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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff ,
v.
JORGE A. DE CASTRO-FONT [1],
Defendant.
CIVIL NO. 08-337 (FAB)
MEMORANDUM & ORDER
BESOSA, District Judge.
Before the Court is the motion filed by the Centro de
Periodismo Investigativo, Inc. (CPI) and the Asociacion de
Periodistas de Puerto Rico (APPR), (Docket No. 349), requesting
that the Court stay the sentencing proceedings in this case and
entertain objections to its decision to close the courtroom to the
public during select parts of those proceedings.Openness [of court proceedings] enhances both the basic
fairness of the criminal trial and the appearance of fairness so
essential to public confidence in the [justice] system. Press-
Enterprise Co. v. Superior Court of California, 464 U.S. 501,
(1984). Recognizing this long-standing principle, courts have
repeatedly held that [c]losed proceedings . . . must be rare and
only for cause shown that outweighs the value of openness. See,
e.g., id. It is clear that [t]he presumption of openness may be
overcome only by an overriding interest based on findings that
closure is essential to preserve higher values and is narrowly
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Criminal No. 08-337 (FAB) 2
tailored to serve that interest. Id. Given the importance of
effective law enforcement, however, many courts have found the
danger of compromising ongoing criminal investigations sufficiently
compelling to warrant the limited, targeted closure of criminal
proceedings. See, e.g., United States v. Haller, 837 F.2d 84, 87-
88 (2d Cir. 1988).
Keeping those precepts in mind, the closure of the court shall
be limited to De Castro-Fonts testimony regarding his cooperation
with the government in certain investigations which may potentially
be active within this jurisdiction. That testimony not only
involves the details of specific government investigations, the
public revelation of which could compromise those investigations,
but also touches on, and could undermine the efficiency of, law
enforcement techniques utilized by the government. Both the
attorneys for the government and the attorneys for De Castro-Font
have met with the Court to discuss the content of that testimony.
Based on the representations from both parties and the Courts
knowledge of the case, the governments compelling interest in the
ongoing investigations and preserving the integrity of those
investigations justifies excluding the public from the sentencing
proceedings for the limited purpose of hearing Mr. De Castro-Fonts
testimony regarding cooperation with the government and discussing,
in detail, the effect of that testimony on the Courts sentencing
decision. After these matters have been attended to, Mr. De
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Criminal No. 08-337 (FAB) 3
Castro-Font will be sentenced in open court pursuant to 18 U.S.C.
3553.
For the reasons described above, the motion filed by CPI and
APPR, (Docket No. 349), is DENIED .
IT IS SO ORDERED.
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 17, 2011.
s/ Francisco A. BesosaFRANCISCO A. BESOSAUnited States District Judge
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