Trump-Appointed Judge Tries To Keep Hearing In Major Abortion Pill Case Secret
A day later, the Washington Post confirmed that Kacsmaryk had scheduled a hearing in secret, only planning to reveal its existence to the public at the last minute, reportedly reasoning that the short notice might dissuade protesters from showing up. He’d told the lawyers involved on a Friday call that the hearing would be held on Wednesday, and that he’d wait to put it on the public docket until late Tuesday, per the report.
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Here’s What Happened When Judge Kacsmaryk Told Lawyers About Secret Hearing In Mifepristone Case
He then told the lawyers that he was going to purposefully keep the hearing off the docket until the day before the hearing, to keep it as under the radar as possible — a move that prompted questions and objections by observers when discovered. A Department of Justice lawyer on the call sought clarification about whether the hearing would be made public at some point Tuesday.
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Texas judge issues public notice of abortion pills hearing after complaint from media outlets
Restricting the ability of the press and public to attend judicial hearings is rare and can be “justified only by a compelling governmental interest and, even then, such restrictions must be narrowly tailored to advance that interest. No such compelling governmental interests are present here,” Steffensen wrote.
Read more at NBC News