Chapter §21.2 Access to Washington Court Proceedings

• Jurisdiction: Washington

§21.2 ACCESS TO WASHINGTON COURT PROCEEDINGS

Trials and other court proceedings are public events. Article I, § 10 of the Washington Constitution directs: "Justice in all cases shall be administered openly, and without unnecessary delay." A criminal defendant also has a right to a public trial under Article I, § 22 of the Washington Constitution and the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Washington Supreme Court has held that the state's safeguards under Article I, § 22 are at least as stringent as federal protections. State v. Bone-Club, 128 Wn.2d 254, 260, 906 P.2d 325 (1995) ("The Washington Constitution provides at a minimum the same protection of a defendant's fair trial rights as the Sixth Amendment.").

In rare circumstances, court proceedings may be closed. In Seattle Times Co. v. Ishikawa, 97 Wn.2d 30,640 P.2d 716 (1982), the Washington Supreme Court set out five factors that must be satisfied before closure and/or sealing of court proceedings is allowed. The factors, also referred to as the Bone-Club factors for their restatement in that subsequent case, are as follows:

(1)	The proponent of closure or sealing must make some showing of the need for doing so, and where that need is based on a right other than an accused's right to a fair trial, the proponent must show a "serious and imminent threat" to that right.
(2)	Anyone present when the closure motion is made must be given an opportunity to object to the closure.
(3)	The proposed method for curtailing open access must be the least restrictive means available for protecting the threatened interests.
(4)	The court must weigh the competing interests of the proponent of closure and the public.
(5)	The order must be no broader in its application or duration than necessary to serve its purpose.

Allied Daily Newspapers of Wash. v. Eikenberry, 121 Wn.2d 205, 210-11, 848 P.2d 1258 (1993) (citing Ishikawa, 97 Wn.2d at 36-39).

In Bone-Club, the court described these procedures as "a strict, well-defined standard" intended "[t]o assure careful, case-by-case...