Federal judge: Fewer filings in corruption case can be withheld from public
By The Associated Press
05.26.01
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — A federal judge has put lawyers on notice in the ongoing Operation Plunder Dome corruption case that he will start clamping down on the number of sealed documents being filed.
Shortly after Mayor Vincent Cianci Jr. and five others were indicted April 2 in the long-running city hall probe, most documents filed were available for public viewing. But in recent weeks, both prosecutors and defense lawyers have filed most everything under seal, which means the public is being shut out of the latest developments.
In a two-page order issued May 23, U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres said that it was long-standing practice that memoranda filed by lawyers be given directly to the judge, and not be included in the public case file. But, Torres added, he would allow some documents in this case to be seen, "since numerous requests for access to such memoranda have been made in this case; and since there does not appear to be any good reason for not permitting such access."
It is not yet clear how much the order will affect what is available to the public in the case.
Torres' clerk said he had left the courthouse and was not available for comment May 23. Neither Cianci's attorney, Richard Egbert, nor U.S. Attorney Margaret Curran's spokesman, Tom Connell, immediately returned calls seeking comment.
In his order, Torres told attorneys that they should still seal documents that pertain to grand jury matters and those affected by a gag order he issued earlier this month. The gag order forbids people involved in the case — including court clerks, U.S. Marshals, witnesses, court security officers and all law enforcement officials — from disclosing any confidential information that may interfere with a fair trial.
Robert Oster, president of the Rhode Island Bar Association, said the gag order has already made attorneys reluctant to say or file anything publicly, for fear of being reprimanded.
"Out of an abundance of caution, they are sealing many of their documents," Oster said, including those with facts "that even borderline violate that gag order."
Earlier this week, Egbert filed a motion to seal his response to a government request to disqualify him as Cianci's attorney, and Leonard O'Brien, the attorney for defendant Frank Corrente, filed a motion to seal his "objection to unsealing certain pleadings."
According to Torres' order, if documents are filed under seal, the judge will review them and unseal them if he finds the information does not violate his restrictions. In his order, he warned the attorneys that any documents later unsealed by the court would not be edited and no information would be deleted.
Cianci, Corrente and four others have all pleaded not guilty to a variety of corruption charges stemming from a yearlong FBI undercover operation of alleged bribes-for-favors that began in 1998.
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