In Re the Baltimore Sun Company v. The Honorable Clarence E. Goetz, United States Magistrate

BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge:

The Baltimore Sun Co., a newspaper publisher, appeals the district court’s order denying its petition for a writ of mandamus ordering a magistrate to unseal a search warrant affidavit. The principal issue is whether either the first amendment or the common law confers a qualified right of access to inspect and copy affidavits supporting search warrants in the interval between execution of the warrants and indictment. 1 Subsidiary issues, raised by the government, are whether this appeal is moot and whether mandamus is an appropriate remedy. We hold that the…