Michael Skakel arrives to a courthouse in Stamford on Oct. 30, 2020. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
MANHATTAN (CN) Denying the public access to felony juvenile records for cases tried in adult court is unconstitutional, the Second Circuit affirmed Monday.
The 30-page, unsigned opinion sides with the Hartford Courant, Connecticut’s largest daily newspaper, in its challenge to state limits on who can access high-profile juvenile matters, including that of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel.
Part of a 2019 amendment to Connecticut’s Juvenile Transfer Act, the confidentiality rule pertains to cases where a defendant between ages 15 and 18 is charged with certain felonies, including murder, armed robbery and rape. Though the defendant is subject to the full range of penalties and procedures of adult court, wherein records are typically accessible to the public, only victims and their family members can access the records in these cases unless the criminal defendant was found or pleaded gu
Appeals court rejects the state s effort to seal records and require secret trials for teens accused of murder, other serious crimes
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Second Circuit Hears Oral Argument in New York Lawsuit Over New Definition of Political Party
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This bar graph depicts the number of firearms regulated by the National Firearms Act by Fiscal Year from FY 2005 to FY 2020. (ATF graph via Courthouse News)
MANHATTAN (CN) The U.S. government need not release statistics on guns used in suicides or attempted suicides, the Second Circuit ruled Wednesday, reversing what had been a victory for gun-regulation advocates.
Seeking such information as part of a push to curb gun violence in America, the group Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund demanded that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives produce relevant records under the Freedom of Information Act.
Demurring, however, the ATF argued that Congress had specifically blocked access to the Firearms Trace System database. The move centered on a series of amendments to the Consolidated Appropriations Acts of 2005, known as the Tiahrt Riders, first adopted in the early 2000s and updated in 2012.