What Was Vin Up To?

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

What was Vin up to?

Connecticut newspapers seek secret court 'X-Files'

By The Associated Press
08.21.03
HARTFORD, Conn.  Several high-profile Connecticut court cases are not
only sealed from public view, but they're also so secret that court
officials cannot officially acknowledge they even exist.

Among the legal X-files shrouded from public view: a paternity suit
involving a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band and a case
involving Boston Celtics center Vin Baker.

Although a quirk in the state's legal procedures that allowed
"super-sealing" of cases has been eliminated, two newspapers have sued
in federal court seeking docket information for as many as 54 civil
cases that remain sealed.

A hearing was planned today in U.S. District Court in Waterbury. The
state judicial branch is asking a judge to dismiss the case, arguing
that the matter belongs in state court, not federal court.

"We tend to assume that the government is functioning openly, that
courts are functioning openly," said Teresa Younger, executive director
of the Connecticut Civil Liberties Union. "When this came to light, I
think everybody was surprised."

The cases, referred to by the court system as "Level 1" files, became an
issue after a story by The Connecticut Law Tribune in December. The
Hartford Courant then reported in January that the secret cases included
a paternity suit involving saxophonist Clarence Clemons of Springsteen's
E Street Band and a family-court case involving Baker.

Others who reportedly benefited from the secrecy include former Xerox
CEO Paul Allaire and several state judges.

"The law does not apply to people who are wealthy differently than it
applies to an everyday person," Younger said. <snip>