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Supreme Court tosses law sealing divorce records
| Wednesday, May 17 2006 3:15 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 17 2006 3:15 PM
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday nullified a law that made it easy to seal divorce court records.
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The justices, without comment, declined to review an appeals court decision of a billionaire's divorce that declared the 2004 law "unconstitutional on its face."
The Associated Press, the Los Angeles Times and the California Newspaper Publishers Association urged the court to let the January appeals ruling stand.
The case was brought by supermarket magnate Ronald Burkle, who had filed under seal 28 documents about personal income, expenses, and the post-marital agreement with his former wife, Janet.
The law, which critics said was written by lawmakers to help Burkle, a major campaign contributor, required a judge to seal any court record providing information about the financial assets and liabilities of those getting divorced.
Sensitive information is often blacked out of court records, but the law in question allowed the entire document to be sealed.
Lawmakers have been mulling a less restrictive law.
The case is Marriage of Burkle, S141394.
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Editors: David Kravets has been covering state and federal courts for more than a decade.