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A man appeared in federal court on Wednesday and admitted setting fire to his ex-girlfriend's home in St. Louis County while she and members of her family were asleep.

Do not enter! Access to the Google antitrust trial in federal district court in Washington, D.C., pictured above, has been severely restricted. Thanks to the efforts of journalists and news outlets, that’s starting to change. Washington DC - USA - panoramio (10) by Paulo JC Nogueira is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED.

On Monday, Google CEO Sundar Pichai testified as the star defense witness in the landmark antitrust trial against his company. And surprisingly — for this trial, at least — the public could actually watch his testimony.

That shouldn’t be unusual. American trials are supposed to be open to the public. The Google antitrust trial, however, has been marred by an unusual level of secrecy.

But now, eight weeks into this historic trial, it appears that the parties and the court may have finally learned some lessons about transparency. Better late than never — and thanks to the work of journalists and news outlets — public access to trial testimony, exhibits, and transcripts in the Google antitrust trial is improving.

Top secret testimony

One of journalists’ main complaints at the beginning of the trial was the amount of secret witness testimony. By mid-October, for example, witnesses testified at least partially in secret on seven days of the trial. At one point, “the Court excluded the public from the courtroom for the entire day,” according to a legal motion filed by The New York Times and other news outlets.

The media coalition also complained that the court wasn’t giving the press and the public enough notice of courtroom closures and the chance to object.

In response to the motion, Judge Amit Mehta instituted a new procedure that requires the parties to notify the court the night before if they believe testimony will need to be given in secret the next day. If the court gets such a notice, it will notify the public on the trial docket and hear objections to sealing in the morning.

Since then, there’s been just one notice posted on the public docket that sealed testimony is expected. It could be a coincidence — or it could be that requiring the parties to actually think about whether secrecy is needed and to announce plans for secret testimony in advance successfully discourages unnecessary sealing of witnesses’ testimony.

Undisclosed exhibits

The lack of access to trial exhibits has also frustrated journalists. While the government initially posted some of the exhibits online, it stopped after Mehta chastised it. Then, with Mehta’s approval, the government began posting exhibits again, but only selectively and sporadically.

Enter the media coalition again. Its motion asked Mehta to require all the parties to give the public access to trial exhibits in full and to make them available as soon as possible after they’re used in court.

In response, Mehta created another new process going forward that lets the press request exhibits from the parties, to be provided within two to four business days, depending on whether they contain any confidential information. Mehta’s order also set deadlines for the parties to provide copies of exhibits previously used and not yet available to the public.

Still, some transparency issues with exhibits persist. For example, attorney Megan Gray, who has been closely watching the trial, told me that some of the exhibits Pichai reviewed while on the stand weren’t shown to the public during his testimony, and it's not clear if the exhibits will be redacted when they’re entered into evidence.

Out-of-reach transcripts

In the absence of any video or audio livestream of the trial, journalists who couldn’t attend in public were left to rely on the written transcripts to understand what happened each day. But daily transcripts are incredibly expensive. One courtwatcher estimated that transcript costs would be “in the tens of thousands of dollars” by the end of the trial. That puts them out of reach for many journalists and members of the public who want to follow the trial.

Early in the trial, some journalists and observers considered the possibility of sharing transcripts or even posting them publicly but were hesitant due to vague rumors that they were somehow prohibited from posting them online. (When I called the court reporter’s supervisor’s office, the person who answered the phone wasn’t able to tell me whether any rule prohibited the posting of trial transcripts online.)

Now, in a victory for transparency, the investigative news outlet The Capitol Forum has begun posting the daily trial transcripts on its website. Teddy Downey, executive editor, told me the outlet began posting the transcripts to increase public knowledge about the trial. “The media can’t be there all the time, and ordinary citizens can’t reasonably be expected to attend,” Downey said. “This was the only way we could ensure there was broad public access to the trial proceedings.”

The transcripts provide a wealth of information for reporters or others who want to follow the day-by-day developments but can’t be in the courtroom in person. While a livestream of the trial would be better (and there’s no reason for court rules that forbid it), access to daily transcripts is the next best thing.

Fight for your right of access

These changes have significantly increased public access to the Google antitrust trial. But they probably never would have happened without public pressure on the court and legal filings demanding greater access.

As this case shows, the public and the press’s right of access to our justice system can’t be taken for granted. When courtroom doors are closed, journalists and news outlets must push them back open.

