Right of Access Extended to NY Transit Hearings

The public has a right to access hearings conducted by New York's Transit Adjudication Bureau.  So held the Southern District of New York last week when it temporarily enjoined a TAB policy that required the defendant's consent to open the proceedings. 

The court found that TAB hearings "walk, talk, and squawk" like a trial, so the logic that favors open access in the criminal context applies with equal force here.  Moreover, though the US Supreme Court has yet to squarely address whether access rights apply outside of the criminal context, the law in the Second Circuit extends access to certain civil proceedings.

The case might not seem like such a big deal; I mean, how excited can we get when someone's charged with jumping a turnstile or gambling on the subway.  But petty infractions like these provide a ripe opportunity for police harassment and misconduct, especially when watchdogs (like the NY Civil Liberties Union which brought the case) are barred from subsequent enforcement proceedings.  Moreover, the deck is stacked in favor of the police absent a right of access since the decision of whether to press charges in an open criminal proceeding or presumptively closed administrative hearing is left to their unbridled discretion.

More from Roy Edroso, The Village Voice.

photo credit: subwayblogger.com

-Kathleen Bergin