The U.S. Department of Justice makes the trial exhibits for United States v. Theodore F. Stevens available online
The availability of court records online continues to increase. Only a few years ago, a visit to the clerk’s office was necessary to obtain copies of court filings. Federal court filings and docket information are now accessible via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service for a modest fee. While access to the courts has been enhanced as a result of the Internet, there are still some documents filed during a trial which remain unavailable.
For example, trial exhibits are normally not readily available since they are not typically electronically filed but admitted during the course of the trial in court. The public who is present at trial may be able to view the exhibits, but this class of documents remains unavailable to those with electronic access to other records in the case. Should this important category of trial documents be made available online?
This point was highlighted by the release of the trial exhibits from the recently concluded trial in United States v. Theodore F. Stevens. The exhibits were posted online by the U.S. Department of Justice. The exhibits include:
- Senator Stevens' financial disclosure reports
- invoices regarding construction at the Senator's house
- e-mails from the Senator regarding the house
- photographs of the house
- maps of the vicinity of the hosue
In the Senator Stevens’s case, on July 29, 2008, he was charged with seven counts of making false statements on U.S. Senate's financial disclosure forms by concealing tens of thousands of dollars in renovations to the Senator’s Girdwood residence along with other gifts. After about four weeks of trial, on October 27, 2008, a jury convicted Senator Stevens on all seven counts. For more on the conviction, see the NYT and WSJ stories. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after post-trial motions are heard on February 25, 2008.
In addition to other issues in the case, it poses an interesting question concerning the availability online to trial exhibits. If most of the court filings are already available online, should trial exhibits be treated in the same manner?
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