HARRISBURG â Five years after former State Rep. Leslie Acosta quietly pleaded guilty in an embezzlement scheme, much of the case against her remains under a shroud of secrecy.
More than half of the court records in Acostaâs case are sealed, despite widespread criticism that the onetime Philadelphia Democrat was allowed to remain in office, and even run for reelection uncontested, because of the unusual level of secrecy surrounding her 2016 conviction.
A trio of Pennsylvania media organizations â Spotlight PA, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and LNP|LancasterOnline â are now asking a federal court to unseal those records, highlighting the publicâs right to view judicial proceedings and records in criminal cases and arguing that there is a high burden for restricting that access.
Spotlight PA, media groups sue to unseal records in ex-Democratic state lawmaker's embezzlement case pennlive.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pennlive.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The organizations asked a federal court to unseal records related to the conviction of former state Rep. Leslie Acosta of Philadelphia, arguing there is a high burden for restricting that access.
February 16, 2021
In response to an administrative appeal filed by a Reporters Committee attorney, a district attorney in Oregon has ordered a county economic development department to disclose public records requested by the Malheur Enterprise, an important victory for the newspaper that could help shed light on a multi-million dollar infrastructure project.
The Enterprise filed a series of public records requests last October as part of its ongoing investigation into the inherent tension between the public and private roles of an Oregon state legislator involved in economic development projects as both the director of the Malheur County Economic Development Department and the owner of a private development company.