Los Angeles Times v. Superior Court

“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 Newspaper Co. v. Superior Court (1982) 457 U.S. 596, 604-605 [ 73 L.Ed.2d 248 , 102 S.Ct. 2613 ].) In California, this right of access is protected by Code of Civil Procedure section 124, which provides that “the sittings of every court shall be public.” (See NBC Subsidiary (KNBC-TV), Inc. v. Superior Court (1999) 20 Cal.4th 1178, 1216 [ 86 Cal.Rptr.2d 778 , 980 P.2d 337 ] [First Amend, cases “inform our interpretation of [Code Civ. Proc., § 124]”].)

On the other hand, it has been “consistently . . . recognized that the proper functioning of our grand jury system depends upon the secrecy of grand jury…