Opinion ID: 3010393
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Common Law Right of Access

Text: The newspapers also contend that they have a presumptive common law right of access to the briefs and to the hearing. This court has often acknowledged the existence of a common law right  `to inspect and copy public records and documents, including judicial records and documents.'  United States v. Criden, 648 F.2d 814, 819 (3d Cir. 1981) (quoting Nixon v. Warner Communications, Inc., 435 U.S. 589, 597 (1978)). Although the right of access traditionally attached only to judicial records, we have suggested that the common law right of access also applies to judicial proceedings. See Bank of America Nat'l Trust & Savings Ass'n v. Hotel Rittenhouse Assocs., 800 F.2d 339, 343 (3d Cir. 1986). As we have explained, the common law right of access serves a number of important functions: The public's exercise of its common law access right in civil cases promotes public confidence in the judicial system . . . . As with other branches of government, the bright light cast upon the judicial process by public observation diminishes the possibilities for injustice, incompetence, perjury, and fraud. Furthermore, the very openness of the process should provide the public with a more complete understanding of the judicial system and a better perception of its fairness. Leucadia v. Applied Extrusion Tech., 998 F.2d 157, 161 (3d Cir. 1993) (quoting Republic of the Philippines v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 949 F.2d 653, 660 (3d Cir. 1991)). For the reasons we have already explained, there is no common law right of access to grand jury materials. Unlike judicial records to which a presumption of access attaches when filed with a court, grand jury materials have historically been inaccessible to the press and the general public, and are therefore not judicial records in the same sense. See, e.g., Westinghouse, 949 F.2d at 660-62 (papers filed in connection with a motion for summary judgment); 29 Littlejohn v. BIC Corp., 851 F.2d 673, 678-80 (3d Cir. 1988) (trial transcripts and exhibits admitted at trial); Bank of America, 800 F.2d at 343-46 (settlement documents). Therefore, the newspapers have not established a common law right of access to the briefs or the hearing.