Old and moldy pending crime investigations can be kept secret, Georgia court rules

In a major setback for access to information in criminal cases, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that police can withhold documents in investigations that are still open, even if they've been unsolved for decades, reports Georgia SPJ Sunshine Chair Johnny Edwards (and see story). Even worse, the court said cases can be made secret only when "all direct litigation... and prosecution has become final or otherwise terminated." So that means a case is completely secret until a prosecution? If that's the case, Georgians are in a world of hurt. At least most states allow information to be made public once the case is forwarded to a prosecutor for charges (long before prosecution takes place). Also, how are Georgians going to figure out whether cold cases are being investigated properly if they can't see what's going on? Zowie!

Georgia journalists: Track how this case effects your access to criminal records. If things dry up jot down the details and let me know (cuillier@email.arizona.edu) or even better, contact Hollie Manheimer at the Georgia First Amendment Foundation. Maybe a legislative fix will be needed. Let's talk about it at the SPJ National Conference Sept. 4-7 in Atlanta.