Opinion ID: 407635
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Defendants' Motion for Access to Tape Recordings

Text: 44 Although the record is sketchy, it appears that at some time prior to the initiation of the underlying criminal proceeding an author planning to write a book had interviewed a person who it later developed was to be a government witness in the prosecution. Long prior to trial, defense counsel obtained subpoenas requiring the author to produce tape recordings of interviews between the author and the potential witness. The author moved to quash the subpoena. The district court entered a protective order, the nature of which is not revealed in the record. On October 17, after the taking of testimony in the present case had begun, Mr. Blake was in the courtroom preparing to cover the afternoon proceedings. Members of the press and public were asked to leave. Blake was told by a defense attorney that a defense motion was to be heard in camera. 45 The defense motion, if any, is not in the record. The transcript of the closed hearing reflects that the question considered was whether specific portions of the tapes were relevant to the credibility of the witness and therefore should be made available to defense counsel for cross-examination of the witness, or for submission in evidence. It appears the proceedings were not held in camera at the request of the government or defense counsel, but solely to protect the author's property interest in the tapes. 46 We assume the public's right to access to criminal proceedings may be limited in some circumstances to protect private property interests. See Stamicarbon, N. V. v. American Cyanamid Co., 506 F.2d 532, 539-42 (2d Cir. 1974). See also Richmond Newspapers, supra, 448 U.S. at 600 n. 5, 100 S.Ct. at 2840 n. 5 (Stewart, J., concurring); United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293, 315 (D.C.Cir.1980). However, a closure to protect a property right must, at the very least, satisfy the same standard and procedural prerequisites as a closure to protect the right to a fair trial. Fenner & Koley, supra, 16 Harv.C.R.-C.L.L.Rev. at 443-44. 47 As we have seen, had this closure resulted from a defense motion based on the fair trial guarantee, a narrow closure would have been appropriate only after an opportunity had been afforded for objection and findings had been entered articulating the irreparable prejudice that would result from open hearings and the absence of alternatives to closure that would protect the interest at stake. Had this closure been mandated by statute, the government would have been required to establish that closure is necessitated by a compelling governmental interest, and is narrowly tailored to serve that interest. Globe Newspaper, supra, --- U.S. at ----, 102 S.Ct. at 2620. 48 In this case, no opportunity was afforded to object to the closure, and no findings at all were entered justifying the closure.