Green v. Drinnon, Inc., S92A0486

• Court: Supreme Court of Georgia
• Writing for the Court: FLETCHER; Robert H. Green; Id. Similarly
• Citation: 262 Ga. 264,417 S.E.2d 11
• Parties: , 20 Media L. Rep. 1359 GREEN v. DRINNON, INC.
• Docket Number: No. S92A0486,S92A0486
• Decision Date: 11 June 1992

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417 S.E.2d 11 262 Ga. 264, 20 Media L. Rep. 1359 GREEN
v.
DRINNON, INC. No. S92A0486. Supreme Court of Georgia. June 11, 1992.

[262 Ga. 265] Marc T. Treadwell, Chambless, Higdon & Carson, Macon, for green.

Ed S. Sell, III, Sell & Melton, Macon, for Drinnon, Inc.

[262 Ga. 264] FLETCHER, Justice.

Judge Robert H. Green of the State Court of Baldwin County appeals from a superior court order requiring him to give the local newspaper a tape of comments he made in open court. We affirm that Judge Green must make available the tape or its transcript, but for a different reason than the trial court.

Judge Green made opening remarks on September 23, 1991, after court was called into session but before the call of any case. ¹ The court reporter recorded Judge Green's comments on a tape recorder. The Union-Recorder, the local newspaper,

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sought a transcript of the judge's remarks from the court reporter and later filed a request with the judge under the Open Records Act. The requests were denied. The Union-Recorder sued the judge, alleging that the tape was a public record under the Open Records Act and a court record open for public inspection under Uniform State Court Rule 21.

1. In this state, "the public and the press have traditionally enjoyed a right of access to court records." Atlanta Journal & Atlanta Constitution v. Long, 258 Ga. 410, 411, 369 S.E.2d 755 (1988); see R.W. Page Corp. v. Lumpkin, 249 Ga. 576 n. 1, 292 S.E.2d 815 (1982). To preserve this right, this court and the council of superior court judges have adopted a rule that presumes the public will have access to all [262 Ga. 265] court records. SeeLong, 259 Ga. at 413, 369 S.E.2d 755. State Court Rule 21 provides: "All court records are public and are to be available for public inspection unless public access is limited by law or by the procedure set forth below."

An official court reporter's tape of a judge's remarks in open court is a court record. In R.W. Page Corp. v. Kilgore, 257 Ga. 179, 356 S.E.2d 870 (1987), we held that the coroner could not claim that a transcript of a public inquest was not a public record.

When a coroner, who is a public official, makes an inquest and opens it to the public, and the testimony given at the public inquest is recorded and transcribed at public expense, the coroner has waived any right which he might claim to have to contend that the transcript is not a public record.

Id. Similarly, Judge Green waived any right to...