Opinion ID: 518839
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Objectives and effectiveness of Sec. 100C

Text: 40 The broad concern of Sec. 100C is to protect the privacy interests of criminal defendants whose cases have ended without a conviction. Both the Commonwealth and Amicus stress that the dissemination of case records can cause not only extreme embarrassment and humiliation, but also severe professional and economic hardship because [a]n arrest record often proves to be a substantial barrier to employment. Menard v. Saxbe, 498 F.2d 1017, 1024 (D.C.Cir.1974). 41 Section 100C does not attempt to protect these interests, however, by permanently closing off access to the records of all cases ending without a conviction. Massachusetts implicitly concedes that permanent sealing is not justified, and should not occur, in every case that ends without a conviction. Indeed, if lack of a conviction alone were sufficient to warrant permanent sealing, then subsequent access proceedings would serve no purpose since, by definition, every defendant would meet his or her burden. Nonetheless, the Commonwealth provisionally seals the records of every case upon its completion. 42 The Commonwealth argues that this provisional, across-the-board sealing is necessary because defendants will not be present when the public seeks access to their records at some point after the close of proceedings, and therefore often will not have notice of the public's request--obviously not a problem in the context of live proceedings. As a result, defendants may be deprived of the opportunity to argue against the release of their records. By provisionally sealing records and requiring those seeking access to initiate an administrative or judicial action, the Commonwealth presumably is able to alert defendants to the public's request and give them the chance to be heard prior to the release of records. 16 If a defendant presents sufficiently weighty interests, the records remain under seal. 43 Thus, the immediate objective of Sec. 100C, and the one by which we measure its success, is to ensure that records that may be withheld consistent with the First Amendment are not released simply because a court (or administrative body) was unaware of the interests weighing against public disclosure. As such, Sec. 100C is a procedural device that serves the same purpose as a trial court's order staying proceedings while it conducts a closure hearing. In both cases, the goal is not to see that closure ultimately occurs, but instead to ensure that all arguments for and against closure are considered. 44 We agree that preventing the public disclosure of records that defendants do not want released, and that the state is not required to release under the First Amendment, is a compelling interest given the harm that disclosure of such records can cause. In addition, we find that Sec. 100C is an effective means of promoting that interest. In so concluding, we proceed on the assumption that there exist at least some instances in which defendants will be able to show that their privacy interests outweigh the public's right of access. 17