Federal Court Moving Away from Secret Dockets

"The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press commends as a good step forward in reducing court secrecy the U.S. Judicial Conference's vote today urging federal courts to acknowledge sealed cases in their electronic dockets.

The Conference – the chief policy-making body for the federal court system – today strongly recommended all federal trial courts with electronic docketing systems clearly indicate to users that cases are sealed instead of displaying a notice reading "No such case."

In announcing the change, Chief Judge Thomas F. Hogan of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., credited the Reporters Committee with uncovering the existence of the off-the-docket cases, which he said were unknown to many court officials."