Thomson v. Cash, 7765
| Decision Date | 01 August 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 7765,7765 |
| Parties | , 3 Media L. Rep. 1095 Meldrim THOMSON, Jr. v. Kevin R. CASH et al. |
| Court | New Hampshire Supreme Court |
Malloy & Sullivan and James J. Barry, Jr., Manchester, for plaintiff.
Orr & Reno and William L. Chapman, Concord, for State News Service, Andrew H. Merton, H. Joseph Hebert, Andrew H. Merton and The Associated Press, intervenors.
The issue in this case is whether the deposition of the plaintiff which has been filed with the clerk of the superior court is open to public inspection. We hold that it is.
The plaintiff who is the Governor of New Hampshire has brought a libel action against the defendants. His deposition was taken by defendants by agreement and was filed unsealed with the clerk on February 10, 1977, in connection with a motion for summary judgment to be filed by the defendants. Thomas Ferriter, a reporter for the State News Service, on February 11, 1977, requested and, after an informal hearing attended by counsel for plaintiff and defendants, was permitted to examine and take notes on the deposition. On February 14, Andrew H. Merton sought to examine the deposition in connection with an article on Thomson he was writing for Esquire magazine. After two informal conferences the court denied the request because of fair trial considerations but suggested that Merton and others interested file a motion that copies be furnished them. Such motions were filed and all questions of law raised by the motions were transferred by Cann, J.
The intervenors advance three bases for their claim: New Hampshire practice and common law principles, the Right to Know Law (RSA ch. 91-A (Supp.1975) ), and the first amendment to the Constitution of the United States. We do not reach the last two but rest our decision solely on the first basis.
The courts of New Hampshire have always considered their records to be public, absent some overriding consideration or special circumstance. Superior Court Rules 114 and 243 relating to probation reports and affidavits filed in marital cases respectively, provide for nondisclosure. Superior Court Rule 35C provides for protective orders with regard to discovery matters and makes provision that a deposition, after being sealed, be opened only by order of the court but only upon a showing of good cause. The existence of these rules implies that otherwise, absent special circumstances, those things which are filed in court in connection with a pending...
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Associated Press v. State
...those things which are filed in court in connection with a pending case are open to public inspection." Thomson v. Cash, 117 N.H. 653, 654, 377 A.2d 135 (1977). "This appears to be the almost universal rule dating from the earliest times." Id. ; accord Leucadia, Inc. v. Applied Extrusion Te......
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Carter v. Utah Power & Light Co., 870340
...the same conclusion. See, e.g., Tallahassee Democrat, Inc. v. Willis, 370 So.2d 867, 870 (Fla.Ct.App.1979); Thomson v. Cash, 117 N.H. 653, 654, 377 A.2d 135, 136 (1977) (per curiam). On balance, thus, we find the authorities supportive of public accessibility for sealed, filed depositions, ......
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Associated Press v. State
...those things which are filed in court in connection with a pending case are open to public inspection." Thomson v. Cash, 117 N.H. 653, 654, 377 A.2d 135 (1977). "This appears to be the almost universal rule dating from the earliest times." Id.; accord Leucadia, Inc. v. Applied Extrusion Inc......
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McGranahan v. Dahar
...On the other hand, pleadings, testimony, and other portions of judicial proceedings are public documents and events. Thomson v. Cash, 117 N.H. 653, 377 A.2d 135 (1977); Martineau v. Helgemoe, 117 N.H. 841, 379 A.2d 1040 (1977); See Cox Broadcasting Corp. v. Cohn, 420 U.S. 469, 95 S.Ct. 1029......