Prof. Kirtley Quoted in U.S. Law Week on Secret 'Company Doe' Case

Professor Jane Kirtley was quoted in a U.S. Law Week story about the Fourth Circuit's ruling in Company Doe v. Public Citizen, which reversed a federal district judge's decision allowing a manufacturer's challenge to a CPSC online report containing a complaint about one of its products to proceed in secret and to use a pseudonym in the case. Kirtley pointed out that the appeals court's decision was "sweeping in its scope," recognizing a First Amendment right of access to civil records, the trial court's summary judgment opinion, and the docket sheet. She noted the Fourth Circuit's finding that the organizations seeking access had suffered irreparable harm, and that the decision "is a reminder that judges should always be thinking about these phantom third parties...the public and the press" when making decisions about whether to seal court records.