The Our Nevada Judges website late Friday filed a motion to unseal nearly a year’s worth of documents in Rupert Murdoch’s family trust court case. The case, fought in Washoe County Second Judicial District Court, has drawn international headlines. On Friday, the court declared the entire case confidential after the New York Times revealed it was being fought in Washoe County.
Alex Falconi with Our Nevada Judges seeks to remove the case’s secrecy. He said Nevada law prevents judges from making court cases completely confidential, an issue he has fought in other cases.
The secretive nature of the case means Falconi was not able to service the attorneys involved because they, too, were determined to be confidential.
“ONJ can only assume that the extensive seal imposed in this case directed the clerk to refuse to disclose not only the hearing dates and times, but also the existence of the case entirely, and the names of counsel of record and the parties, as none of this information is publicly available for this case,” his court filing notes. “If so, the sealing order unconstitutionally interferes with press access to the courtroom and violates [Supreme Court rules]. Each and every sealing order in this case must also be unsealed.”