CARROLLTON - Several individuals are facing charges filed recently in Greene County, ranging from criminal sexual assault of a minor, child pornography, home invasion, and many more, according to the county’s latest jail booking report. Jacob D. Haynes, 25, of Roodhouse, was charged with one count of predatory criminal sexual assault of a victim under 13 years of age. Haynes was also charged with two counts of child pornography and one count of grooming. He was arrested by the Scott County Sheriff’s Department on Oct. 25, 2023, and remains in custody. Jarrod R. Campbell, 39, of White Hall, has been charged with home invasion and aggravated battery. He was arrested on Oct. 28, 2023, by the White Hall Police Department and remains in custody. Nicholas K. Bridgewater, 39, of Roodhouse, was charged with one count each of assault and reckless conduct. Bridgewater was arrested by the Roodhouse Police Department on Oct. 28, 2023, and has since been released on time served.

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A man was shot in the leg Wednesday afternoon a block from City Hall in downtown St. Louis.

Missouri House Rep. Adam Schwadron, is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. The St. Charles Republican is running to be Missouri's next Secretary of State. He joins St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum to speak on his candidacy and offer his thoughts on the upcoming session.

Nicholas J. Booker loved basketball, St. Louis, and Forest Park.

St. Louis police are investigating a shooting in downtown Thursday afternoon.

The celebrated theater announced its 106th season today, featuring Broadway hits of the past and present.

ALTON - Alton Little Theater (ALT) welcomed over 100 kids at their first ever Halloween trunk-or-treat. On Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, ALT invited the community to stop by their parking lot at 2450 Henry Street in Alton to celebrate Halloween with the ALT Board of Directors. Kevin Frakes, the theater’s artistic director, explained that they wanted to provide a fun and safe evening for the kids who live near ALT. “We loved the kids and we had a great time,” Frakes said. “We just basically did it for the community and for the kids in our area, because a lot of the kids in our area, they don’t even have sidewalks. So we thought we would do something like that this year just for the safety of it, and just for the awareness of the theater and that we’re very much community-minded.” This was ALT’s first year sponsoring the trunk-or-treat. Frakes teased there is a “good chance” they’ll do it again following the huge response.

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As political pundits toss out names of potential challengers to Bush for seat in Congress, most rumored is that of state Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City.

The good news is Americans are concerned about data privacy. Some Americans always have been but it looks like more people are concerned than usual, which could be a good thing. I’m not sure it will be. As is often the case here in America, our views on privacy — especially when combined with our […]

Later, the witness was able to pick Gray out of a photographic line-up. She identified him as the person who stuck the gun in her face.

ALTON/EDWARDSVILLE - There is no doubt about it, Alton and Edwardsville communities take Halloween seriously. East End Improvement Association sponsors the annual Alton Halloween Parade and it is nearly a year-long undertaking. The same holds true for the Edwardsville-Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce Halloween Parade. Included here are a variety of photos that display the characters who were out on the streets of Alton and Edwardsville on Tuesday. Displayed are all ages from young to elderly. It was a jovial day for many in the region and those pictured enjoyed themselves! If you have photos from the big day you want to share send them here with the story on Facebook.

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Fans of The Beatles just got their first taste of the new song “Now and Then.” The band shared a 12-minute short film, Now And Then - The Last Beatles Song, which reveals what went into…

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EDWARDSVILLE - Megan Knobeloch is a senior player for the Edwardsville High girls' volleyball team who emerged as one of the Tigers' key players for the 2023 season. Knobeloch played a key role in the Tigers' 25-17, 25-23 win over Quincy in the playoff opener at Alton's Redbird Nest on Oct. 24 with 13 assists in the semifinal of the Class 4A Alton regional. In the team's season finale against Belleville West on Oct. 19, Knobeloch scored four points with two aces in the Tigers' 25-19, 25-20 win. The win on the Tigers' senior night was a great way to round out Knobeloch's career at Edwardsville and in her post-match interview, she was very happy, indeed. "We had a lot of fun this year," Knobeloch said, "and I'm glad we got to finish it out winning first in our conference (going 12-0 in the Southwestern Conference), and I got to finish my season out with all the people I started it with." Knobeloch is a Johnston Law Firm Female Athlete of the Month for the Tigers. The out-of-town road

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Senior Tax Relief Becomes a Realty for St. Louis County When Bill Not Signed St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page has chosen not to sign bill #176 on senior tax relief within the 15 day deadline set out in the county charter, thus allowing the bill to become law without his signature. This legislation […]

The post Maneuver Allows Tax Relief For County Seniors appeared first on flovalleynews.com.

Muny 2024 includes Classic And Some Newer Productions The Muny announced today the exceptional seven show lineup for its 106th Season. The season, bursting with premieres, comedies, romance and magic, opens June 17, 2024 and runs through August 25,. The season kicks off with one of the most celebrated mega-musicals in Broadway history, Les Misérables […]

The post Fiddler, Les Mis, Dreamgirls, Anything Goes Among 2024 Muny shows appeared first on flovalleynews.com.