Kirtley Decries Sealed Cases in Minnesota

Prof. Jane Kirtley was quoted in Dan Browning's article, "Secret criminal cases may at last see the light of day" in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Prof. Kirtley described the newspaper's discovery that many federal criminal cases have been under seal for more than three years as "painful." "Any kind of secret proceeding is subject to problems — corruption, special interest, favored treatment, discriminatory treatment — and the only way you know that those things aren't happening is if they take place in public." Although concerns about national security may have prompted the sealings, Prof. Kirtley noted, "secrecy doesn't necessarily mean that we are more secure. In fact, it often means the opposite."