Newspapers of New England, Inc. v. Clerk-Magistrate of Ware Division of District Court Department

The plaintiff, Newspapers of New England, Inc., filed an action in the Ware Division of the District Court Department, challenging a judge’s order impounding an affidavit in support of a search warrant issued in the course of an investigation which ultimately led to the indictment and conviction of Kenneth Phoenix for murder in the first degree.2 The judge had impounded the affidavit during the pendency of the criminal proceedings against Phoenix. The judge who impounded the affidavit reported this action to the Appellate Division of the District Court,3 which upheld the impoundment order.…