BishopAccountability.org
	Court Still Needs to Weigh Final Angle of Bridgeport Documents Case Georgia Bulletin October 17, 2009 http://www.georgiabulletin.org/world/2009/10/16/US-2/ WASHINGTON (CNS) — The Supreme Court's decision not to continue a stay on the release to newspapers of Diocese of Bridgeport documents in settled sexual abuse cases doesn't quite close the door on the issue. Still pending is a separate petition asking the court to overturn the original ruling in favor of the newspapers. However, the high court's refusal to continue the stay is being seen by some court-watchers as an indication the diocese's efforts to keep the documents sealed has hit the end of its very long road. The Supreme Court Oct. 5 ended a stay that had temporarily blocked the release of the diocesan records related to sexual abuse cases to four newspapers that sued for access to them. Upholding lower courts, the Connecticut Supreme Court in May ordered the diocese to release 12,000 pages of depositions, exhibits and legal arguments in 23 lawsuits involving six priests. Most of the lawsuits were settled for undisclosed amounts in 2001, with the agreement that the individual settlements and the documents should remain sealed. But the Connecticut courts ruled that documents submitted to the court and the abuse victims as a part of pretrial proceedings could be turned over to the newspapers. The complex legal case has bounced among Connecticut's courts since 2002, when first The New York Times and then three other newspapers — the Hartford Courant, the Boston Globe and The Washington Post — sued for access to the material.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.