Media Access to Transcripts and Pleadings and Open Justice: A Case Study.

Abstract

This paper explores the rules that apply to media access to transcripts and pleadings in New South Wales and the concept of 'open justice'. If the principle of open justice is to be entrenched by judicial exegesis rather than constitutional referendum - which is probably much more likely - then steps need to be taken by journalists now to educate lawyers and courts about the media, the dynamics of their profession, and the dignity of risk that is a necessary concomitant of free speech.