Probate commissioner allows limited intervention by multiple national media sources but keeps most records sealed
Washoe County Second Judicial District Court Probate Commissioner Edmund Gorman partially granted a motion by major media outlets seeking access to sealed records and closed hearings in the high-profile Rupert Murdoch trust case. Gorman, in a “recommendation” issued Thursday, said the news media will not be allowed to cover court hearings that start Monday morning.
The New York Times, CNN, Associated Press, NPR, Washington Post and Reuters filed on Sept. 4 a motion to intervene and unseal records in a case involving an unidentified family trust. Parties in the case, identified only as “DOE 1, DOE 2, DOE 3 and DOE 9,” opposed opening up any part of the case, which has drawn international headlines but has mainly been ignored by Reno news media.
In a 17-page recommendation issued Sept. 12, Gorman granted the media outlets’ motion to intervene “for the limited purpose of asserting the public’s and the media’s rights to access the records and proceedings in this case.”
The court, however, only partially granted the motion to unseal records. To date, that has only revealed the identities of dozens of attorneys involved in determining whether the Fox News media mogul can alter his trust to give more of his estate to his eldest, most conservative son, Lachlan. Their clients–the Murdochs and others–were also identified in an order issued Sept. 5, 2024.
Gorman’s ruling states that “all papers filed in this case should remain sealed, with the exception of this recommendation and its confirming order.” The court denied the motion for access to hearings, ruling that “all hearings in this case shall remain closed to the public and to the media, including the movants.”
Gorman cited two Nevada laws that he said provide for sealing specific court records in trust cases to protect confidential information. “Taken together, NRS 164.041 and NRS 669A.256 provide (though not expressly) for the sealing of all papers filed in this case,” he wrote.
He said unsealing most records would risk releasing confidential, legally protected private information. However, Gorman directed the clerk to make some non-confidential information publicly available, such as case numbers, filing dates, and names of attorneys and non-beneficiary parties.
Gorman also cited security concerns, noting that some parties are “well known to the public and the subjects of intense media and public scrutiny.”
“Where important privacy interests must be protected in any given case, these considerations can, and in this case do, outweigh the public’s and the media’s interests in access to the proceedings,” he wrote.
The court rejected arguments that trust cases should be presumptively open like other civil proceedings. The partial granting of the media’s motion allows for limited transparency while maintaining strong confidentiality protections for the trust parties. The court’s complete order based on Gorman’s recommendation is still pending.
Our Nevada Judges and This Is Reno, have also challenged the court’s sealing of the entire case. The court has yet to rule on that challenge.
CORRECTION: The attorneys and their clients were identified in the Sept. 5 court order. Previously, this article reported that only the attorneys were identified.
