United States Fourth Circuit

The district court properly decided to unseal certain documents related to plaintiff-police department's criminal investigation of a murder where the release of the documents would not affect the integrity of the investigation.

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/01/2004
• Published 10/01/2004

Judges

• Before WIDENER and SHEDD, Circuit Judges, and DAVID R. HANSEN, Senior Circuit Judge of the United States Court of

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:James Owen Towey, Assistant Attorney General, Office Of The Attorney General Of Virginia, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant.  Peter J. Neufeld, Cochran Neufeld & Scheck, L.L.P., New York, New York;  John G. Kester, Williams & Connolly, Washington, D.C., for Appellees.   ON BRIEF:  Jerry W. Kilgore, Attorney General, Martin L. Kent, Assistant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant.  Eric M. Freedman, New York, New York;  Robert T. Hall, Hall, Sickels, Rostant, Frei & Kattenburg, P.C., Reston, Virginia, for Earl Washington, Jr.;  Conrad M. Shumadine, Willcox & Savage, P.C., Norfolk, Virginia, for The Virginian-Pilot;  Craig T. Merritt, Christian & Barton, L.L.P., Richmond, Virginia, for Media General Operations, Inc., t/a The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Associated Press, and Virginia Press Association;  Dane H. Butswinkas, Kenneth J. Brown, Williams & Connolly, L.L.P., Washington, D.C., for The Washington Post.