Los Angeles Times v. Superior Court

Opinion

KLEIN, P. J.

“The right to an open public trial is a shared right of the accused and the public, the common concern being the assurance of fairness.” (Press-Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court (1986) 478 U.S. 1, 7 [92 L.Ed.2d 1, 106 S.Ct. 2735] (Press-Enterprise II).) “Underlying the First Amendment right of access to criminal trials is the common understanding that ‘a major purpose of that Amendment was to protect the free discussion of governmental affairs,’ . . . [and] to ensure that this constitutionally protected ‘discussion of governmental affairs’ is an informed one.” (Globe…