Colleagues: Here’s a worthwhile precedent that should make its way into media law textbooks, from right here in my back yard. My paper reported that the 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that a federal magistrate judge abused his authority by agreeing to seal the amount of a settlement that Iberia Parish was ordered to pay in the wrongful death of a … Continue reading From the Desk of Dr. Buckman: 5th Circuit: Amount of settlements paid by public bodies are PUBLIC