Court Mouthpiece Catches Flak

Image via WikipediaAn eight-year veteran spokesperson for Los Angeles County Superior Court has been terminated for what he claim are untrue accusations that he leaked information to celebrity gadfly, www.TMZ.com

According to a story in The Los Angeles Times, Allan Parachini claims his purported link to TMZ is a smokescreen for the actual reason for his dismissal--ongoing tension involving himself and judges and court administrators who were reluctant to produce documents requested by media organizations that Parachini contends the journalists were entitled to receive.

Parachini, a former LA Times scribe who also worked for the ACLU, exacerbated the rumors that he was a source for TMZ by hiring former TMZ reporter Vania Stuelp to be his deputy. She has since returned to TMZ after budget constraints eliminated her post as Parachini's second-in-command. Parachini alleges he didn't endear himself to superiors because of his outspoken support for cameras in the courtroom.

Parchini's whistleblowing is self-serving as it came about after unsuccessful efforts to hammer out a severance agreement with his former employer. Nevertheless, "TUOL" has encountered court personnel and judges whose goal of achieving "pure justice" in a vacuum skews their attitude toward the news media and makes them partial to the U.S. Constitution's  Sixth Amendment over the First Amendment.

Minors Pursuing Lawsuit Must Be Named, Court Says

Image via Wikipedia
In Jacob Doe, a minor, by parents & next friends, et al. v. Kamehameha Schools/Bernice District of Hawaii et al. (Case No. 09-15448), the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit refused a rehearing request by plaintiffs, who are minors, who sought to pursue their civil rights discrimination suit against a school system anonymously.


In March, the appeals court upheld a federal district court judge's ruling that the juvenile plaintiffs must be identified by name in court documents and open court as their lawsuit against Hawaii schools' race-based admissions policy proceeds. The complaint alleges the defendants favor applicants of Hawaiian ancestry. Counsel for the minors argued for preserving the students' privacy rights and protecting them against harassment by classmates and others, but the Ninth Circuit denied the rehearing request, with two justices dissenting, holding that the students' concerns were overridden by the need for open courts bolstered by the 1st & 6th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.

The matter may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a blog post by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (www.rcfp.org).

Pa. High Court: Unseal Grand Jury Docs Probing Pol

Image via WikipediaA ruling by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania Western District will unseal grand jury documents involving a probe of a state senator and her sister concerning allegations that paid legislative staff engaged in campaign work for the senator and another sister who serves as a justice on the Supreme Court, according to a story by the Associated Press.

The petition for review filed by PG Publishing Co., publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (No. 33 WM 2010), and a similar petition filed by WPXI, Inc. television station (No. 45 WM 2010), sought to overturn Allegheny County Court of  Common Pleas Judge John Zottola's refusal in March to allow a Post-Gazette reporter access to documents related to the investigation of Sen. Jane Orie and her sister Janine, purportedly because of a Supreme Court order. Justice Joan Orie Melvin did not participate in the court's decision.

Judge Zottola wrongly sealed all the documents in the case, the Supreme Court ruled, and must conduct proceedings to determine which documents should be unsealed and made accessible to the press. Jane and Janie Orie are awaiting trial on the charges that they used paid members of Sen. Orie's staff to perform campaign work for Sen. Orie and Justice Orie.