No First Amendment Right to Jury Pool Records

Reversing the decision of the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court held today in Jury Service Resource Center v. De Muniz that members of the public do not have a First Amendment right to obtain "the data compiled and used by various public entitities in the process of selecting trial juries" aka jury pool records.  The court reasoned that the Court of Appeals "mistook access to a public trial for access to government information."

Comments

[Rose Jade]

The Oregon Sup Ct also otherwise affirmed the Court of Appeals which ruled that the public has no rights to access the state court jury records under the Oregon Public Records Act, or under any applicable provision of the state or federal constitution. Including Or Cons Art I sections 8, 10, 20, 31 or the 1st or 14th Amendments (equal protection) to the U.S. Constitution.

Which means that prospective or actual jurors (as members of the public) have no right to inspect or audit the jury lists to make sure that they are being compiled according to the various laws. And researchers and academics can't review them, even to assist legislators in policy decisions.

[Rose Jade]

Oops, I mean Art I section 33.

[David Leith]

Of course, if the legislature wants access to these records for whatever purpose, including to "assist legislators in policy decisions," there's nothing in this opinion to suggest it can't enact legislation providing that access.