could not seal records concerning public hazards. Her amendment also stated judges could seal cases only if "the interests supporting non-disclosure outweigh the general policy in favor of open government."

Her proposal set up a procedure under which a member of the public could petition a judge to examine a sealed court record. Anderson agreed to support her amendment.

But in a brief hearing Thursday in the rear of the Senate floor, the committee voted against the amendment.

Amodei said the Judiciary Committee had been given only 24 hours to review the amendment and no public hearings had been conducted on the plan.

The Supreme Court commission looking at sealed records will be able to debate the issue in detail and conduct public hearings, he added.

Anderson and Amodei have been invited to serve on the court commission.

The bill must receive committee approval by today, or it will be declared dead for the remainder of the legislative session. The Senate committee is not scheduled to meet today.

Barry Smith, executive director of the Nevada Press Association, was disappointed the Judiciary Committee killed the bill.

Smith noted under Hardcastle's amendment any rule on sealed records later adopted by the Supreme Court would have superseded requirements in the bill.

"It should be court business, but the court has had years to work on it and it hasn't," Smith said.

He added he is optimistic that the court commission will come up with recommendations on court records that are in the public interest. Smith is a member of the commission.

Voting for the bill were Democrats Steven Horsford, Terry Care and Valerie Wiener, all of Las Vegas. Opposed were Republicans Dennis Nolan of Las Vegas, Maurice Washington of Sparks, Amodei and McGinness.