Review of "Justice in Plain Sight: How a Small Town Newspaper & Its Unlikely Lawyer Opened America's Courtrooms" by Dan Bernstein

These days it's common to see high profile trials on television, like those of Jeffrey Dahmer; Lyle and Erik Menendez; O.J. Simpson; Scott Peterson; Martha Stewart; Jody Arias; Dr. Conrad Murray; Casey Anthony; Aaron Hernandez; and others. At one time, however, courtrooms could be closed to the public on the whim of the presiding judge.

In this book, Dan Bernstein - a former journalist for the Riverside, California 'Press-Enterprise' - tells the story of his newspaper's leading role in two Supreme Court decisions that opened the courtrooms. Bernstein's story is fascinating from a legal standpoint, since the public now has a constitutional right to observe trials - and even preliminary hearings - from beginning to end. Exceptions occur if there are COMPELLING reasons to close the courtroom with NO OTHER REMEDIES - but this is a very high bar.


Dan Bernstein - author and former journalist for the Press-Enterprise

The book is also interesting for its details about the players, including newspaper people, attorneys, judges, law clerks, and Supreme Court justices. Bernstein describes their backgrounds, personalities, quirks, opinions and so on - all of which provides a fine personal touch.

*****

Prior to the 1980s the public was often banned from California courtrooms for at least parts of trials. This was usually done to preserve the privacy of jurors during voir dire and/or to insure that the defendant got a fair trial. Most California newspapers, including the Press-Enterprise, didn't make a fuss.

However, when three heinous crimes in the early 1980s resulted in death penalty trials in Riverside County, Press-Enterprise publisher Tim Hays wanted to cover the whole shebang - including voir dire and preliminary hearings. Hays felt the public had a right to know exactly how the criminal justice system worked, and to observe that it (presumably) operated fairly.


Tim Hays - Publisher of the Press-Enterprise

The trio of crimes included the rape of a white high school student by an African-American man named Albert Greenwood Brown; a deadly bank robbery engineered by Christopher and Russell Harven and their gang; and the murder of twelve elderly hospital patients by a male nurse called Robert Rubane Diaz.

The first trial to draw Hays' attention was that of rapist Albert Brown, in which the judge blocked access to jury selection. Feeling the public had a right to observe voir dire - and encouraged by executive editor Norman Cherniss and senior editor Mel Opotowsky - Hays hired a lawyer to represent the Press-Enterprise. The litigator was Jim Ward - the self-styled 'world's greatest attorney.' 😊

Ward asked the trial judge to open voir dire, then approached the California appellate court, and finally petitioned the California Supreme Court.....all to no avail. After much deliberation, Ward appealed to the United States Supreme Court, a step-by-step procedure that's carefully explained in the book. Luckily, the Supreme Court elected to hear the case.


Norman Cherniss - Executive Editor of the Press-Enterprise


Mel Opotowsky - Senior Editor of the Press-Enterprise


Jim Ward - the 'World's Greatest Attorney'

Ward's preparations and appearance before the Supreme Court - as well as the justices' thoughts and exchanges and the maneuverings of opposing parties - are described in detail. This makes for riveting reading. I was amused to see that Justice Harry Blackmun - in his private notes - described Ward as "greying & glasses" and rated Ward's presentation as a 5 (out of 10). Ward also had a jocular exchange with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, in which he essentially said "I'll be back."



The Supreme Court's resulting 1984 decision was a victory for the Press-Enterprise, whose front page story read "Supreme Court Says Open Jury Selection Is To Be The Rule."

Next, multiple murderer Robert Diaz's pretrial formalities drew the Press-Enterprise's attention to preliminary hearings. These hearings - since they often lead to plea bargains - are frequently the entirety of 'a trial.' As Ward predicted, he was back at the Supreme Court in 1986 - this time to argue for open preliminary hearings. Once again all of Ward's preparations - and the thoughts and actions of the other participants - are thoroughly explicated.

This time attorney Jim Ward and his wife arrived in Washington, D.C. days ahead of the Supreme Court hearing and enjoyed "French toast at Gadsby's Tavern.....dinner at a sedate and excellent French restaurant....lunch at the University Club.....the fun, trendy, cluttered Filomena Italian Restaurant....the clock exhibit at the Renwick Gallery.....and a trip to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving." It seems like Ward was much more relaxed this time around. 🙂👌


Gadsby's Tavern


Filomena Italian Restaurant


Renwick Gallery

After the Supreme Court presentations Ward prevailed once again, and the justices ruled that the public and press have a right to attend pretrial hearings. The combination of Supreme Court rulings essentially "pried open America's courtrooms, barring judges from arbitrarily shutting the public out of criminal trials and hearings."

In an epilogue, Bernstein mentions a number of criminal proceedings since the 1980s that were kept open because of the above rulings, even when the prosecution and /or defense requested closure. The public has a right to know.

The end of the book includes a long section of notes and acknowledgements, attesting to the copious research that went into this narrative.

Full disclosure: the book felt a bit padded in places. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to readers interested in the subject.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Dan Bernstein) and the publisher (University of Nebraska Press) for a copy of the book. 

Rating: 4 stars